Exploring the PNW like Lewis and Clark!

Indian beach on the Oregon coast

From the Emerald City to the City of Roses and from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the Pacific Northwest is full of breathtaking views, beautiful waterfalls, serene beaches, and wonderful friends. Lewis and Clark expedition, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, was lead by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. The goal: map the newly acquired territory (from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean), prepare maps and find a practical route across the continental divide, and last, but not least, establish the good ol' American presence (Happy 4th) before another country (such as Britain) tried to claim it. #Brexit. It took two years (1804-06) and the expedition was full of hardships and danger, successes and collaboration, and exploration and discovery but now we get the benefit of having many of these wonderful state and national parks practically in our backyard.

View down the coast along Hwy 101

This summer, Mommy, Daddy, Theo and I have a schedule full of wonderful weekend get-a-aways. The first of which included a long weekend down in Portland, Oregon where Lewis and Clark sailed down the Columbia River and successfully arrived at the Pacific Coast.

Hiking in the Columbia River gorge along Horsetail trail

We packed the car and left late Friday after another fun week at Miss Janet's daycare. I was promoted to the big kid table and no longer sit in a high chair. We talked about the rainforest last month and got to visit the jaguars at the Woodland Park Zoo. After Mommy and Daddy finished work on Friday, we drove down to Portland to visit Annie Borton and go for an adventure across the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. I eventually fell asleep (2 hours past my bedtime) but traffic wasn't bad and we arrived around 10:30PM. The next morning we hit the road by 8:30AM and headed out along the Columbia River gorge to the Horsetail Falls hike.

Annie, Mommy and Theo at the base of the Horsetail fall trail

Highly recommended as a "kid friendly" hike with one of the most scenic trailheads; it included three waterfalls, a beautiful view of the Columbia River, as well as a couple bridges over Oneonta Creek and Oneonta Canyon.

Theo running across the bridge over middle falls

It was billed as a 1.3 mile hike each way with only 600 ft elevation gain but we decided to get greedy and add on an optional fourth waterfall, Triple Falls, which was "only" 1.2 miles more. Theo was a champ and hiked almost the ENTIRE trip (minus about 10 minutes) and did it in Crocs! I was carried in the Kelty carrier like a princess. We enjoyed playing in the river and throwing rocks even those it was ice cold. Starting with the impressive Horsetail waterfall at the trailhead, the trail climbs steadily via switchbacks up and up and up. Theo was very afraid of heights and constantly threatened to turn around. We convinced him to not look down and keep walking singing "Itsy bitsy spider" and "Five little monkeys" as a distraction. After Horsetail, we make it to Ponytail Falls, a 75 foot drop, where the trail passes behind the falls through a cavernous area eroded beneath the lava flow. It was pretty awesome! Little springs dripped down onto the lava rocks and they were covered in moss and ferns. The third falls was Middle Oneonta Falls, a 15 foot drop. Finally, we made it up a few most switch backs and rocky terrain to the lookout over Triple Falls, an 85 foot drop!

Triple falls

We took off our shoes and crossed the shallow river above the falls and had lunch. The hike back was pretty fast as it was mostly downhill. On the way back down the switchbacks, Theo ran down to beat Daddy back to the car and drank all the Gatorade - a treat he earned!

Crossing the ice cold mountain river at the top of Triple falls

Saturday night Mommy and Annie biked downtown to a Portland Thorns women's soccer game where they won 2-1 against the Sky Blue! It was a fun atmosphere and a beautiful night (until they had to bike home in shorts and a t-shirt).

Sunday we woke up early and had a delicious Parisian breakfast and headed out to Cannon Beach. We decided to check out Indian Beach in Ecola State Park, part of the Lewis and Clark trail. Despite the ranger desk saying the beach parking was full, we managed to find a spot and enjoy the day on the soft, secluded, sandy beach watching surfers and beach goers. There were small streams for Theo and I to play in and big rocks, called haystacks, jutting out of the sea with waves crashing on them.

Tide pools

Marit running in the water on the beach

Theo picking up a dead crab to show Daddy

Captain William Clark and his team traveled through the park in 1806 in search of a beached whale. After scaling the northern slope and reaching a viewpoint, Clarke described the vista as "The grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes every surveyed..." Not far from the truth!

Cannon Beach and the haystack rocks

Starfish and sea anemones

sea stars

Theo and Seth walking along as the tide goes out on Short beach

We headed to the small town of Manzanita for lunch and then back up the coast to Oswald West State Park for another hike and beach adventure. This was appropriately named "Shorty" by the locals, Short Beach Hike, was a half-mile hike (where we had to carry our beach toys, blanket, camera, backpacks, etc.) through an old growth forest to another secluded cove, called Smuggler's cove, with an absolutely stunning sandy beach. This time the tide was going out and the beach seemed to go on forever. The tide pools were exposed at the north end and Theo and I got to touch some sea anemones, hermit crabs, star fish, and we caught a minnow! As the surfers called it quits for the night, we packed up and headed back to the car.

Monday - Happy 4th of July!
The tradition in the Pastorius family is to spend time with family at a cabin on the 4th. While it's been a while since I've been able to physically be at the lake for the 4th of July, we hope to join the festivities in the future. This year we went out to Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, and watched the neighborhood "kid" parade, where all the kids in the neighborhood got to decorate their bikes, wagons, and scooters and ride them (or drive their battery-powered cars) around the neighborhood throwing out candy. Theo thought it was great! Marit and Blake, Annie Borton's niece, were a little unsure. Later we headed to a BBQ at Annie's where Theo got to try out sparklers for the first time (that he can remember). It just isn't the same at 3PM in the afternoon but he had fun nonetheless. We got home late but traffic wasn't bad considering it is a busy holiday weekend.

Coloring at the kids table

Kiddy pool after Theo dumped out the bubbles

The kids parade and picking up candy

Annie's sister-in-law, Haley, and niece, Blake (2)

Sparklers during the day

Our next trip is back to Minnesota for Mommy's cardiology interviews, Martins and Angela's wedding, Theo's 4th birthday, and a weekend at Balsam Lake. Then we go to a cabin in Quilcene on the Hood Canal at the end of the July and to Boise and Sun Valley, ID for Emily and Brian's wedding in August. Did I mention Mommy is working all the other weekends? Wish Daddy luck! Miss you all!

More pictures from the weekend: