Silver Falls, for Karen

After Portland we headed Southeast to Silver Falls State Park per our friend Karen's suggestion.  She had spent many summers camping with her family there growing up, and after our visit I can see why.

It's a beautiful temperate rain forest with great biking trails, a swim beach, and thundering waterfalls to explore.  Everything is green, green, green.  I loved it.

We went on a six mile bike ride this day, thinking it would only be three.  We didn't note there would be a return trip required.  There was a lot of incline, but the kids were great sports, relatively speaking.

Jonah in action.

Every kid wiped out at one point on the ride.  Payton unfortunately fell in a patch of thorny bushes.  I told her, "Don't move!" I snapped a picture, and then helped her out.  She was none to pleased.  

And then we had a rainy day where we hung out in the trailer.  I was envisioning some quiet reading and nap time.

But instead we got this:  A loud, giggly, out of control wrestling match.

That ended in cuddle time...

The rain turned into a drizzle, so we ventured back outside for the waterfall hike.  There's ten waterfalls along  a nine mile trail.  We cut out at waterfall number 7 which is about six miles.

South Falls is amazing at 177 feet, a real stunner.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  I honestly felt like I was in a planet earth video.

Behind the waterfall, way better than the jungle cruise at Disneyland:)

Lots of places to explore

Waterfall number 2

3

4

5

6

and 7.

You never really get tired of seeing so much pretty water in a lush green setting.  We slept really well that night.

We didn't get to sample the swim beach because it never quite warmed up enough.  We learned that July would've been a better month to visit Oregon if we were seeking more sun.  Now we know:)

Thanks Karen for a great recommendation, Silver Falls was a highlight!