Hello! How was your long weekend? My husband and I both had to work Monday, but Thor had the day off from school and it was so nice to have him home. Even though rain poured most of the weekend, we did get in some much needed outdoor adventure time.
Saturday we drove up into the Mt. Hood National Forest and took a random side road to see where it would lead. It led us to the Salmon River, deep in the dark mossy forest. To say that it was breathtaking would be an understatement. This is always the best way to discover magical places - take a chance on a lonely road that goes into the trees. Unfortunately, on the way there I realized my camera battery had not charged. I only had my phone for pictures and those don't seem to turn out well for posting here, but I will probably post a few more to Instagram sometime this week.
Sunday we decided to drive into the always beautiful Columbia River Gorge and ended up at Eagle Creek near Bonneville Dam. We had not been there for years; the last time was when Thor was pretty small and we carried him in the baby backpack up to Punchbowl Falls. We weren't prepared for the hike Sunday, but we did explore a bit around the trailhead. My husband said he and his dad and brothers used to fish for salmon where the creek heads toward the Columbia and thinks this summer he and Thor should do the same. In the meantime, I think the trail to Punchbowl Falls is going to be our next weekend hike. I remember it being a little trecherous in spots (and I see now you can't take kids under 10 on this trail), but I also remember it being incredibly beautiful and so worth the extra care taken. So extra care we will take.
I hope you had some good adventures over the weekend, too. Don't let the rain stop you from getting out! If you're local to the Portland area and have kids, do you have some favorite hiking spots?