A Trip to Multnomah Falls

October 11, 2009

This morning, after eating breakfast and chatting with Grandma, Eric reserved a Zip Car for three hours and we took a drive.

I wasn't sure where we were going, and didn't care. I just felt like getting out of town and seeing some nature.

Eric knew just where to go. He would take us to Multnomah Falls.

The first half of the drive catered a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier. It was a clear morning with few clouds.

The second half we were accompanied by the Columbia River. Each time I turned toward Eric to look through his driver-side window, I could see the current heading the opposite direction.

He told me that was Washington on the other side-that the river separated the states.

I thought about when I'd lived there, four hours north near Seattle.

And then I thought about us, Eric and I, living so close and not knowing each other yet. It's funny how our lives ran so parallel.

Like when we both lived on the same street on Wall Lake. Eerily close.

It was those things that wondered through my mind as I excitedly took out my camera, trying to take picture of the scenic view from the car.

"No car shots, please. They never turn out," Eric requested.

I knew his remark was true, but it the sight was too beautiful not to at least try.

When we got there, the wind smashed into us as we opened the car doors. It was cold.

We wrapped Ella up in a tight bundle on the stroller and headed for the falls, walking straight into the gusts. Her eyes blinked and she caught her breathe, but we could tell she was happy.

Quite a few people milled about, walking their dogs and ordering coffee at the base. Many more stood just below the waterfall, snapping pictures and gawking (I was one of them).

I had almost forgotten that feeling. The feeling I got standing at the bottom of a mountain covered in ferns and evergreens. Until today.

Mountains posses such a raw, passionate and thrilling power, as if they are saying, "BEHOLD! I AM A MOUNTAIN! I AM ENORMOUS! I WILL ALWAYS BE HUGE AND TOWERING OVER YOU!"

It's an amazing thing to witness. Thrilling.

Afterward, we drove to a part of Portland where I haven't yet been, (and there are plenty more places to discover) where we grabbed lunch. Then back on home.

It was a great day.