Silver Falls State Park 15 June 2014

Our last hike - Silver Falls water falls after church on Sunday.  It rained half the time, but the clouds and rain only made it prettier.

South Falls

Lower South Falls

Lower North Falls

Middle North Falls

North Falls

North Falls from behind the falls

Upper North Falls

North Falls from the Rim trail

Harry's Ridge at Mt St Helens 14 June 2014

We knew the weather was sketchy when we left on the 3 hr trip to Mt St Helens.  Total fog when we got there.  We hiked anyway often in the rain.  Now and then God parted the fog and we could see into the valley and at the lunch spot we were even rewarded with a view of Spirit Lake.  We hiked to the Harry's Ridge viewpoint - 8.0 miles.

fog!

a bit of a view

lupine and paintbrush

avalanche lilies

these trees were snapped off in the blast 34 yrs ago

volcano monitoring equipment on top Harry's Ridge

our lunch view of Spirit Lake

paintbrush

Harry's Ridge in the fog

heading back we could see the dropoff

the visitor center is high on the hill on the right

Lincoln City and Neskowin Beach 13 June 2014

An afternoon at the beach with out of town guests.  Lincoln City and Neskowin were warm for a cloudy day.

concretions from the cliffs at Road's End in Lincoln City - don't they look like dinosaur eggs?

Neskowin Beach

Neskowin beach and Proposal Rock

Elowah and McCord Creek Falls 12 June 2014

A quick trip to Elowah and McCord Creek falls to introduce out of town guests to the Columbia Gorge.

Elowah Falls

Columbia Gorge

McCord Creek Falls

Indian Pipe

Horsetail Falls

Multnomah Falls

Saddle Mountain and Tillamook Head 7 June 2014

Both of these State Parks have been on my list for some time.  Today was the day.  I arrived at Saddle Mountain about 9:45a and there were about 10 cars in the lot.  It is only a 5.2 mile hike, but has 1620 ft gain.  Lots of tourists hike it too.  The state has covered the trail with wire on the steep rocky parts to keep people from slipping.  Cables have been installed as well, so you can hang on.  And at the top, there is a railing all around the flat summit.
There were plenty of flowers and the sunshine was abundant.  The forest at the start of the trail was quite lush and beautiful as well.

Map link for Saddle Mtn:  Saddle Mountain

first view of the destination

from the saddle

first view of final ascent

lunch spot was on this outcropping as the summit was "full"

I loved this section of the forest - sunlight on the carpet of oxalis

Next I drove 30 min over to Tillamook Head and Ecola State Park.  I will have to spend more time there.  I walked a mile and a half and had to turn around to get back home.  Very pretty and lots of scenic views of lovely beaches.

Map link for Ecola State Park:  Ecola State Park

looking south

on the trail looking north

from the trail looking south