Tamanawas Falls and Mountains that Anchor

I own a glorious book called "60 Hikes in 60 Miles." Now, as I have discovered, not all the hikes are 60 miles or less from Portland, but I can't take much issue with that, as I have yet to be disappointed by any of the hikes I've done that come from this book. When I first bought it about 5 years ago I tabbed all the hikes I wanted to do. It has taken me 5 years to get to lots of them, and a lot of them I've done in the last year.

The Tamanawas Falls hike is one I've wanted to do for some time, but the drive was daunting. And now, I don't know why. I headed out and drove, not the recommended way. I think I prefer the way I went. You see, I had amazing views of Mt Hood scattered throughout my whole trip. I have really come to realize in the last year that this mountain is sort of an anchor for me. Recently a friend asked me if I had enough pictures of this wonder. My response was that if I could take a picture of Hood every day, I would. And that still wouldn't be enough.

I loved that I could take a turn on the road and voilà, there she is in all her glory. Hood looks so different depending on the angle, lighting, etc.

Once I got to the trail I came upon this fawn. Ignore the scary, glowy eyes!

The Cold Creek running by my lunching area.

Wild Columbine!

There was this pretty sizeable "rock slide" area. I lean more towards calling it a boulder slide area.

If you look in the center of the picture you can see a group of people. They are really small, hence the "rocks" are more like boulders.

Zoomed in on the trail.

This is me: really blurry. Couldn't get the picture right. I blame it on the sun, not on me.

A glimpse of the falls.

From the side. The mist was really powerful, and quite prolific.

The area above the falls.

I was sitting at the base of this cliff. It wasn't until later that I realized something dropping off that wall could have killed me. God must not have wanted me to die right then.

I'm a sucker for waterfalls. Really. I am.

If you look closely, but not too hard, you can see the rainbow that graced me with its presence my hike down from the side of the fall.

This is above the boulder slide area and I was really impressed with the stone.

You can see a previous footbridge that had washed down stream. Glad I wasn't on it when it tumbled.

I loved the jigsaw puzzle look of the tree trunk.

This was a tree that had toppled...roots with their rocks and all.

Crossing a footbridge.

Time for a little meditation on the trail?! That is what this rock configuration reminds me of. Must have seen something like it on a Zen book or something...picture worthy, nonetheless.

The drive headed home from the trail. I love all the trees and hills.

The mountain that anchors me. From just outside of Hood River. I fell in love with this area.

This was a tricky picture...don't worry, I did it pulled over to the side of the road.

I also had amazing views of Mt Adams. Like I said, I loved this area.

It was a wonderous day. Nice drive, nice hike, some amazing views and guests for dinner when I arrived home! A priceless picture to come...once I download!