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.
Great sandwiches at the Obsidian Grill
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.
Koosah Falls
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.
Brenda and her walking sticks
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.
Sahalie Falls from the west side of the trail
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.
Sahalie Falls and 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.
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.
Lunch at Silver Falls, Oregon’s largest State Park
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.
South Falls
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.
Lower South Falls
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.
Double Falls
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.
Middle North Falls
The last falls along this particular loop is Winter Falls. It makes a nice end to the loop.
Winter Falls
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.
Our first time here. And I’ll preface my review by saying I’m not vegan, nor am I vegetarian. I’m not opposed to vegan or vegetarian (or we wouldn’t have come here). I just traditionally like meat.
That said, my wife and mother and I came to Venti’s for dinner while in Salem. They each ordered the more traditional meat hamburgers and fries. I decided since it was a vegan-forward restaurant, I’d try a vegan dish.
You order at the counter and they bring the food to you, so it’s a little more like a diner than a “fine dining” restaurant. Our service was good, quick and friendly. The atmosphere is a bit cold, but not off-putting.
I ordered the Red Curry Pasta with a Side Salad. Other reviewers seemed to be raving about the red curry, so I thought it was worth a try.
Red Curry Pasta with Side Salad
I can see why they rave about it. It was excellent! And the side salad had a variety of ingredients, so it wasn’t “just a side salad”. I tried the avocado ranch dressing and it was fine. Not stellar, but good. The pasta had just the right amount of sauce and was very flavorful.
Now to the meat. You might expect a vegan-forward restaurant to have meat dishes as kind of an afterthought. But both my wife and mother raved about their burgers. My wife got the Rooster Burger and mom got the traditional House Burger. With meat. And cheese. And fries. They LOVED the burgers.
House Burger (meat) with FriesRooster Burger (meat) with Fries
All of us want to go back next time we’re in Salem and the biggest problem will be deciding what to order. Well done, Venti’s!
We had heard about this Syrian restaurant in Corvallis (we live in Eugene) and had been meaning to go there for dinner with friends, but it just never seemed to gel.
Then, on a trip to the Oregon coast, we happened to be going through Corvallis at lunchtime and decided to stop.
We are SO glad we did. All of the other Yelp reviews said it was really good, but few mentioned any specific dish. Except for the hummus, which received off-the-chart good reviews.
So we tried the Lamb Hummus dish as well as the Musakhan Rolls, which is a chicken with caramelized onions wrapped in fresh grilled bread. Both were excellent with some notes.
The Musakhan Rolls said they come with a garlic sauce. The sauce was excellent, but tasted more like a tart yogurt/sour cream sauce to us. Not a strong garlic flavor.
The lamb in the hummus was also very good, but kind of bland. We love lamb when it is prepared well (we usually only order from a Middle Eastern restaurant) and this was prepared perfectly. We just felt it could stand a little more flavor or spice.
However, the hummus. Oh. My. Word. The hummus. All of those off-the-chart reviews were spot on. The hummus had to be the best hummus we have ever had in our lives. And we eat a variety of foods from a variety of places. It was the perfect amount of garlic and so creamy, we actually used our fingers to wipe the bowl and get that last remaining bits of the hummus.
Our service was excellent. It is family-owned and our server was very pleasant and hospitable. The inside is decorated in what appears to be Syrian decor and is nicely done.
Now we have to connect with our friends and go back sometime soon for dinner. Yumm!
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.
Before we went to Portugal, I anticipated having a lot of seafood. I had never thought I liked seafood and discovered it was largely due to the way it was prepared (bland). I found some really good recipes before we left and got myself “up to speed” with fish.
Portugal is also known for its wines. Beer, not so much. During the trip, I don’t think we had any bad wine. Conversely, I only really had one good beer (a can of Hazy IPA our last night in Porto).
WINE
I’ll start with the wine. Our first night in Portugal, we went to a restaurant near our hotel and six of us had entrees and two bottles of wine for €127. Total. The wine on the menu was €13 and we had to ask if that was by the glass or by the bottle. It was bottle.
Excellent wine. Most everywhere.
We also when on a wine tasting tour of the Douro Valley where they make Port wines. I had never really like Port wine, but these were amazing.
Port tasting in the Douro Valley.
Portugal is also famous for its Ginja, a sweet, fortified liquor made from cherries. It is popular in Óbidos and served in a chocolate cup that you eat after drinking the Ginja. It wasn’t bad.
Ginja in a chocolate cup at Óbidos, Portugal.
Beer. Don’t bother. You can have most any kind of beer you want as long as it’s Super Bock, a pilsner. I dislike pilsners. They also have a Super Bock stout. I dislike stouts, too.
Super Bock. It was EVERYWHERE. Meh.
So stick with wine.
FOOD
Overall, we were a bit disappointed in the food. As I’ve mulled over my thoughts on this, I think it’s largely the lack of variety and the very mild seasonings. We have a friend who always takes a tiny bottle of Tabasco with him when he travels.
Now we know why.
Obviously, there is a lot of seafood (cod, sardines, octopus, shrimp and occasionally, salmon). There is also a lot of pork, generally as sausage or pounded-thin fried steaks. They do a fair amount of soup, generally vegetable and generally pureed. There are some “touristy” foods such as pizza, burgers, and hot dogs.
Sardines. They actually weren’t bad.Shrimp salad with avocado.Vegetable soup, pureed.Curried salmon. Good enough I looked up a recipe when we returned home.Fried pork steaks. Pounded thin. They were OK.Pork sausage flambé. It came out on fire. And it was tasty.
We tried some alheira sausage. Originally created by the Jewish residents to hide the fact they were Jewish during the Inquisition It was made with chicken. It was also not nearly as good as the pork sausage.
Alheira sausage. Mushy.Pork sausage in Sintra. Yummy. Good spices.
Two specific foods we tried (and liked) were the Bolinhos de Bacalhau (cod cakes) and the Francesinha (a layered sandwich).
The Bacalhau were generally very yummy. I ordered them a few times and liked them.
Bolinhos de Bacalhau in Sintra.
The Francesinha is a hot sandwich of sorts with a layer of bread, layers of meat, layers of cheese, more bread, more meat, more cheese. Topped with a sauce/gravy. You could also call it “heart attack on a plate”. It was OK.
Francesinha in Porto.
However, one amazing food they have is Pastel de Nata, which is a small, egg custard pastry that is amazing, especially when you sprinkle cinnamon on top and eat them slightly cooled right out of the oven. Our cooking class made them (see my blog for Day Five) and loved them. Paired with some good espresso.
Pastel de Nata and espresso. Doesn’t get much better!
TOURISTY STUFF
There were some touristy foods we became thankful for. After eating cod, pork, cod and more pork, we enjoyed some other good foods. We had an amazing smash burger in Queluz (paired with fresh-squeezed lemonade), a unique “hot dog” and fries in Porto at a place recommended by the late Anthony Bourdain and a four ingredient pizza in Porto where they separated the four toppings. Interesting.
No words. It was awesome!I agree with Anthony Bourdain. And it tasted much better than it looked.Four topping pizza. Separated. After all, you wouldn’t want to mix the toppings…
Not to miss out on some unique pastries more like we are accustomed to, we had some carrot cake and pastry with an espresso and a macchiato. Quite tasty.
Pastries and coffee. This was on our last day in Portugal.
Overall, the food was decent. But not a lot of variety and, as I mentioned earlier, not a lot of spice. We were there two weeks and by the end of our time, I was a little tired of eating pretty much the same things day in and day out.
Our last full day in Portugal before we were to get up at 3:30am for our early flight out and our 27 hour trip home. We had booked a tour of the Palácio da Bolsa, the stock exchange building. In Portugal, this is more like the local Chamber of Commerce.
Main lobby of the Palácio do Bolsa.Intricacies throughout.
It was formerly a convent that burned during the siege of Porto in 1832. Attached and adjacent is the Igreja de São Francisco, which was not destroyed. I’ll leave the jokes about separation of church and state to your imagination. But it made for some interesting thoughts.
We are ready to go home.
The interior is extremely detailed in the neo-classic style, generally, with an eclectic mix of other styles as well. The Arab Room is called “the jewel of the palace” and is definitely the highlight of the tour.
The Arab Room at the Palácio.
We also toured the adjacent Igreja, which did not burn.
Since we were in the neighborhood, we walked across the Dom Luís I bridge, designed by the Eiffel Tower engineer. We walked across the top, enjoyed the scenery, had lunch in Gaia, then walked back across the lower level.
Porto from the top of the Dom Luís I Bridge.It was almost my birthday, and we found this Pizza Hut sign interesting. No, we didn’t eat there.View of Porto from Gaia across the Douro River.
That evening was our last dinner in Portugal and we found a little cocktail bar just a block from our hotel. The host was Lucas and the bar was Cais Nobre, Bar Et Cocktails. We thought it was amazing. We later found out it has 96 reviews on TripAdvisor. And 96 five star reviews. Nothing lower. Unheard of.
Wanting to eat light, since we were getting up very early, we just had a chicken wrap and some mushrooms. And I FINALLY found a good hazy IPA.
On our last night here. Go figure.
Chicken wrap, mushrooms and, yes, a good beer!
We walked back to our hotel and set our alarm for 3:00 am.
We had a full day lined up. It started with a trip to Aveiro, billed as “the Venice of Portugal” due to the canals. We had a short boat ride through town (it’s a small town) and saw some now-familiar architecture. Still wonderful weather.
A boat ride on the canals.
We then had a walking tour through some of the main streets.
Walking tour of Aveiro with cobblestone streets and fishing net patterns.
We then went a short distance to Costa Nova, where they are known for their brightly-painted houses. We walked down the main “house street” and enjoyed the architecture.
Costa Nova, Portugal.Not all the houses are brightly-painted.But most are brightly painted.Costa Nova houses.
We then went back to Porto and went for a walk. There was a restaurant known for their hot dogs and made “famous” by the late Anthony Bourdain. So we had to try it. They were quite good! And, from the delivery while we were waiting, apparently quite fresh.
Gazela hot dog shop.Hot dogs and fries. Really quite good.Fresh pork for the hot dog shop.
From there, we went to the train station, which was nearby and enjoyed the architecture and decor. Tile everywhere.
Train Station lobby.Excellent mass transit.
Then we just had to have an afternoon snack. We heard there was a Time Out Market in Porto, too, so we ventured over there. Had some good espresso, a macchiato and some pastries.
Sitting outside, we watched workers as they renovated some buildings just across the courtyard. There is construction/renovation activity just about everywhere in the cities we visited.
Time Out Market, Porto.Yummy afternoon snack.
After that, we went back to our hotel and rested. We had just one more full day in Portugal before we were to head home.
Our next day in Porto was largely a free day. We decided to walk down to the bridge (more about that, later), take the funicular to higher parts of town and just wander around. We had tickets to the Livraria Lello, a neo-gothic building housing a bookstore that is so famous you have to pay to get in. And wait in line. Long line. With timed entry. And buy your tickets a day in advance.
Livraria Lello bookstore.
The bookstore was totally worth it. As an Architect, I appreciate the intricacies. And a lot of what looks like wood is painted plaster. Well done.
Torre dos Clérigos.
Adjacent to the bookstore was the Torre dos Clérigos, a baroque tower that you can climb to the top of. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was built from 1754 through 1763 and was restored in 2014. There are 225 steps to the top, which is 246 feet high. The steps get steeper and narrower as you ascend. But the views are worth it.
Porto from Torres dos Clérigos.
After this day, we returned to the hotel for a little rest before dinner with the larger group. We chilled in our hotel courtyard. We certainly got our steps in this day and were glad to kick our feet up for a while.
Ahhh…. Felt good to kick up our feet.Our biggest “step” day.Porto (left) and Gaia (right) on the Douro River.
