Weekend Walkabout

Solo Hike Up Baldy Mountain

March 13, 2017June 18, 2017 by Don Wilson

The previous day’s hike just wasn’t enough for me. I wanted something with just a little more challenge. I was in the mood for some serious exercise.

I didn’t necessarily want to walk a lot of miles. I was looking for some climbing – something to stretch my abilities, a little. What I ended up with was something that was supposed to be a 5 mile hike with a 2000 gain. It’s called the Baldy Mountain Trail and it’s located between Yakima and Ellensburg in the Yakima River Canyon.

This was my first solo hike of any significance.

It started off a little rough. When I had researched the hike on the internet, it said that the trail head was across the highway from the Big Pines Campground.

I parked in the day parking area, posted my Annual Pass on my rear view mirror, and walked across the highway to find the trail head. All I found were a number of lightly defined trails that appeared to be something more like animal trails.

I picked one that seemed to be more heavily traveled than the others. It led me to some steep inclines and some treacherous scrambles up some scree. By then, I was certain that I had made an error, but I was too far to turn back. Not only that, but it looked like the return down would be scarier than what I had just come up. I continued on up with the intent (hope) that I might find an easier way back down.

Hallelujah! About two thirds of a mile up, I found the Baldy Mountain Trail.

My shortcut eliminated about 3/4 of a mile from the total length of the correct ascent. The gain didn’t change.

By the way, the trail head is across from the other end of the campground. Not across from the day parking area.

Anyway, the rest of the trip up the hill was about what I had imagined it would be. I liken it to a stair case that keeps going up. I think Led Zeppelin had a song about it.

The trail was damp, with a little snow in places. The trail was packed with enough rock to keep it from becoming overly muddy.

At the top, I felt like I could see forever in every direction. I’m so glad it was a relatively clear day. There were high clouds, but I could still see a great distance.

For the next two days after this hike, my calves and thighs reminded me of how much value I get from hiking. Pain is gain, right?

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Must Visit Shops in Leavenworth

April 9, 2015January 5, 2017 by Don Wilson

First off, I’m a guy. Yes, I enjoy shopping, but my shopping is way different than my wife’s shopping. My wife can spend 2 hours in a children’s clothing store, touching every garment on every rack, putting together matching ensembles. She may, or may not buy anything. I walk through the store, look for something cute/funny/unique/exotic/interesting. If I happen to find a garment that says something cool about how much the child loves their Papa, I might buy it, but then I’m done. In and out in 2 minutes, and on to the next shop.

The last time I went to Leavenworth, we spent about 3 hours shopping on two different days. We walked and browsed through a lot of unique shops. I wait for my wife, while she tries to keep up with me.

I enjoy the kind of shopping (browsing) that we do in Leavenworth. Much of what I enjoy the most involves food. When we have the time, we’ll walk from shop to shop and explore each one. When time is limited, I seek out my favorites. Here are mine, in no particular order.

The Hat Shop is a regular stop, especially when we have the grandkids with us. Find the funniest hat…and…picture time!

Schocolat, Fine Handmade Chocolates is basically just one small counter in the back of Ganz Klasse, which is a home furnishings boutique. If you visit Schocolat, you will be offered samples of their artistry. You will find that their chocolates are absolutely heavenly.

Munchen Haus is an outdoor restaurant with several options of the best brats. They have dozens of different mustards and sauces to douse your brat with, along with their warm apple cider sauerkraut. For years, we have selected Munchen Haus as our first choice for dining in Leavenworth.

Fresh Burger Cafe is a new favorite on my list. We discovered it on our last trip to the city. It may be one of the best burger/sandwich/soup/salad cafes anywhere. They have a small inside dining area, but more seating outside on their patio.

The Kris Kringle Shop has more Christmas decorations that you ever imagined could be available. I’m not a decorator, so I’d probably never buy anything there. My wife is the decorator in our house. She buys stuff.

The Cheesemonger’s Shop offers samples of a number of interesting cheeses.

A Matter of Taste has samples of hot sauces, flavored honey spreads, mustards, dips, etc. I especially like the flavored honeys.

The Metal Waterfall Gallery is a shop that I’ve walked through many times, but I always go back. I just find the sculptures to be fascinating enough for another look. They catch my interest as I walk through the store.

When we stay at our Worldmark condos (and there is one in Leavenworth, which we utilize on occasion), we go through a lot of coffee. They used to provide us with all the coffee we needed for our stay, but they changed their policy, and now we have to purchase our own coffee. When in Leavenworth, we make Alpine Coffee Company one of our first stops so we can get a pound of coffee to get us started for our stay in the condo.

My wife and I spent a couple weeks in Russia, a few years ago. We bought a few souvenirs to bring home with us. Gifts From Russia is reminiscent of our souvenir shopping in Moscow.

Here’s a comprehensive list of the shops you’ll find in Leavenworth.

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Gas-Saving Tips for Vacation Season

August 28, 2014August 26, 2014 by Don Wilson

Pumping Gas (photo credit futureatlas.com under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license)

My wife and I put a lot of miles on our cars, especially during the vacation season. Despite the high prices for fuel, it is much more economical for us to take a trip in the car than it is to fly somewhere. Also, we see so much more of the countryside while driving than we can if we fly from place to place.

Given the trending of gas prices toward ever-higher dollar amounts, many people are using more and more of their vacation budget on gas. While no one seems to be able to make gas cheap again, and I’m certain that the trend will continue to rise, there are still some things you can do to help save on gas this vacation season. Here are some gas-saving tips you should use to help reduce your fuel budget as much as possible.

Slow Up, Speed Down

When you are on the road, slow down a little when you are going up hills and pick back up to the speed limit when going downhill. This is said to save fuel because your car has to work much harder going uphill (especially if you are using air conditioning and have luggage and multiple passengers), whereas gravity is your friend going downhill.

Many times, I’ll even pop the car’s transmission into neutral and let it roll down a long downhill section to let the engine fall to an idle speed, but only follow that suggestion if you can make the gear change safely, and if it makes sense. I’ve seen people accidentally jerk the steering wheel while trying to change gears. Also, if the hill is too long and steep, you may overheat your brakes keeping your car slowed to the speed limit.

I am in no way advocating that you should ever drive over the speed limit. In fact, speaking of speed, observing the speed limit and not speeding also saves gas. It’s safer, too.

Know When to Turn Off the AC

While traveling in the heat without air conditioning can be downright dangerous, there are times when you can turn it off to save fuel. For example, turning off the AC when driving uphill can reduce the power pull on your engine by quite a bit, sources say. Of course, you can leave the fans going and the residual cooling effect lasts for a few minutes. When you’re on the level or going downhill, turn the AC back on.

Tire Care

If your tires are worn, get them rotated before your trip or, if they are very worn, get them replaced.

Proper air pressure is very important. Make sure your tires are aired up to the manufacturer’s specifications Look at the inside of the driver’s side door if you are unsure as to your tires’ PSI (pounds per square inch). It should be labeled there. Adding too much or too little air can both be a problem, so if you are in doubt, have your mechanic do it.

Vehicle Check-up

Before your vacation, get your car thoroughly looked over. Make sure everything is running as efficiently as possible. Efficiency in your engine means greater efficiency on fuel usage. Check the oil level or have it changed if it is time. Get a “tune up” if needed, and have all the fluids checked. This is a great time to have any necessary work done on the tires.

Travel Light

As mentioned above, a lot of excess cargo can really draw on the engine’s power. It’s said that every 100 pounds added to your car’s weight will decrease the gas mileage by 1 percent.

Try to be careful to use lightweight baggage carriers (such as duffel bags rather than heavy suitcases), and only pack the minimum necessities for your trip.

How You Drive

Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who has a difficult time regulating the accellerator? They speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down, even while cruising a long flat straightaway. OMG! Use your cruise control, or something.

Don’t be that guy. When you hit the accelerator pedal, that’s when your car is using the most gas. So try to cruise at a smooth speed.

Also, avoid the speed up, brake fast pattern that so many drivers fall into. Get up to cruising speed smoothly, cruise at a steady speed, and when you need to stop, coast down to the stop as much as possible without braking hard. Keep the ride as smooth as possible to save on fuel.

A Weekend at Rainbow Beach Resort on Twin Lakes

August 26, 2014 by Don Wilson

A very close friend of mine has enjoyed an annual vacation at the Rainbow Beach Resort on Twin Lakes In northeastern Washington’s Ferry County for many years. In fact, when he was a child, his family spent annual vacations at the same resort.

For the past 15 years, or so, my friend has been sharing stories and pictures with me each year upon his return from vacation. He’s shared about the wakeboarding and tubing behind the boat with his kids. He’s described his fishing successes, including the best fishing holes on the lake. Over the years, I’ve come to feel almost like I’ve been there after seeing so many photos of the surrounding landscape, cabins, favorite fishing holes, etc.

Finally, this summer, it worked out that my wife and I were able to join our friends for a few days during the two weeks of their stay. We chose to make the 4-day weekend trip on our Goldwing. Travel time was about 4.5 hours each way, so a fair amount of our time was spent on the road. What better way to do that than on a motorcycle!

The drive from our house began with mostly flat, straight roads. We were prepared for it to be quite a warm day, so we left early enough that we wouldn’t be on the road when it got too hot. The last quarter of the trip, as we started climbing into the mountains and came closer to the lakes, we found some nice motorcycle roads – the kind with all the twisties and switchbacks. We arrived at the resort safely and in good time.

Due to a number of wild fires in northeastern Washington, there was a bit of a haze over the lake and throughout the area. It was smoky enough that someone with allergies or respiratory sensitivities might have had problems, but Leslie and I didn’t. A few times, I could feel a bit of a burning in my eyes, but not enough to make me feel that I didn’t want to be there. You’ll notice the haze in some of the photos on this page.

The cabins at Rainbow Beach Resort are small and modest, but when you are spending most of your time on the lake, you really don’t need much more than a comfy bed to sleep in. My friend brought a small window air conditioner with him and rigged it up in the window above the kitchen sink. That, along with a number of fans throughout the cabin kept it very comfortable. I can imagine that without the A/C, it could get nearly unbearable in those little dwellings during the heat of the summer. As I understand, the cabins used to be shaded a little better, but a number of trees have fallen over the past several years during some storms that came through and brought some very high winds.

Favorite fishing hole — Our favorite bass fishing hole on North Twin Lake.

Leslie and I each purchased a one-day fishing license and spent a good part of the day on Sunday out on the boat fishing for bass. We fished for a few hours in the morning and again in the evening. From my friends years of experience fishing at these lakes, he’s determined that those times of the day usually provide the most success for catching fish.

Leslie had the most success in catching the most fish. She caught 5 and I only caught 3, however, I can revel in the fact that I actually caught the biggest bass within our group.

On Monday, our second full day, we took a drive north to go through Kettle Falls and Colville. It was a fairly quick trip, but we had time to go through some antique stores and thrift shops. Like most of the shopping of that nature that I’m involved in, I do lots of looking but very little buying. I find it interesting and enjoyable.

We learned that the weather report for the next day (our departure day) was supposed to bring some afternoon thunder showers. We had planned to leave around noon, but decided instead to get on the road early so that we might get a jump on the stormy weather. We managed to catch some rain during the early part of our ride, but nothing severe. By the time we had made it about half way home, it was actually getting rather warm. In fact, by the time we got home, it was downright unbearable. We could have used some cloud cover and even a little moisture to keep things a little cooler. I’m glad we didn’t wait until noon to leave Twin Lakes. That’s not to say that I was anxious to get away from Twin. I’m just saying that an afternoon ride would not have been pleasant that day.

To summarize the time we had, I’d say that the lake and the area was very nice, the cabin was very adequate, but the time we were able to spend with our friends was priceless.

Finding the Perfect Weekend Getaway

August 22, 2014 by Don Wilson

Finding the perfect weekend getaway can take some special planning and pre-arranging. If you don’t take the necessary steps to plan for your weekend getaway, you’ll end up watching the weekends blow by until the opportunity has passed.

Do you have any thoughts of getting away for a weekend “sometime”? Sometime never comes. Just stop whatever you’re doing, get your calendar out, and figure out which weekends are available for your weekend getaway. If you are married, you may need to sit your spouse down and clear a weekend in your calendars, together. Just find a weekend that you can block out for your time away.

All that’s left, now, is to figure out what you want to do, and where you want to go for your weekend getaway. If you are seeking the perfect weekend getaway, there are many ways to achieve that goal.

The first and most important thing to do is to hone in on what you want to do. Once you are clear about that part, the next steps become easier. Sometimes you are in the mood for a relaxing vacation getaway and other times you are in the mood for some serious challenges.

When you are planning for a 2 or 3 day weekend, it makes the most sense to stay somewhat close to home. The last thing you need is to spend your weekend running through airports, haggling with rental car agents, or flagging down taxis. Take a look at the 200 mile radius around where you are. I know that for those of us living in the Pacific Northwest, the opportunities are endless. I’m sure that you’ll find multiple options and opportunities for amazing getaways in your area, as well.

Think About the Type of Weekend Getaway You Want

There are many relaxing types of weekend getaways:

* Beach getaways
* Lake front cabins in the woods in spring
* Spa retreats
* Boating getaways

And there are dozens of supercharged weekend getaways as well; here are just a few:

* Skiing
* Mountain biking
* Rock climbing
* Horseback riding
* Surfing

Consider the Lodging Type

Next, pick the type of lodging you want. Think out of the box and off the beaten path for this one. There are hundreds of old inns and even historic barns that have been refurbished for you to stay at, whether you are traveling romantically as a couple, with your children, or with close friends.

You may chose to search a site like Booking.com to find a good hotel or you might decide to use Airbnb.com to find a room in someones home that they will rent out for a night or two. Another option is the site, HomeAway.com, where they specialize in entire homes to rent. Maybe you can even locate a mansion that utilizes part of its old historic rooms as a weekend getaway dream.

If camping and outdoor activities are your thing, search the internet for state and/or national parks in your area. You’ll likely find a myriad of options for great camping getaways.

Think Outside of the Box

Once you have discovered what you want from your weekend getaway and what type of lodging you wish to stay in, it is so much easier to decide on a location. Many individuals start with the location and then look for activities and lodging. However, if you think outside the box on this, you will be pleasantly surprised.

As far as internet searches go, you will find that you have more options that are clear-cut and well defined when you search for specific things such as, “horseback riding spa resort.” Your search will bring the locations that are specifically geared to what you wish to do on your weekend getaway.

For information, of course, use the internet, but also ask friends, family members, colleagues, and even people you chat with in line at the grocery store. You will find the most amazing tidbits of information in the oddest of places.

Seek the advice and expertise of a travel agent, go online, get information on social media and blogs, and even go to the library.

Finding the perfect weekend getaway may take a little effort, but in the end, it is so worth the time.

Christine Falls – Mt Rainier National Park

August 2, 2014August 1, 2014 by Don Wilson

Christine Falls is another popular “quick stop” along Paradise Road in Mt Rainier National Park. After we left Paradise, where we saw Myrtle Falls, and after we had stopped for a few minutes to view Narada Falls, we came to a small parking area where a number of people had pulled off the road to see Christine Falls. This is another waterfall that you can see from the roadside, but offers the best pictures if you hike down a couple hundred feet to a viewpoint.

This small, but photogenic waterfall is a popular due to its close proximity to the road, but also because the attractively built bridge over the falls and the narrow rock walls create a nice frame for the falls. This final waterfall on Van Trump Creek falls a total of about 69 feet in two tiers, however, it is nearly impossible to photograph both tiers at the same time. I’ve seen a photo taken with a wide angle lens from the top of the bridge that shows both the upper and lower tiers.

Upper Tier of Christine Falls — Upper tier of Christine Falls as seen from the top of the bridge.

The entire walk down to the viewpoint and back up to our car was about 350 feet with about a 15 elevation change. That includes the fact that I slipped past the railing and edged down just a little farther to see if I could get a better angle for my photographs.

The day we were there was a clear sunny day which cast bright contrast and dark shadows in my photographs. Some clouds would have helped the photography, but I wouldn’t trade it for the pure enjoyment of our trip.

After a few quick photos of Christine Falls, we walked up the road a couple hundred feet to the Comet Falls trailhead, eager to begin the climb to the most spectacular waterfall on this day’s journey.

Narada Falls Near Mt Rainier

August 1, 2014July 31, 2014 by Don Wilson

Narada Falls is a very popular roadside attraction in the Mount Rainier National Park. It is evidenced by a turnoff along Paradise Road E that has the capacity for more than 100 vehicles. When we arrived to view the waterfall, it was maybe a quarter full, and there were only a handful of people there. When we returned after our hike to Comet Falls to use the restroom facilities at this site, the parking was packed full and there were people milling around everywhere. I’m glad we took the opportunity earlier to get our pictures of this gorgeous waterfall.

They have constructed a bridge that crosses the Paradise River that feeds Narada Falls, just above the waterfall. Off to the left of the path are the restroom facilities and to the right is a trail that leads down to a viewpoint of the waterfall. The trail is well groomed and only a couple hundred yards to the viewpoint. I forgot to turn on my gps app on my phone that records the time, distance, and elevation change, but I can say that it was a short, quick, easy hike. I even saw some people much older than I am, and some very small children with their families walking down this trail.

The waterfall drops about 159 feet over a rock wall and spreads out into a wide veil as it falls down the rock face. I’ve read that during heavy drainage, the veil can spread to as wide as 75 feet. It is also reported that during the winter, the waterfall freezes to form heavy icicles and this becomes a popular location for ice climbers.

Narada Falls is about a mile west of where you turn off to go to Paradise. We went to Narada Falls after we had been to Paradise and Myrtle Falls. We just followed the signs as if we were going to Longmire and easily found the Narada Falls Turnout.

Comet Falls – Mt Rainier National Park

July 31, 2014January 24, 2017 by Don Wilson

comet-falls-first-view — First full view of Comet Falls when the trail opened up to our destination.

Hiking the Comet Falls Trail was the primary purpose of this particular trip to Mt Rainier National Park. Though we had on the agenda to visit Myrtle Falls, Narada Falls, and Christine Falls along the way, Comet Falls was definitely the “Big One”. It would also prove to be the most challenging and the most rewarding.

The scenery was beautiful for the duration. At one point, the forest opened up and gave us an awesome view of Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier is one of those settings that makes a great backdrop to almost any photograph. This one was no exception.

Along the way, we noticed another waterfall that I hadn’t planned to see. At the time I was photographing this waterfall, I didn’t know exactly what we were seeing. After some online research, later, and viewing some photos that others have posted, I believe that we were looking at Van Trump Falls.

As we came nearer to the destination waterfall, we found a rustic footbridge that was on the trail. A sign revealed that we had 200 feet more to hike and directed us over the footbridge.

bloucher-falls — Beautiful multi-tiered Bloucher Falls on the East Fork of Van Trump Creek

Just above the footbridge was another very beautiful multi-tiered waterfall. This was another waterfall that was not on our agenda, and I didn’t know at the time what it was. My research leads me to believe that it was Bloucher Falls. It was another nice gift to us from the Comet Falls Trail.

By now, we were really feeling the pain from the constant uphill climb. Seeing the “200 ft” sign was a real encouragement to us. At about this same point, there were a number of hikers on the way down encouraging us to keep going (we had no intentions of stopping here) as the destination was well worth the struggle.

Arriving at the waterfall felt amazing. Not only could we revel in our accomplishment of having endured a workout well beyond what our training had prepared us for, but the view was breathtaking and the mist from the falls was very refreshing on this warm summer day.

comet-falls-trail-and-mt-rainier — Mount Rainier peeking out from the trees along the Comet Falls Trail.

After several minutes of wandering around the base of the falls and taking advantage of the picturesque setting for a few photographs, we found a large flat rock to sit down on while we settled in for lunch. When we made our sandwiches earlier in the morning, we hadn’t yet decided on specific plans for where we might have our little picnic. But now, the timing was right and the backdrop was perfect for a light lunch under the falls.

A nearly thirty minute break was all the rest we needed and we began our descent back to our car. The nice thing about a one way, two mile, all up hill hike into the wilderness is that the return trip is all down hill. We made much better time on our return.

By the time we returned to our car, we had traveled 4.11 miles in a moving time of 2 hours 15 minutes and a total time of 2 hours 41 minutes. The elevation gain for the hike was about 1250 feet. I suppose it shouldn’t have been all that strenuous, but our conditioning is questionable, so this hike was a good, aggressive workout for us. By the end, I felt like I had accomplished something. I told my wife after the hike that we should do one like this every week. She, basically, told me that I would be hiking alone.

stairs-on-comet-falls-trail — Rough hewn log stairs made this steep part of the trail much safer.

van-trump-falls — Van Trump Falls (or Middle Van Trump Falls) depending on the source.

comet-falls-rock-trail — These large flat topped stones made a good set of stairs for another steep part of the trail.

resting-on-comet-falls-trail — Taking a quick breather along the Comet Falls trail.

comet-falls-200 — Only 200 feet more to go. What a relief! We must be out of shape.

footbridge-below-bloucher-falls — Crossing the East Fork of Van Trump Creek on a rough hewn log footbridge.

at-comet-falls — We reached our destination and enjoyed the cool mist from the falls on this warm day in late July.

comet-falls-photo — Kathy took the opportunity to get a close up of Comet Falls. I hope that camera is waterproof.

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Myrtle Falls – Paradise – Mt Rainier

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 by Don Wilson

We had researched some of the waterfalls in the Paradise area of Mt Rainier National Park and had determined which of them we would be able to get to in one day. We selected Myrtle Falls to be our first stop.

By the time we arrived at the Paradise Visitor Center on this Saturday morning in late July, the visitor center parking was already full and we were directed to park on the roadside of the loop around the Paradise area. Fortunately, we were among the first on the loop, and were able to park on the road just below the Paradise Inn, so we didn’t have to walk far to get back to the visitor center. An hour later, when we returned to our car, the parking had extended more than half way around the loop, so I’m glad we got there when we did.

The round-trip from our car, to the visitor center, to Myrtle falls, and back to the car was 1.4 miles with a peak elevation gain of just over 200 feet, following the Skyline Trail. The pathway to the waterfall was entirely paved for easy walking. The main trail takes you to a footbridge over the top of the falls, but there is a short little side trail that will take you halfway down the side of the waterfall to a viewpoint that allows you to take some very nice photographs of the waterfall.

Myrtle Falls is a pretty little waterfall, with a drop of about 72 feet. it starts with a wide flow over a large rock wall, but is funneled down to a narrow drop at the bottom. I loved how the viewpoint was situated to make it easy to photograph the waterfall with the snow covered mountain looming large in the background.

As we were leaving the Paradise area and moving on toward our next stop, Paradise awarded us with one final treat. We noticed that along the back side of the Paradise loop, cars were stopping and people were jumping out of their cars with cameras. We weren’t sure of the reason for the commotion, but Leslie spotted it first. Down in the middle of the loop, about a hundred yards from us, was a black bear and her two cubs.

The bears were just out of distance for a good photo with my Samsung S4 camera phone that I use for all my shots. I snapped a few photos, anyway, and you can tell that you are looking at some bears. I think that was the first time I had ever seen a bear in the wild, so we were pretty excited about it.

edith-creek-above-myrtle-falls — Myrtle Falls is part of Edith Creek. This photograph is the creek on the opposite side of the footbridge above Myrtle Falls.

mt-rainier-photo-op — Yes, Paradise is this close to the mountain peak. There are plenty of opportunities for amazing photos of Mt Rainier. The day we were there, the sky was the bluest blue and I don’t remember seeing a single cloud all day.

black-bears-in-meadow — A momma bear and her two cubs were romping around in this meadow about 100 yards from the road. A dslr with a nice, long lens would have been useful right about now.

Strawberry Bay Falls at Third Beach Near La Push

July 21, 2014 by Don Wilson

Strawberry Bay Falls was on the agenda for the day. After having to stop in Sequim for some supplies, then spending some time in Forks, WA to see the “Twilight” scenes, we were running a little late.

We had originally intended to travel all the way around to Lake Quinault and visit about 4 waterfalls near there. That part of the trip would have to be held off for another time.

We found the Third Beach trailhead by following our GPS instructions which took us from Highway 101 and onto Highway 110 at Forks, WA. We arrived at the trailhead about 2 miles before La Push. Come to think about it, we never actually ventured on into La Push on this trip. Oh well, something else for another day.

The hike from the trailhead to the beach is about 1 1/4 miles. It was obvious to me that Leslie was wishing she had brought her jacket. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and felt very comfortable.

We made sure that dad and mom didn’t feel like they had to complete every trek that Leslie and I were on, but they were determined to reach the destination.

The scenery along the trail was mostly very green – we were in a rainforest, after all.

Most of the trail was pretty smooth and level, but shortly before we came to the ocean, we began to descent down toward the beach and the trail got a little rugged with rocks and protruding roots.

We enjoyed a short walk of about 1/2 mile along a smooth, sandy beach. The weather was very pleasant. A friend of ours who was at First Beach the day after we were here said it was raining so hard, they didn’t get out of the car. I guess we were lucky.

The waterfall, itself, is rather unimpressive, however, it is unique and interesting as it drops off a cliff and into the ocean. It’s the first ocean falls that I’ve been to. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a waterfall that drops into any significant body of water.

I think what made this waterfall visit the most interesting was the diversity of landscape through the short hike to the waterfall. I really enjoyed the hike through a rainforest, descending down onto an ocean beach. Who doesn’t like a walk along the beach on a calm day?