When a camera falls in the forest

Day 2 of our Portland trip brought us to the foot of Multnomah Falls. 

It is so beautiful to look up at this huge waterfall and all the green that surrounds it, even in the Fall.  The last time we were standing and gawking at its beauty, we had 5 smaller people with us, including two 3 year olds whose 'wegs' just couldn't make the whole climb.

In all fairness, even my 'wegs' nearly didn't make it all the way to the very top...you can see the platform in this picture, top left

Let em just say, it was a looong haul up the mountain at a pretty steep incline.  I even got warm enough to shed my jacket on a very damp and chilly morning!  We were very motivated to make it to the top and enjoyed all the sights along the way.....including some amazing foliage, like this face sized leaf-

 these moss and fern covered tree trunks and branches

 the same rock that's been there for many years

 and lots of boulders in the river that fed the falls.

Now, have you ever wondered what happens when a camera falls in the forest?  Of course you first might wonder what the heck would be going on for a camera TO fall in the forest.  Right?  Well, when you find yourself hiking through some beautiful scenery and there's not another soul around, you get creative in order to capture the moment.

And then the camera falls and you crack up finding pictures like this have been taken!

Yeah, we tried that photo session again and came away with some fun memories captured!

  We FINALLY made it to the top of the falls.  Bill of course made some wisecrack about how long the platform had been there and how much weight it would hold......dork. The view was incredible, so long as I didn't look down.  Yikes!!!  Don't the cars look like pebbles?  I do not like heights, so we took our 'we made it to the top' proof pictures and started the downhill climb back to the car

 We are already looking forward (I think) to the opportunity to hike the falls again with all the kids.  It will take quite a bit of will power for them to finish the climb, but I know they'll find it every bit as worth it as we did.  Tired 'wegs' and all.