Silver Falls State Park

North Falls

Cindy was due to arrive at the Vancouver, Washington Amtrak station at 8:30 so we grabbed our bagged breakfast from the hotel a little early and had the apple sauce along with the raisin bran from our travel food. The only tea in the room was green tea, but we enjoyed a cup before drove downtown to the train station. We were glad to see her and knew that we would enjoy our visit with them over the next few days.

View from under North Falls

She directed us to Silver Falls State Park, about 20 miles southeast of Salem, Oregon. This nearly 10,000-acre state park was a logging community in the late 1800s but now has over 24 miles of hiking trails to ten beautiful waterfalls. Cindy paid the $5 day use fee, and we set out on the Trail of Ten Falls, ending at the South Falls plunging 177 feet. We returned to our parking lot via the Rim Trail which took us to the historical area. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it offered concessions and events for the public. Our walk around the area and to most of the waterfalls was about 10 miles. We were back at the rental car a little after 2:30.

Lower South Falls

The trails have a good bit of elevation change, but nothing was very steep. A variety trees cover the park, but because the area was logged, none were exceptionally large. The trails are well marked and appeared to get a good deal of traffic from locals. Even though we were there on a Tuesday morning, a lot of people were out enjoying the day.

We were pleased that the smoke didn’t seem bad here at this time, although we understand that visibility was much lower just a few days earlier when winds brought smoke from the Napa fire in California as well as from fires  Oregon. Everyone is hopeful that rain will bring some relief to the efforts in controlling the fires.

South Falls

After our picnic lunch of peanut butter, crackers and the granola bars from our breakfast bags, we dropped Cindy off at the Eugene Amtrak station where she got her car then drove to her Springfield house.

It was great to see Mark and Michael and find that all were doing well. Robert was still at his new job at the trucking company. We played with the dogs, Cedar and Jade, while Mark grilled chicken. He had made a great salad that included ramen noodles, almond slivers and marinated chicken. We had local ice cream for dessert. After dinner Robert told me about his new job which is with a large trucking company that mainly transports utility poles. He performs maintenance on the large semi-trucks and flatbed trailers. He is still in the training phase of the job now but seems to enjoy it and is gaining skills as he works.

Mary and Cindy played cribbage and planned our next potential travel adventure. They are looking at possibly taking a Road Scholar trip to interior Alaska. They have several options that they were weighing for early July 2021. A lot depends on whether Mark and Cindy are able to sell the stores in the next few months, but I think they would like to make a decision soon to lock in on current prices and tour availability.

We turned in a little before 10 pm and slept well. The bed was comfortable, and the house was quiet. We are looking forward to spending more time with the Whittington family while we are here.