I Guess This Is Why They Are Called The Cascades

We had a really nice day yesterday.  The sky was almost clear.  I drove to Silver Falls.  On the way, Mt Hood showed very nicely.

Silver Falls State Park contains a number of waterfalls.  The most scenic of the ones I saw was the South Falls.  The hiking trail goes behind the falls.  That was a first for me.

Volcanic Creation

It was a nice day on the slopes of Mount Hood.

 First, I saw a few people taking a nice hike on a spring day.  This shot is from the timberline, 5000 feet elevation, at Mt. Hood, which reaches about 11,000 feet.  There is still a bit of snow on the ground.

From the timberline, looking south, the next volcano in the line is Mount Jefferson.

Further to the south from Mount Jefferson are the Sisters

and Mount Washington.

From the Majestic to the Minute

Yesterday, I took a short hike and found a bush covered with these half inch blossoms.

This morning, there was a herd of 5 deer 20 feet from my RV.  This photo is through my rear window.

A Pair of Volcanoes

Mount St. Helens, from 9 miles away.  It has a base 9 miles in diameter and rises to 8000 feet, from a valley about 2000 feet in elevation.

Mount Hood, from 35 miles away.  Its base is about 11 miles in diameter and it rises to 11,200 feet.

From the ocean to the mountains...

My two weeks at Honeyman State Park were up.  A few last pictures of the coast

and it was time for the inland areas.  Milo McIver State Park is located near the Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood.  There are a number of waterfalls that drop over the edge of the gorge to flow into the Columbia River.  With the cliffs facing north, the sun can't reach the face of the falls.  The most one can hope for is to see the edge of the drop back-lit by the sun.

The most well-known of these is the spectacular, 600 foot high Multnomah Falls.

Viewed from the side, the lower falls are framed by the vegetation that is constantly bathed in the mist from the upper falls.

More Oregon Coast

Let's start with the trip from the Willamette Valley through the Coastal Range to the coast.  On the way is an Elk viewing area.  The herd was there, but pretty far away.  A panorama with the big lens pulled them in.

The weather has been pretty wet, but we did get a few nice days this week.

Spring is coming.  The first flowers to show were these Rhododendron (I think).