Salem, Oregon

While we were staying at Silver Falls State Park, we made a day trip into Salem, capital of Oregon. The city of Salem is very charming, set on the Willamette River, and just west of the Cascade Mountain range. There is a progressive midtown shopping area, and a pleasant strip along the bank of the river called Riverfront Park. The Capital itself was small, and it did not take us very long to tour. It did have a pretty rotunda, and the Capital dome is interesting, topped by a twenty-two foot bronze figure with gold overleaf called the "Oregon Pioneer." But what we found even more interesting than the capital was the Riverfront Park area, and for me in particular, the Carousel. The Carousel is comprised of completely hand carved horses (and other animals) and trim, painted in the most beautiful colors. Each horse is unique and carved by a variety of artisans. I was so intrigued with the beautiful poses of the horses, the colors, the mirrors, and the lights. It was truly the most beautiful carousel I’ve ever seen.

I have attached a couple of pictures form the capital, and three from Riverfront Park.

Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

On April 11th we left Sacramento, on our way to Alaska, with several planned stops along the way.

Our first planned stop was Silver Falls State Park in Oregon, about 25 miles east of Salem, for five days. When we arrived at the park on Saturday, April 12th, it was a beautiful sunny day, temperature around 75 degrees. Everyone was outside hiking, biking, skating, and jogging, in shorts and T-shirts, enjoying the wonderful weather. We got ourselves settled in and explored the park, making plans for our hike the next day. Sunday was just as beautiful as Saturday – sunny and warm, blue skies with only a few big puffy clouds overhead. The hike we took was called “The Trail of Ten Falls” which took us on an 8-mile loop through the park past ten gorgeous waterfalls (plus a couple “bonus” falls that weren’t in the “ten”). This has to be one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever taken. Nestled in the lower elevation of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, in a temperate rain forest, the falls were stunning, and the trail meandered over gentle slopes, along side creeks and rivers, with birds singing everywhere. We took so many pictures! Spectacular is about the only word I can think of to sum up the hike, the waterfalls, the entire day. And, how fortunate we picked that day to hike – on Monday it started raining, turned very cold, and by Tuesday morning it was snowing! We spent a couple of days indoors (needless to say), cozy and warm inside our 5th wheel. Since we didn’t have Internet connectivity, cell phone reception, or Satellite TV, we spent a couple of days catching up on our reading and watching “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy on DVD.

Hope you enjoy the pictures of Silver Falls I’ve attached.