Oregon Part II

DAY 6: Lower Cascade Head Trail 4.2m

1st views of the Oregon coast.

The area is usally very cloudy and cool.

What a gorgeous view!!

Even the forest was pretty.

DAY 7: Cannon Beach!!

We headed out early to beat the crowds.

Benny counted 335 starfish by the end of our walk.

Even the fog was kinda pretty along the shore.

Benny made it out but the other boys slept in.

Low tide was the best since we could get really close to the sea stacks and explore tide pools.

A picture from the Sea Sprite where we stayed for 2 nights.

Next we headed to Oswald West State Park nearby.

Short Sand Beach 1.2m

I thought this area was more beautiful than Haystack Rock.

I really enjoyed taking pictures here.

Such beauty all around.

The crabs eyes were still moving.

Love my people!!

Looks like it's turning out to be another sunny day!

Quick stop and walk to Hug Point.

Ecola State Park. We just liked that the Goonies movie was filmed here. We watched it during our stay.

Haystack Rock from the road nearby. Impressive size, much bigger than a house.

A sunny daytime view.

Here's the little cottage where we stayed. Loved the flowers.

But the best part were the beach BUNNIES!

They liked being fed.

All colors.

Bunnies with Haystack in the background.

Bonfire on the beach.

It's a Cannon Beach tradition.

Such a nice way to end an evening.

My creative children did this.

DAY 8: Mount Rainier National Park

Skyline Trail Loop 5.6m

I LOVE bear grass!!

Looking back towards Paradise, WA. This place really is called Paradise!

The wildflowers were magnificant!!

Some snow higher up.

Gorgeous views for days. You can barely see the Paradise Inn where we started.

I think this is my new FAVORITE hike!!

Rare family photo.

Headed back down.

The top was rocky. So many different types of terrain in one hike.

Majestic marmot. There were so many BIG ones!!

And chipmunks and a mountain goat. Josh even saw a mountain lion far off in the distance!

A beautiful meadow with streams and flowers. WOW!

I fell crossing this stream. HA! Thankfully only suffered a few knee scuffs.

Oh, the FLOWERS!

It's rare to see Mt Rainier in all her glory with no clouds interrupting the view. BLESSED!!

It was so tough to choose pictures since I liked them all.

The hike took us until evening since it was tough and we kept stopping so often to admire the view and marmots.

Near the end of the loop, Myrtle Falls. When we thought it couldn't get any better, it did.

DAY 9: Resting at the cabin. The kids were ready for a day off.

But we ended up talking them into two shorter hikes nearby instead of the bigger one we had originally planned. The hike started at Lake Tipsoo.

Check out this natural bouquet of wildflowers.

Another beautiful lake along the way.

I think I might be flower crazy. Purple ones!

Finally a view of Mt Rainier with the usual clouds around.

This hike is called Naches Peak Loop 3.3m

And we ended by Little Lake Tipsoo. So, so pretty.

On the way back to the cabin, we hiked to Silver Falls 3m.

The bridge we had to cross to get down to the falls.

And emerald water below.

As close as he could get.

Some girls offered to take our picture!

Elk in the evening!

Cowlitz River near where we stayed in Packwood.

DAY 10: Our last day did not go as planned. The wait to get into Sunrise, the other side of Mt Rainier, was 2hrs so we were not able do our last big hike. Instead we headed to the Columbia River Gorge near Portland.

And hiked to Wahclella Falls 1.9m

This area was burned in the Eagle Creek fire in 2017. There were still signs of damage.

But the falls were still pretty.

Two tiers.

Last stop at Multnomah Falls, the tallest in Oregon. Phew. What an amazing trip!