Washington, Oregon - Day 4: Columbia River Gorge

Once again we woke up to dark and overcast skies with a pretty hard rain falling.  We joined the commuters making their trek across Portland heading for Interstate 84 on the east side of town.  After getting on I-84 we drove west along the Columbia River until we reached the town of Troutdale where got off onto the Old Columbia River Highway.  Even though the rain continued, it was a beautiful drive through hilly, forested countryside.  Unfortunately at about the 10 mile point the road was closed and we were forced back onto I-84.  Several miles later we were able to get back on the Old Columbia River Highway and continue our scenic journey.

Even though it was very rainy, it was still a beautiful drive.

Along this drive there were many waterfalls the first of which was Latourell Falls.  Not letting the rain stop us, we donned our rain gear and got out to view and photograph the falls.

Latourell Falls in the distance.

There were many falls along the route, but most required some hiking to get to and it was too wet for us to take any but the shortest hikes.  Our next stop were the most spectacular and well know falls, Multnomah Falls.  They fall 542 feet in a single plunge and then drops another 70 feet.  There is a bridge across the gorge part way up that was built in 1914.  After having the road to ourselves for most of the morning, there were quite a few people at the falls considering the weather.

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls

The upper part of Multnomah Falls from the bridge.

From there it was on to Horsetail Falls, our last falls of the day.

Val in front of Horsetail Falls.

Horsetail Falls

Horsetail Falls

By the time we finished at Horsetail Falls, we were getting pretty wet and decided to stop early in the town of Hood River on the Columbia River.  We drove to the end of the Old Columbia River Highway, got back on I-84 and by mid afternoon we were in Hood River and in our hotel room.  It was right on the river so we had a great view of the Columbia from our room.  After a late lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon updating this blog and planning tomorrow's itinerary.  Even though the weather hasn't been the best, this has been a great trip so far.  It is always interesting to see things not in the bright sunshine; the clouds and rain gave a whole new perspective and beauty to areas we traveled through.

The view of the Columbia River from our hotel room.