Salem Weekend: Silver Falls State Park

Sunday, September 1, 2019, Silver Falls State Park, Silverton, Oregon

On my weekend trip to Oregon in 2019, I took the day to go to Silver Falls State Park, and hike the Canyon Trail, also know as the Trail of 10 Falls.  This park is such a gem in the Oregon Parks System!

The park was once the site of Silver Falls City, which was located at the top of South Falls.  The community was largely a logging community, but after the land was cleared of timber, a local entrepreneur sold admissions to the falls area and hosted events where cars were pushed over the falls, and a daredevil even rode over the largest falls in a canoe in 1928.  His name was “Daredevil Al” Faussett, and yes, he survived the 177 foot drop.  That has all been cleaned up now.

In 1926, there was a campaign to give Silver Falls National Park status, but it was not approved, due to all the ugly stumps and mess left from its logging days, not to mention the carcasses of cars that were no doubt left at the base of the falls.  Instead, in 1935, Present Roosevelt named it a Recreational Demonstration Area, and the Civilian Conservation Corps moved in to build facilities, clean up debris, build trails and widen some of the trails behind the waterfalls.  Yes, the trails behind the waterfalls already existed, because the area was formed with basalt over sandstone, and the softer sandstone eroded over time, both to create the canyon, and to erode the narrow pathways behind some of the falls.

When you hike the Canyon Trail, you will pass 10 different waterfalls; you can walk behind some of the waterfalls for a stunning view!  On the 7 mile hike, you pass South Falls, Lower South Falls, Lower North Falls, Double Falls, Drake Falls, Middle North Falls, Winter Falls, Twin Falls, North Falls and Upper North Falls.  Winter Falls is at the end of a half mile spur trail off the main trail and Double Falls is on a 0.1 mile spur trail.  When I was there in early September, it was pretty dry from the summer weather; I would love to go back in the spring when the waterfalls are at their peak flow!

I was there on a Sunday, on Labor Day weekend, and the park was packed.  Next time I would go on a weekday if I could, and I would definitely camp in the campground there. I think that would be so much fun!

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which waterfall is in which photo, but enjoy!

Retirement Diaries 2024: Back in Minnesota

After three weeks in Washington and Oregon, I’m back in Minnesota.  I had so much fun, seeing friends, visiting my favorite places, and getting in plenty of beach time. 

The weather is so much better than when I left!  Instead of lows of 7 degrees and snow on the ground, the weather has been mostly sunny and in the 50s and 60s since I got back.  Until today at least; it’s raining now and it is supposed to rain off and on until Monday.  There are worse things in life.

The grass is green from the recent rains, and once the rain stops I’m going to be getting out into the yard to work on pruning and trimming back the dead foliage.  The lilac bushes are starting to leaf out, so there will soon be the sweet smell of lilacs blooming!

Cora and Yellow were of course happy to see me, and have forgiven me for being away.  It is so nice to see how bonded they are; they regularly snuggle and sleep in the same puff, even though they have lots of options.  At the moment, I can hear Yellow snoring in the other room; they really have a good life!

Mom was kind enough to think of me when she went to the library book sale for the next town up the road, and she got me some books on the Civil War.  She’s always so thoughtful!  There is also an upcoming book sale at our town library, so I’ll be helping move books from storage next week to get ready for it.  I’ll be considered the young person with the strong back among the other volunteers I’m sure.  It reminds me of helping mom to purge her books before the move last year.  That was a lot of boxes of books!

On my way home from Washington, I spent a couple of days on the Oregon coast, camping, looking for agates and just enjoying the beach.  I did get rained on a little, but it was pretty good weather for the most part!  After I left the coast, I spent a few days getting home, doing a little bit of sightseeing on the way.  A winery along the Columbia River Gorge, and a few museums in Montana and North Dakota.  After leaving Oregon, it got too cold for camping, so I splurged on a few nights of hotels.

Along the way I had a few lovely chats with people I met on the beach, at the winery, or in the restaurant bars – I like sitting at the bar when I’m dining alone, it just invites more social interaction.

Of course, now that I’m back I’ll be able to write more regularly again.  Not much driving to interfere with my downtime!

I hope everyone is well – and enjoying spring!

Retirement Diaries 2023: It’s Fall Y’all!

It’s Fall Everybody! Summer passed by in the blink of an eye, what with moving mom across the country, frantically unpacking things day after day at her house, and then heading back out to Washington and Oregon for some good times with friends.

After leaving Washington on September 7, I headed back down to Oregon as a jumping off point for my trip back to Minnesota.  I had about a week before I had to be back, in order to have a few days for the turnaround before mom and I were scheduled to head to Knoxville, Tennessee for a jewelry making workshop.  I had a great time on the way back, digging for thunder eggs in Eastern Oregon, spending time at John Day Fossil Beds, having lunch with my friend Kiera in Boise, Idaho, and visiting Virginia City and Nevada City in Montana, before finally doing a beeline for home.  Of course, I did make a stop in Eastern Montana to to hunt for agates on the Yellowstone River.  It was wonderful to be on the road, and I can’t wait for my next trip!  I will definitely post in more detail about my goings on…

I did a 3-day turnaround, arriving at my house on Thursday afternoon September 14, and then departing for Knoxville on Monday, September 18.  Mom badgered me into signing up for the jewelry workshop too, even though I consider myself to not really have a crafty/creative bone in my body.  We drove down, and it was two solid days of classes and peopling.  But, a bit surprisingly, I enjoyed it! I did six classes and made 5 pieces of jewelry.  The 6th I did not finish because we ran out of time, but everybody in class ran out of time too, so it wasn’t just me.  Mom will help me finish these earrings when I’m ready.

The drive to Knoxville was long, and if we do it again, I definitely want to take a few more days each way so we have time to do some sightseeing.  As it was, we didn’t really have much time for stops along the way.  We did happen to meet up with my cousin and her husband in Louisville, Kentucky, as they were heading home to Michigan after a trip to Texas and Louisiana.  It was a fortuitous coincidence and it was great to see them!  We even had a chance to try the famous Hot Brown at the Brown Hotel in Louisville.  I had Hot Brown once before on my 2018 trip, but had never tried it from the source, as The Brown Hotel “invented” the Hot Brown in the 1920s.

On the homefront, I find myself with a gloriously empty home, after two roommates moved out.  It’s so quiet and relaxing!  I’m working on cleaning up, rearranging, and unpacking things that I didn’t have the space to have out before.  It’s nice and I’m loving it. The oak trees are changing color and dropping their leaves, the feed corn fields are about to be harvested.  Cora and Yellow are loving having me home, and are adjusting to the moving furniture and flurry of rearranging and cleaning.  The only downside is that I feel like I’ve been fighting a cold for a couple days so I’ve been moving pretty slow and taking a couple of naps, but I feel like I’m on the upswing now.

And the best news is that now that I’m home, I’ll be able to write more regularly and get back to my travel posts!

How are you all enjoying the first week of fall?