Steve and Judy's Travels!

There are a lot of waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge.  Googled them.  Sorted them down to four that did not require steep hikes:

Latourelle Falls

Multnomah Falls

Horsetail Falls

Starvation Creek Falls

Went to the first one.  Darn.  The parking lot was full and people were circling, clogging up the road, lurking for spots.  Not for us.  We got through the traffic backup and went to the next one.

Darn.  Same thing.

Okay, there is a pullover in the center of the freeway going eastbound for the next one.  From there we can walk through an underpass and see the falls.  Oops.  The parking lot is so full, they closed the exit.

One hope left, 20 miles east, away from the most popular spots.  Starvation Creek.

Pulled into the parking lot.  10 cars.  Looked around.  4 people.  Cool.

Nobody actually starved at Starvation Creek, but they did have a grand adventure.

A short trail to the falls.

But wait, a short walk down a trail to another waterfall.  Cabin Creek falls.

Another stretch of trail to Hole-in-the-Wall Falls.

Jesse took a selfie while we were there.

A good waterfall day.

Deschutes River State Park for the night.

2026 Summer Trip Map link

Morning view.

Sweet.

Elisa and Solomon.

They both got the entire day off work to spend with us, and we made the most of it.  Of course they were charming, as always.

We finished off the day by driving east out of Portland, after rush-hour traffic to the Columbia River Gorge.  Along the way, Mount Hood peeked out.

2026 Summer Trip Map Link

Settled in for the night at Ainsworth State Park, at a wonderful site; just like state parks are supposed to be.

Easy walks for my rehabilitating leg.

No problem.

On the water, drive your boat over the lift and it picks you up.

Then the fork lift picks you up even higher,

…and puts you away up on a shelf!

Meanwhile, we’ve moved on.  We’re at Paradise Point State Park down by Oregon for the night.

2026 Summer Trip Map Link

It’s not as nice as it looks.  It’s right on the freeway, so it’s really loud.  No problem.  We’re moving on tomorrow morning.

Along the way.  Mount Ranier makes an appearance.

Rainbow Bridge.

Deadliest Catch.

Judy says if she were a boat, she’d be a tugboat.  Or maybe a little working boat like this.

And what a nice spot for a park and waterfall.

It seems every time we’re here it’s in full bloom.