{"id":3712,"date":"2017-08-29T08:10:54","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T14:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3712"},"modified":"2019-03-16T10:30:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T16:30:37","slug":"multnomah-falls-oregon-8-27-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3712","title":{"rendered":"Multnomah Falls, Oregon (8-27-12)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 20 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.<\/em><\/p>\n

After leaving the Oregon coast the previous afternoon; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP had driven out of the rain, and made it as far as a motel on\u00a0the E side of Portland near I-84 and some busy train tracks.\u00a0 Trains rumbled by in the night, but the cheap motel was a real treat after many nights spent\u00a0in Lupe’s tiny house\u00a0or car camping in Lanis’ Honda Element.<\/p>\n

In the morning; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP relaxed in the motel room in no real hurry to hit the road.\u00a0 Lupe’s time on the West Coast was over, and she was headed home.\u00a0 Lanis needed to get back to Indiana by September 1st, so Lupe was destined to spend much of the rest of her 2012 Dingo Vacation on the road.\u00a0 Even so, there would still be time for at least a couple of adventures on the way.<\/p>\n

It was still a cool morning, with blue sky and puffy white clouds, when Lupe, Lanis and SPHP finally got started heading E on I-84.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0didn’t get very far before reaching\u00a0Multnomah Falls,\u00a0a beautiful, tall, thin waterfall spilling over\u00a0the\u00a0bluffs on the S side of the lush, green Columbia River Gorge.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The walkway to Multnomah Falls, Oregon from the parking lot along I-84.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe and Lanis on their way to check out Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Located right along I-84 in the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls is very accessible and a popular tourist stop.\u00a0 The Multnomah Falls Lodge<\/strong><\/span><\/a> near the base of the falls offers lodging, a restaurant, and gift shop.\u00a0 There were lots of people and a few other dogs around, when Lupe arrived to see the falls.<\/p>\n

Multnomah Falls is actually two waterfalls.\u00a0 The lower one is about 70 feet tall, but the upper falls, which is the main attraction,\u00a0drops 540 feet.\u00a0 A short paved trail goes up to several viewpoints, including Benson bridge, near the base of the upper falls.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The lower falls is beautiful as it drops into a large pool, but just doesn’t get any respect compared to the much higher and more dramatic upper falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Benson bridge over Multnomah creek is one of several excellent viewpoints for seeing the upper falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"From<\/a>
From Benson bridge, Multnomah Falls was so high, SPHP couldn’t even get the entire falls in the photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Base<\/a>
Base of upper Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After\u00a0crossing\u00a0Benson bridge, visitors may stop at another viewpoint very close to the base of the\u00a0falls, or\u00a0continue on a 1.1 mile paved trail all the way up to the top of Multnomah Falls.\u00a0 Naturally, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP took the trail.\u00a0 There were plenty of people on the trail, but it wasn’t nearly so crowded as down below.<\/p>\n

The trail went up a series of long switchbacks on a steep, densely forested slope.\u00a0 Now and then there were glimpses of the gorgeous Columbia River Gorge between the trees.\u00a0 The trail climbed almost all the way.\u00a0 It eventually went over a little ridge\u00a0before dropping down to follow Multnomah Creek to the brink of the falls.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking N across the Columbia River from the trail to the top of Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Multnomah<\/a>
Multnomah Creek a short distance above upper Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Multnomah<\/a>
Multnomah Creek as it reaches the brink of the upper falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was a nice viewing platform\u00a0along Multnomah Creek next to the brink of upper Multnomah Falls.\u00a0 The view down the Columbia River Gorge to the W was fantastic.\u00a0 Looking over the edge, Lupe could see Multnomah Falls plummet\u00a0over 500\u00a0feet down to the pool at the base of the falls.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe looking pretty happy at having made it up to this viewing platform at the top of Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W down the Columbia River Gorge from the viewing platform at the top of Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The view from the brink of upper Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Multnomah Falls was certainly worth seeing, but it was time for Lupe to start making tracks.\u00a0 It was a long way home.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP enjoyed the easy stroll back down to the base of Multnomah\u00a0Falls,\u00a0and then headed for the Element.\u00a0 Soon\u00a0Lupe was\u00a0traveling E on I-84 again.<\/p>\n

By the time Lupe reached The Dalles, the lush, green Columbia River gorge was behind her.\u00a0 The huge, blue Columbia River was still near I-84, but the surrounding green forests had given way to much drier looking country.\u00a0 The clouds and pleasant\u00a0cool weather\u00a0were gone, too.\u00a0 Temperatures soared beneath a cloudless sky.<\/p>\n

It was already lunch time.\u00a0 E of The Dalles, Lanis pulled off I-84 to stop by at a McDonald’s.\u00a0 An old man was sheltering a little brown dog at the busy off ramp.\u00a0 He held up a sign saying “Just Hungry”.\u00a0 There was too much traffic to stop, but at the McDonald’s, Lanis and SPHP bought a couple of extra cheeseburgers and a chocolate sundae.\u00a0 While Lanis was getting the burgers, SPHP searched around the Element to see what else could be scrounged up for the old man and his little doggie.<\/p>\n

There really wasn’t too much to scrounge.\u00a0 This late in Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation, most of the supplies were already used up.\u00a0 For the old man, there was just some trail mix, an orange, almonds, and $9.00 in cash.\u00a0 For his little brown doggie, SPHP found some Gravy Train, Canine Carry-Outs, a few other dog treats\u00a0and a big rawhide stick.<\/p>\n

On the way back to I-84, Lanis pulled the Element over at the side of the on ramp.\u00a0 SPHP jumped out and ran across the busy intersection to the off ramp to deliver the cheeseburgers, chocolate sundae,\u00a0and other meager assistance to the old man.\u00a0 He was quite grateful.\u00a0 He said he shared the same birthday with his little brown doggie, named Otis.\u00a0 Otis was three years old.\u00a0 The old man thanked SPHP, and said he and Otis would be OK.\u00a0 That was about all SPHP learned about their situation, before running back to Lupe and Lanis waiting in the Element.<\/p>\n

The farther E Lupe went, the hotter and drier it got.\u00a0 I-84 eventually left the Columbia River and very gradually curved SE.\u00a0 Lupe went over the Blue Mountains.\u00a0\u00a0Looking at the maps late in\u00a0the afternoon, SPHP thought\u00a0it might be fun\u00a0for Lupe to stay at the Farewell Bend State Recreation Area<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0on the Snake River right across from Idaho.\u00a0 Lanis turned off I-84 to drive through the campground.<\/p>\n

The surrounding area looked like desert, but the campground featured lots of trees and reasonably green grass.\u00a0 There were 90 RV sites, and about 30 tent sites.\u00a0 All of the tent sites were far from the Snake River.\u00a0 However, one of the RV loops sat on a small ridge a little distance away from the Snake.\u00a0 These sites had the best views in\u00a0the entire campground.\u00a0 Every single\u00a0one of them was vacant, except for\u00a0a\u00a0park ranger\u00a0site.<\/p>\n

In fact,\u00a0almost all of the 120 total sites in the campground were vacant.\u00a0 There were 5 sites occupied by park personnel, who\u00a0currently outnumbered paying customers.\u00a0 SPHP asked the\u00a0ranger\u00a0at the empty\u00a0RV loop with the pleasant view of the Snake River, if it would be possible to rent one of the\u00a0RV sites just for Lupe’s tiny house and pay the tenting rate of $18, instead of the $22 RV rate.<\/p>\n

Nope!\u00a0 Not possible.\u00a0 Lupe could put up her tiny house at one of the RV sites, but despite the fact that it was late afternoon and the place was virtually deserted, and Lupe wouldn’t be using any of the RV amenities (dump station, electricity, etc.),\u00a0SPHP would have to pay the full $22 for the site or go to the tenting area.\u00a0 Oh, and by the way, there were all these rules for dogs in the park… blah, blah, blah.<\/p>\n

The ranger was pleasant enough about it, but like so many in the Land of the Free these days, she was all about countless bureaucratic rules, regardless of the situation.\u00a0 SPHP declined.\u00a0 The ranger had a golf cart to drive around in enforcing the blizzard of rules.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP would be her only targets to micro-manage in the entire loop.\u00a0 No way!\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP would rather car camp, even if it meant disappointing Lanis.<\/p>\n

Instead of taking a site; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP\u00a0went\u00a0down for a brief exploration along the Snake River.\u00a0 The edge of the river proved to be rather mucky and marshy.\u00a0 The river was low this time of year.\u00a0 On the mud, and among the reeds, flies swarmed around the rotten decaying\u00a0carcasses of large dead carp.\u00a0 Lupe was interested.\u00a0 It really was time to get out of there! \u00a0Absolutely no more Dead Fish Dingo stunts permitted!\u00a0 That was one rule both Lanis and SPHP were in full and complete agreement with!<\/p>\n

\"Heading<\/a>
Heading E on I-84 along through the Columbia River Gorge E of Multnomah Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2012 West Coast\u00a0Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 20 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast. After leaving the Oregon coast the previous afternoon; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP had driven out of the rain, and made it as far as a motel on\u00a0the E side of Portland near I-84 and some busy train tracks.\u00a0 Trains rumbled by in the night, … Continue reading Multnomah Falls, Oregon (8-27-12)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[429],"tags":[105,106,533,26,104,534,524],"class_list":["post-3712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2012-west-coast","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-columbia-river-gorge","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lupe","tag-multnomah-falls","tag-oregon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/WP_0023521.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3712"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20775,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712\/revisions\/20775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}