Slot Canyon: A slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide.

Several weeks ago I got a text from my friend Cindy, who moved to Idaho early in the year and she asked if I would want to see her while she was in Portland this weekend. My response: "OF COURSE...." just like that. I miss not having her close, but have been privileged enough to see her twice since her move. She got to my home yesterday afternoon and at 4:15pm (yes-late afternoon/early evening) we decided to ignore our original plans to walk/picnic at Steigerwald (in WA on the Columbia River) and go to the Columbia River Gorge (OR side) and hike at Oneonta Gorge, a hike we've wanted to do together for a while. This is the first slot canyon hike I've ever done and I am itching to do more...more....more.

Here I am...en route.

Cindy!

This was the mouth of the gorge....we knew we'd be hiking in the creekbed, which equates to hiking through water.

Lots of downed trees....

And the mother of all log jams to scramble over....

The craziness we saw was amazing. Things people do. Cindy kept saying it felt like we were in Darwin's Waiting Room. She speaks truth.

Ahh...over the log jam...almost.

Looking back at the log jam.

So pretty....so, so pretty. Pictures don't even do this amazing place justice.

Clear water and creekbed.

Up to my knees (and just above) during a lot of the hike/wade.

We decided to stop here. Or, more accurately, I decided to stop here, just in front of Cindy. This is the place where people started swimming through the water as it was just as easy to do that as it was to walk through it since it was chin high. I wasn't ready to get that wet, that late with the amount of not-wet-appropriate things I had with me. We decided we'd be fully prepared next time.

I can't get over how beautiful this place is.

Successful scramble back over the log jam to get out.

After our lovely hike we ventured back into Portland and decided to do dinner at Caldera. One of our favorite Portland summer places. They've got an outdoor seating area to die for. We thought we'd have a long wait, but there were hardly any other people there. Score. What a lovely adventure and time with a dear friend. So glad we were able to have these experiences, Cindy! Thanks for your time and friendship. Until next time!