Portland

We found our park in Portland with no difficulty.  In fact, we were at the park at 1:00 pm, which is a new record for us.  The drive from Newport wasn't as slow as we had thought it would be.  We set up the rig and chilled for the remainder of the day.  The weather was overcast and rainy.

Friday's forecast was clear, sunny and warm, with the upcoming week cloudy, partly cloudy, and showers.  Sounds like the day to do the outdoor stuff.  We went east from the park along the Columbia River to Multnomah Falls.  Breathtaking.  Note the red ribbon on the footbridge:  a large boulder broke loose in January and plummeted to the bridge, damaging it.  The official re-opening of the bridge was last weekend, Memorial Day.

Old US 30 Highway is the route through this area.  Next stop was Bridal Veil Falls.  It was a hike down to the falls and a tougher hike back up but the dogs were very brave.  At least as beautiful as Multnomah Falls and far fewer people.

As we were driving out to Multnomah Falls, we saw a sign for Vista House.  No explanation so we kept going.  As we finished at Bridal Veil Falls, we decided to continue west on Old US 30, as it led back to I-84 and Portland.  We passed Vista House on the way.  See photos.  According to the volunteer I talked with, it was built with a budget of $18,000 and actual of $100,000 after US 30 was completed in 1915.  And worth every cent.  It's a magnificent structure which nearly disappeared, as no maintenance was done for years and it was rapidly deteriorating.  

It is situated on a point above the Columbia River gorge and the views are magnificent.

Last fall we attended my 50th high school reunion and renewed acquaintances.  One of my classmates,Gary Schaub and his wife Connie, live in a southern suburb of Portland.  We plan to meet them tonight for dinner.

Later:
Had a great time with Connie and Gary.  They own property in Kansas and we may see them again in Coffeyville when we are through there in October.

It's been a quiet few days, as Mike has gone to Kansas City to check in with the eye surgeon.  The dogs can't figure out where he is, even though I have explained it to them.  He is picking up his free Samsung phone and can't wait to play with it.  Samsung offered it to him as a test model, since he is an unusually knowledgeable user and he travels all the time.  I get Mike's old (last December) phone.

We will pack up Friday and move to Myrtle Creek OR on Saturday.  Crater Lake National Park next week.