The Columbia River Gorge with Aunt Simone

We reluctantly left Yellowstone behind, heading west towards the coast.  Four days was not nearly enough time to see all that Yellowstone had to offer, and at the least, we needed a good spotting scope for our next trip.

Fun with geysers

We hopped onto Interstate 84, blowing by Craters of the Moon National Monument, which was too far out of reach for a one-nighter.  I looked on the map for a place to stay right off of the interstate, and spotted a green blip of a recreation area just over the Idaho-Oregon Border.  Farewell Bend State Park looked inviting, so we pressed on.

Traveling the Oregon Trail

Turns out we were on the Oregon Trail!  Farewell Bend is on the Snake River, and this particular park celebrated the departure of the Oregon Trail from the Snake’s sinuous flow.  The Oregon Trail (like us and Interstate 84) headed straight west, while the Snake River continued northwest-ish to join up with the Columbia River.

Farewell Bend, where the trail leaves the Snake River

The RV park turned out to be lovely, with the Snake River wide and swift, running alongside the campsites.  The trees had just budded out and were bright green, and the lilac were still in bloom.  The cats had a fit watching all the ground squirrels!

Glad we are not traveling in a covered wagon (we prefer Karl the RV)

We headed down the Oregon Trail (aka Interstate 84) towards the coast.  As we went over the passes, things became quickly greener, until we were surrounded by Oregon’s temperate rain forest.  We met Aunt Simone at Ainsworth State Park, which was dripping in spring greenery and wild roses.

Hello Aunt Simone!!

We had a few more hours of daylight, so we headed to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery, even though it was raining.  (Hint:  If you visit this part of the world, don’t let a little rain stop you.  It rarely stops raining here!)  We checked out the fry pools, read all the placards explaining how fish were raised here, and visited Herman the Sturgeon, a 10-foot behemoth of a fish, the mascot of the Columbia River.

The kid's head is to get a good idea of this fish's size!!

Then we went back to our comfy RV and had dinner, after which we watched several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, an old series that  Aunt Simone has gotten Tia and Sasha totally hooked on.  Fun stuff!

We love Buffy

We hiked Multnomah Falls the following morning, a gorgeous crashing waterfall with trails all around it, one of the best in the Gorge.  The views of the Columbia River were exquisite from up high, and the sun came out after the overnight rain.  All was light green, fern- and moss-covered, a complete change from the desert environments we’d come from. 

Hiking with Aunt Simone is fun!

A forest dripping in ferns

Everything is so lush!

We took Aunt Simone to a delicious dinner at the Lodge there at Multnomah Falls, and then returned to the RV for a few more Buffy episodes.  By the next morning, the rain had returned, so we had a relaxed morning, snug in the RV.  Aunt Simone had to leave, and we took one more moisture-laden hike up to Horsetail Falls and Ponytail Falls.  

Fabulous views of the Columbia River

Water and greenery at every turn

Then it was off to see the biggest trees in the world:  The Redwoods of Northern California.  Stay tuned!