Spring Break 2 - Skamania Lodge and Waterfall Hikes

Columbia River Gorge..... so gorgeous. We ate, we swam, we hiked, we read, we played. All the things. Taking home many good memories and a contented spirit. On Saturday we hiked a trail to two waterfalls: Hardy Falls and Pool of the Winds. It was quite impressive - the trail continued onwards to Hamilton Mountain - we'll have to bookmark that one for next time.

Hardy Falls was a nice, meandering waterfall with mossy rocks and bubbling water.

Nearby Pool of the Winds was completely different. It crashed down almost vertically about 15-20 feet in a giant rush. There was so much rushing volume to it that it created a push of wind out of the crack in the rock that takes a person's breath away and mist sprays everywhere. It was unexpected and so cool to think nature created a phenomenon like this.

Excellent view of Beacon Rock from this trail, too.

The afternoon plan was more swimming and relaxing on the lawn. And that's what we did - stuck to the plan.

Getting all four of us through the shower takes a little time. Reed used it to keep reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Love that!

This might have been one of the highlights of the trip for me - Catan on the lawn.

Followed by lots more reading and relaxing and playing catch with the football.

And we followed it up with delicious pizza at Backwoods Brewery in Carson on the recommendation of a friend. It was a perfect fit.

We started our last morning with one last swim session - or in my case, some quality reading while I drank my tea in the morning sun.

We hiked Elowah and Upper McCord Falls on our way out of the Gorge. This was on the Oregon side, through an area that had a forest fire a few years ago and with views over the Columbia River to Mt. Adams.

And across river to Beacon Rock.

Elowah Falls pops out of the cliff like a cannon ball. Very cool!

And Upper McCord Falls is just a straight up, quality water fall with a nice creek upstream. It just felt good to be outside stretching our legs and enjoying the sunshine and time in the woods.

After a long drive up I-5, we made it home in time to relax at the Civic Club after dinner and soak up the remains of an 85 degree day in April. What a treat!

Spring Break 1 - Skamania Lodge and Beacon Rock Hike

Spring Break!!!! Made it (which feels like a victory in itself this year). Feeling so appreciative of this time. We drove down late to the Columbia Gorge and the Skamania Lodge. The grounds and pool are amazing. We are relaxing and swimming and hiking and just enjoying the sun. We did the stellar Beacon Rock hike for views all through the Gorge, including over the Bonneville Dam. We spent a lot of time in the outdoor hot tub. Loving the expansive views on the lawn. It is 75 degrees!!! Enough to relax all the bones in your body. Life is too short to skip family vacations.

Awesome morning swim session!

Mid-morning hike to the top of Beacon Rock. I've always wanted to do this hike - switch backs and guard rails take you up and up and up until you are on top of everything. 

We ate lunch at the historic Fort Cascade site just downstream of the dam. It was pretty impressive.

This is a replica of a real petroglyph rock found in the area that has been moved to the county courthouse lawn. It makes me feel my feelings to think that a rock carved in such an amazing way by native people was moved to a US government courthouse. But it was cool to enjoy the replica.

This was the afternoon plan... hanging on the lawn - reading and relaxing and playing football followed by another swim session.

There are a number of these giant fire pits on the property - perfect for finishing the evening with s'mores!