Touring Thru a Portion of the Columbia Gorge......

One of the many things the girls and I did while I was away from blog land was take our visiting Hawaiian friends on a tour of the old scenic highway in the Columbia Gorge. It was definitely a day of giggles, sighs of awe, and adventure.

As I pulled down into my mom's driveway to pick up our guests,

my Rosie girl said, "Hey Mom look at those sun flowers.

They look like Mickey Mouse!"

Our first look-around was at the scenic Vista House.

Locals around here affectionately call it Crown Point.

This photo is a shot looking east.

The Columbia River is the state boundary line with Washington

on the left and Oregon on the right.

Our first waterfall hike was one of my personal favorites

called La Tourelle Falls.

There is my group headed towards the sound of falling water.

Amazing isn't it?

I pointed out various features to our friends concerning the moss, falls, and

the geology of the basalt rock while my girls hiked all around the water area

looking for treasures.

Indeed a treasure was found. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Pippin took pity on this little guy. She found him close to the water and decided

that he was so chilled by the water that he didn't even have the energy

to hop away when she got close.

So, into her warm hands he went until his temperature perked up and

she set him free in some warm moss.

Our next stop was a short mile hike to Bridal Veil Falls, another of my personal favorites.

This is the bridge one must cross at the bottom of the hike to get to the falls area.

Here is the lower portion of Bridal Veil Falls.

See that speck of a person sitting on the left side of that big rock? That is my Pippin.

Every time we go out to this area, my girls love to climb all over the rocks

and soak in the beauty.

I couldn't resit putting up a couple of pictures of our dear friends.
Left to right is Lilly, myself, and Mary. These wonderful ladies are precious sisters
and always full of so much infectious joy.
Mary first became a part of our family years ago when she and my mom
met and attended school together in Japan.
We are so grateful to have them in our lives.

Our last waterfall of the day was to visit Multnomah Falls. We shot some pictures, gasped and awed and the splendor, and then sat down for well deserved ice cream cones.