Well I don't have too much to blog about today. We took off from Gresham, OR around 9am and drove directly west to the coast. Once we hit the coast we hopped on the 101 South and headed down to Gold Beach, where we are now. Check out a few pics from todays drive along the coast.
We stopped at the Sea Lion Caves, but unfortunately the caves were closed due to maintenance, so all we got were a few shots of them from the cliffs.
A quick shot of Sandy before we hit the road again.
And here are a couple shots from various viewpoints along the 101. Oregon beaches are amazing.
More to come tomorrow after our Rogue River jetboat tour, stay tuned!
Today was crazy and very tiring! We got up around 9am and fueled up with some breakfast, then headed out to the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area to set out on the first hike, which was 5 1/2 miles.
We started our hike around 10am. The hike started right at the bottom of Wahkeena Falls, which was probably our favorite waterfall of the entire day:
Sandy under the sign right before we set out
The last part of the falls
Wahkeena Falls
Just above the falls:
About 1.5 miles later, we arrived at Fairy Falls.
Another half a mile up and we took a rest at Wahkeena Springs
I thought this moss covered tree was cool
We don't see trees like this in California!
Part of the trail...beautiful isn't it?
The next falls we hit was Weisendanger Falls:
Just below Weisendanger Falls:
Another mile or so down the path and we came to the top of the most famous one, Multnomah Falls. This is just a baby waterfall from the viewpoint we had at the very top of the 550 foot fall.
Here is a shot of the actual falls
Sandy and I had to take a picture in front of it
That concluded the first part of our journey. We stopped at Multnomah Lodge to get a bite to eat and recharge our batteries. 5 1/2 miles of steep rocky paths takes a lot out of you!
About 3pm, we set back out for the second part of our hike. This time we started at Horsetail Falls.
Next on the list was Ponytail Falls. This one was really spectacular. The path winds around and goes underneath a rocky overhang and behind the actual waterfall. It was amazing.
At this time we had the option to head back down, but we decided to tough it out and head up to Triple Falls. To get there, we had to go over this little bridge that crossed an awesome moss covered gorge.
The path to Triple Falls was the hardest of the entire day. Note: It's possible that by this time we were just so exhausted that we thought the path was the toughest...who knows for sure ;). The hike was worth it though...the falls were gorgeous.
This was taken from a bridge just above Triple Falls.
FINALLY! Our hike was done and we headed back down. On the way, there was a viewpoint of the Columbia River.
Check out this clip that Sandy shot as we hiked under Ponytail Falls....
Wow, I can't believe I was able to write this much...I'm dead tired and ready to pass out! Well this concludes day 3. Tomorrow we head out early to the Oregon Coast (Cannon Beach), which we are driving all the way down to our next stop, the Rogue River. Be sure to check back soon for more vacation fun!
2008 has been very busy so far and I am in need of some R&R, so I will be leaving early tomorrow morning on a week vacation....yea!!
First, Sandy and I are driving straight up to northern Oregon Saturday and Sunday to hike Multnomah Falls on Monday. Tuesday we are heading directly west to the northern Oregon coast, which is absolutely beautiful if you have not seen it before! We will continue to drive the Oregon coast down south to the Rogue River in Gold Beach, where we are stopping to take the ever famous Rogue River Jetboat Tour on Wednesday! Thursday morning we head out and drive the coast down into California and through the Redwoods, past San Francisco and finally arriving in Monterey. Friday morning we will check out the Monterey aquarium, and in the afternoon we are heading over to Carmel for some sight seeing. In the evening we set out again and drive the California coastline into San Luis Obispo, where we are stopping mainly for the food! If you are ever up in SLO, you have to check out the following restaurants:
Breakfast - The Breakfast Buzz Lunch - Firestone Dinner - Either Tsurugi's in downtown SLO, or Rosas in Pismo Beach (15 minutes down the 101 freeway)
There are many other great restaurants too, these are just a few of our favorites. Sandy went to Cal Poly up there and we fell in love with the town and its fine dining. Now we always look for a reason to go up!
After spending Saturday in SLO, we head out after dinner back to reality. It's gonna be a fun trip! Be sure to check back periodically for updates and pics (assuming that our hotels have working WIFI). Have a great weekend everyone!
Ok, I finally got some time to blog about this super cool wedding that I shot last Saturday! The ceremony was held at Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes, and the reception was at the Donald Trump Golf Club. The Wayfarers Chapel is also known locally as the Glass Chapel...can you guess why from the photo below? ;) The entire chapel being made of glass makes it very beautiful, but also very difficult to photograph on sunny days, because of all the shadows created by the structure and trees. Nevertheless, we got some great shots of this amazing couple on their special day!
What a great weekend it was! I started it off with a wedding on Saturday up in Palos Verdes (check back later this week for a sneak peak), and Sunday I headed down to the Mission in San Juan Capistrano for an engagement session with these two. There was a bit of a cloud cover that gave us some very nice soft light which was great.
On a side note, I really need to get back in shape since wedding season is here! I woke up this morning pretty sore and very tired. I'm only 28 years old, I should not have a body of an 80 year old man! I am off on a vacation starting Saturday for a week, but after that I promise I will start exercising again!
