Oregon Trip 2013- Melanie's Wedding

Well my daughter finally decided to get married.  I am so very proud of her.  Since all the family was going we decided to spend a week in Oregon after the wedding to do some site seeing.

We all gathered in Salem Oregon for the wedding.  We had rehearsal on Friday night and the wedding took place Saturday evening at the Cubanisimo Winery.

Friday morning we headed to Silver Falls State Park where we did a five and a half mile hike and took in:   177' South Falls, 93' Lower south Fall, 30' Lower North Fall, 178' Double Fall, 27' Drake Fall, 106' Middle North Falls, and 134' Winter Fall.  A very beautiful park just Southeast of Salem.

We had the rehearsal that night followed by a dinner and social at Jagon's Dad's house.  The next morning we did the river walk along the Williamette River.  From there we headed off for pictures and then the wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding.

Sunday after church, we did a big family brunch and then we headed out to Pacific City, home of Haystack or "Chief Kiawanda" Rock, to spend a few days on the coast.  There are three Haystack Rocks off the coast of Oregon. The most famous is the one in Cannon Beach, a 235-foot high beauty that you can reach by foot at low tide. The least celebrated, but no less attractive, is one of numerous sea stacks that dot the coastline near Bandon.  In between lies Haystack Rock, the icon of Pacific City and Cape Kiwanda. At around 340 feet, it’s 100 feet taller than its celebrity cousin to the north, but it’s much further from shore. You cannot walk there, even during minus tides, so close inspection must be achieved by kayak or surfboard. Like most of the monoliths, it’s leftover lava. 

We rented a house just off the beach and spent the first full day driving down the coast to see sea lions, lighthouses, and different parks along the way.  That night we met Melanie and Jagon at their place in Sand Lake where we had a campfire and Jagon put on a serious show of fire works.

The next day we went back to Sand Lake and did some four wheeler riding on the dunes.

Wednesday we headed up the coast hitting some good sights in Cape Mears, Tillamook, and Ecola.  Then headed to Mt. Hood where we rented another house for three nights. Mt. Hood stands at 11,249 feet which is the highest point in Oregon and the fourth highest in the Cascade Range. After we got settled in we drove up to the Timberline Lodge on the top of Mt. Hood to check it out.

We got up in the morning and half of us hiked the 8.5 Miles of Sandy river to Ramona Falls while the other half hiked to Zig Zag Falls.  We checked out Trillium lake afterwards and decided to meet here again the next day.

The next day we hiked the Pacific Coast Trail to the Twin Lakes.  Did a loop around the lower lake and then took the Palmeteer Trail with a few overlooks on the way back.  We hiked around 9.5 miles and then met the other half of our crew at Trillium Lake where they had a picnic and rented a Stand Up Kayak for everyone to try.  The water was actually warm enough for swimming.

The next morning we had to head out.  It was a wonderful time for all.

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