Northwest Vacation: Oregon, Part One

After we left White Salmon, WA, we drove across the Columbia River to Oregon.
The entire road went along the river, and it was stunning. The river is famous for windsurfing, and we saw many people out there!








We had several people suggest that we check out the many waterfalls along the Gorge. We decided to stop at Latourell Falls because it had a good hike that we had time to do!

There were actually two waterfalls. One was right at the beginning of the hike, and the one that most people see. The second was at least half way through the hike. I think I actually enjoyed the second one more.

At one point we came to a rocky precipice that we were able to look over. I was a tad nervous, but it turned out alright. We were actually pretty high up! I could see people walking on a trail far below us.

 The hike took us even farther down then we started. We had to cross a highway and walk through a park until we found this path under the bridge. The bridge itself was very impressive.

We eventually made it to the base of the first waterfall. Boy, was it crowded there. I was so grateful that we'd done the hike and not had so many people around.  Over all it was very beautiful, and we are both glad we made the stop.

On a side note, the entire trip we were having some trouble with our car. We thought it was taken care of before we left, but we weren't on the road long before we realized it was still an issue. So, I was so grateful to have booked our reservations through VRBO.com because then we had an actual personal connection with a local. She suggested a mechanic in Waldport, OR (about 30 from our destination) and we gladly set up an appointment with him.

On the way to Waldport we passed through Newport. The first thing we did was go to "The Gluten Free Place" to get some goodies. I had my first donut in over a year, and let me tell you something. It was amazing! It was so exciting to go into a store knowing that everything was safe (on the gluten side, and they had lots of dairy free options). 

The mechanic in Waldport was excellent. He took the car for a test drive and immediately had a diagnosis. He checked under the car and stated that it had to be the "cv joint" (keep in mind that I know next to nothing about cars), but unfortunately, he didn't have the part or the time to repair it. He referred us to a place back in Newport, so we set up an appointment for the next day. 

We made it to our accomodations about 15 minutes east of Yachats, OR (said yah-hots) and met our lovely host. She made us feel welcome right away and was glad to see us in one piece. I took less pictures in our time here for various reasons, but it was truly beautiful. Again, we were out in the forest with a river nearby, and the ocean only 15 minutes away. 

I can tell you for sure that MMM's favorite thing was the overabundance of blackberries. They truly are considered weeds in that area. They were at the perfect ripeness to be eaten so we ate a lot of them! 

Tomorrow I'll tell you more about our appointment with the Newport mechanic. It was an adventure to be sure.