R cubed

Portland - A trip-report

Day One: May 28th,2011

Columbia Gorge & Mt. St. Helens:

We reached Portland and checked into Clarion near the airport. We had a great river facing room. The room was very comfortable and the service was prompt. The hotel also had a spa and we used it everyday after a long day of sightseeing. This was certainly one of Riya's favorite things to do :) First thing to ask when we reach the hotel room was "Are we going to the swimming class today?" promptly followed by a rapid change in clothing and hurrying up of parents to join her at the "swim class".

The next day we stopped at the famous Multnomah falls at the Columbia Gorge river. This was fun fun fun! Despite the slight drizzle (our rain jackets helped very much!), we enjoyed the sights. All the falls on that little panoramic stretch called the "Historic Columbia River Highway" were beautiful to say the least! Some pictures here...

Wahkeena falls:

And a small hike to the bridge that you see in the above pic

And with every stop at a "water body", Riya has to make a coin drop and a wish...

.. and every time she wishes for "I wish for disneyland!" :)

Multnomah Falls

Absolutely gorgeous views of the gorge.

And LOVED the Multnomah falls..

Next we headed towards Mt. St Helens.

View Larger Map

It was a bit of a drive.. but lots of beautiful views all along the way. We particularly enjoyed the stop at the Elk Viewing center (officially: Forest Learning Center Elk Viewing). There were great views :

.. and some "elk" viewing :

.. and some bear "scaring"!

:)
But on the more educational side, a large part of the surrounding forest was completely destroyed by the eruption in 1980. The Forest center shows how the volunteers help completely rebuild the entire destroyed section. There are helicopter rides available at this point, but we were pressed for time. So Riya had a "pretend" helicopter ride..