Oregon and Washington 2021

mark

Oct 18, 20214 min read

Updated: Oct 19, 2021

We spent the middle of June in Oregon and Washington for a Bagley family reunion. First we drove to St. Helen's to see Ryan and Stacey and spent a few days at their house.

Cal asleep somewhere in Western Idaho or Eastern Oregon:

First stop upon arrival in St. Helen's—Burgerville:

Meeting Ryan and Stacey's dogs at their house:

Some people don't believe in sleeping in and don't know when they've moved a time zone to the west... so they get to go on early morning walks with dad:

Later that morning at a nearby park, Stacey brought delicious donuts from a local shop:

Out to see the Columbia River later that day—Eleanor wanted to touch it:

Max enjoyed rough-housing with Ryan:

Ailie, ever able to find places to lounge wherever she goes:

Ryan and Stacey—so happy these two found each other!:

Waterbending the splash pad:

Enjoying Stacey and Ryan's pool:

And hot tub...

And food! Ryan is alternatively known as "smoke-master Ryan" and "meat-master Ryan." They took great care of us and were such gracious hosts! We had a wonderful time in St. Helen's!

On Sunday, we went to the St. Helens ward for sacrament meeting. On our way out of the building, a missionary opened the chapel door and said, "Brother Lewis?!?" He was a former student I had taught at Tooele High several years back (his girlfriend back home was actually in my institute class, too). Claire is always commenting about how she thinks I know everyone and this did little to put that notion out of her mind.

On our way back into Portland, we stopped at the International Rose Garden in the rain (where we were properly soaked):

Cute boy splashing:

Poor daddy:

Any stay in Portland must involve a stop at Powell's Books. All of the book lovers were thrilled:

Too amazing to wait to find a seat to read it (he ended up getting this book, which he consults frequently):

The next few days in Portland and hiking in the Columbia River Gorge were really lovely (weather-wise and experience-wise). This is our first hike, Latourell Falls. Lower Latourell:

Upper Latourell:

You could walk behind this one, which was super cool:

Behind the upper Latourell Falls:

View back down on the trail from the top of the lower falls. After taking in the view with a "whoa," Callum commented from the backpack, "careful, Daddy" (the zoom makes me seem closer to the edge than I am):

Views of the Gorge on the way down:

At the base of the lower falls again:

The next morning on our way to Wahclella Falls:

At the falls:

Some influencers helped us get this shot:

I love Ailie's humidity hair:

This is our next hike—Beacon Rock, on the Washington side of the river:

Before long, we were zig-zagging up catwalks to be able to reach the top of the rock:

View from the top:

And here is our last hike that day, down a steep slope to Spirit Falls:

Before heading up to Long Beach, Washington to meet up with the rest of Amanda's family, we stopped at a few last spots. Horsetail Falls:

And, of course, Multnomah:

Callum loved the gift shop:

Stopping at an ice cream sandwich shop on our way out of Portland that Laura had heard was good (we enjoyed it as well):

At the lovely lake house in Long Beach (turns out we never took a picture from the front 🤷‍♂️):

All of that sandy beach just down the road, but the sand pile in the backyard was still a huge hit—especially for these two:

Greeting the ocean our first evening there:

At the beach again the next day:

They had this cool ice cream parlor in downtown Long Beach that served dozens and dozens of flavors from every brand you could think of. Everyone was pleased:

Though close to the beach, we also had Lake Loomis in the back yard. The house had some kayaks and a canoe for paddling around the lake:

You had to step in the lake to get the boats in and out of the water. Claire preferred trying to climb off the bow to get back to shore without having to step in the lake sludge:

Playing games in the evening after kids were asleep:

The next day we went out to Cape Disappointment and the North Head lighthouse:

A shot of Cape Disappointment lighthouse from a distance:

Climbing the rocks at the cape:

All of us together on the sand:

Kites by the Long Beach boardwalk:

Another evening out in the sand and sea at Long Beach:

Silliness at the Lake House:

On a short nature walk/hike the next day. Salmon berries were prevalent along the trail. Callum would request "another berry" from the backpack as we'd go: