thesimpleHOUSE

Generally, we try to hike Smith Rock near Redmond, Oregon once a year. we actually found we missed the last two years. Now that we’re retired, though, it is easier to just “pick up and go.”

So we did.

The weather forecast for the middle of this week was sunny and 70º, and we’re now able to just take off pretty much whenever we want. We chose Tuesday thru Thursday, because, well, why not?

We left home around 10, having a casual morning breakfast and packing. This put us into Sisters around 11:30 for lunch at our favorite spot: High Camp Taphouse. They serve Nepalese food and we have been hooked on their Momos, a meat dumpling, for years.

It did not disappoint. Check out their website to see what Nurbu and Pema Sherpa do giving back to marginalized populations in Nepal here.

After lunch and our traditional walk around Sisters and visits to The Hen’s Tooth and Sister’s Coffee, we continued on to Redmond. Sisters is a nice stop, not only for lunch, but the Library has free charging for our car.

In Redmond, we always stay at SCP Redmond Hotel. A Georgian-style brick botique hotel that was built in 1928. We like it because it’s comfortable, moderately small (49 rooms) and high on sustainability. And, the parking lot immediately behind the hotel also has free EV charging.

Wednesday morning, after breakfast at Junction Roastery a block away, we headed in to Smith Rock State Park, a short 20 minute drive. The weather report was accurate and we had a beautiful morning. And, being a Wednesday before summer break, parking was relatively easy.

We have never (and have no plans to ever) hiked Misery Ridge. We figure it’s named that for a reason. We pack a lunch, hike the river trail down to Monkey Face, then come back out. Overall, it’s about a 2 to 2.5 mile hike. Just right for us. And very scenic.

Once again, we had incredible weather and a very nice hike. We started around 10:30am and finished around 3:00pm. On the way out, we also have a tradition of stopping at the little ice cream shack, Rockhard, on our way back into town.

We chilled at the hotel for a while with some drinks, then went to Diego’s for dinner. Thursday morning, we packed up and headed home. Another beautiful day to drive the McKenzie Highway back to Eugene. And, because of the free EV charging in Sisters and Redmond, we did the entire 278 mile trip on less than $3 in electricity.

Another “in our back yard” falls is McDowell Creek Falls near Sweet Home. Brenda had gone years ago with a friend and our kids when they were young. That was probably 30-plus years ago. It is billed as an “alternative to Silver Falls”. Not quite as far away and less people.

Both are true, however, the falls are not nearly as spectacular as Silver Falls.

Yet, it was still a very nice day hike. Again, we had perfect weather. A great lunch at The Point in Sweet Home (see my blog on that here).

We chose, as usual, to do the more difficult uphill part of the loop on the way in so we could be going downhill on the way out. We parked at the lower parking lot at Lower McDowell Falls. As far as I know, there is no Upper McDowell Creek Falls. The overall loop is about 2 miles.

The hike starts with a fairly easy uphill walk, then switches to rock stairs that are pretty steep. But not for very long. The reward is Royal Terrace Falls, a 119 ft high triple falls.

Walking on around the loop, you come to Majestic Falls, which was my personal favorite.

We continued now downhill back to the car. Beautiful flora along the way back, with a few crossing the road areas of the trail. And some occasional glimpses of the creek.

Overall, a nice day hike and a pleasant outing. Next up, weather permitting, Smith Rock.

One of our favorite hikes.

Not all travel is distant or exotic. Almost in our back yard are two amazing waterfalls, just a little over an hour’s drive up the McKenzie River from Eugene. We have been visiting Sahalie and Koosah fall since before we were married in 1981.

They never disappoint. We typically park at the lower falls (Koosah) and hike down to the bridge at Carmen Reservoir, cross over to the west side, then hike up past both falls to a bridge above the upper falls (Sahalie), then back down the east side to the parking area.

The entire loop is just 2.5 miles. It’s a relatively easy hike, but takes us 4 hours. That’s because we believe a hike is something to be experienced, not conquered.

Our normal routine is to leave home around 10:30 in the morning, have lunch at the Obsidian Grill at the Mckenzie General Store in McKenzie Bridge, then drive on up to do the hike. We get home around 6:00.

Just in time for dinner.

Just steps off the parking lot is Koosah Falls. We were there in late April and a lot of water was flowing down the river. Parts of the trail were muddy, but we always use walking sticks (best purchase ever) so it is easier to navigate.

The advantages of walking the direction we do are that you get a slightly different view of both falls than you get just pulling in to the parking lot and can maybe even catch a rainbow in the spray.

However, if you can’t walk well or far, both parking areas are very close to each waterfall, so they are readily accessible.

Once we traversed the west side and came down to the “traditional” Sahalie Falls overlook, we had to do (as we always do) our selfie in front of the falls. I have a feeling there are tens of thousands of pictures of people in this exact spot. I know we probably have over a dozen just of us.

We had beautiful weather, a gorgeous drive up and back and a most enjoyable day. We have decided to block out a day every few weeks on our calendar to do this type of trip.

Next one is McDowell Creek Falls County Park.

Now that we are retired, we want to travel more. We live in such a beautiful state that there are so many choices to do short day hikes and see some amazing scenery. Our first day trip this year was the Silver Falls State Park, just east of Salem. In just a relatively short five mile loop, you can see seven amazing waterfalls.

There are ten falls in the park, but the other three are a bit less accessible and, in fact, inaccessible this trip. Our winter had some landslides and downed trees on the northern paths that had not yet been cleared.

We packed a lunch and arrived just about noon. Eating first, we set off on the loop. It was early April, but we had a beautiful sunny day.

Starting from the main parking area, we headed for what is probably the most popular falls in the park, South Falls. I think a lot of people, if they don’t have all day, visit only this falls. It’s a fairly easy in-and-out. But you can also start the loop for the other falls from here.

From South Falls (which you can hike behind; several falls here are like that), we continued to Lower South Falls. Along the way, we met a woman from Kansas who exclaimed “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!” We’ve been to the midwest (Missouri) and would have to agree with her. Total contrast.

This trail loop has uphill and downhill and going clockwise is generally the way we go. Mostly uphill at the beginning and downhill at the end.

We like that.

Lower North Falls comes next. It’s nice, but “only” 30 feet high. I didn’t include a picture here. After Lower North you come to Double Falls, which is just a few hundred feet up a short trail from the main loop.

Continuing along the trail loop, Drake Falls is the next stop. Again, it is a small falls, so I don’t have a picture here. Too many taller, more spectacular falls to focus on!

Middle North Falls is probably one of my favorites. A toss up between it and Lower South Falls. All the falls are spaced out in such a way that it doesn’t really seem like you’re hiking five miles.

The last falls along this particular loop is Winter Falls. It makes a nice end to the loop.

But while it makes a nice end to the loop, you still have to make it back to the main parking area. And that’s a part of the trail that is a nice wooded path (for the most part), but nothing spectacular like you have seen on the first 4 miles of the loop.

This is a trail we try to do every year and I think it’s been a few years since we did it last. It was a beautiful day and a very scenic hike.

Not to be outdone by the doors, the floors (and streets/sidewalks) were also notable in Portugal. Known for cobblestone streets, we always tried to remember to “look down”.

Not only cobblestone streets, but patterns that reflect the local culture. Fishing, geometric patterns, etc. And some of the wood and tile floors were intricate and amazing as well.

As I did with the doors, here are floors and streets for your visual enjoyment without commentary!

There were so many unique doors, I started photographing them. I’ve seen people do this before in various social media posts and now I know why. It was fascinating.

So here, I will simply post many of the doors we saw on our trip. No narrative, just enjoy the photos.