We thanked them for their hospitality and Ben paid off our room before we went upstairs to pack. We gathered up all of our stuff and spent some time hanging out in our bed internetting. I uploaded pictures onto Facebook and he played Clash of Clans. Just before noon, we took all of our stuff downstairs, put on our shoes and loaded up the car. Soon after we hit the road.
We wanted to do a little hiking and see some waterfalls along the way. I found a perfect hike for us along the gorge. We weren't sure how the weather would hold up or how far we wanted to hike, so we decided on the short two mile hike in Starvation Creek State Park. However, we would have to drive past it and turn around at the small area of Wyeth because it is only accessible from I-84 eastbound. We did what we were suppose to and made our way to the parking area of the recreation area. There was an earthcache and two traditionals we had to do while we were there.
There wasn't a parking fee, which was a relief, in Washington we have to pay $30 a year to have a Discover Pass, which gets you into state parks without being ticketed. It's just another way to tax you but on the bright side, it keeps the state parks open for people to enjoy. We read the hiking trail page to see what way we needed to go. I got the backpack out, put water in it, my camera, grabbed my walking pole and we were on our way down the lower part of Mt. Defiance/Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. Ben also found a walking stick which came in handy later on.
The first waterfall we came to was Cabin Creek. There was a giant boulder next to it and you could go up to it and walk behind it. It was probably the coolest one of the day. We took several pictures, some videos and had a great time exploring the area. We even climbed up on top of the boulder and found out people used to actually climb this giant rock. It had hookups for ropes and carabiners. It was muddy so it was interesting getting down from it.
We walked the next quarter of a mile or so to the next falls. Along the way we saw this giant ant pile. I went over and stood next to it just to give it scale. So far it is the biggest one I've ever seen!
We followed the trail and it took us around a corner, we could hear the next waterfall, Hole in the Wall Falls (Warren Falls). I guess it flooded the road and had to be diverted so they blasted a hole in the neighboring cliff side and bam, new falls, new direction, no flooded roads. I set up the tripod and took a few pictures of us with the falls and a couple of us on the bridge with the creek flowing behind us.
We tried looking for the cache that was nearby but we took the wrong trail. We have to come back this way so we would get it on the way back to the car. We started up the steeper part of the trail on our way up to the last falls, Lancaster. We admired it for a few minutes and just as we stepped out of the tree cover it started pouring down rain. I had a hat and a hood on. Ben decided to leave his hat in the car. We had a small banter about why I should give him my hat. I told him I had an extra one in my backpack but it was a Coug hat. He wasn't about to wear that one. I felt that I shouldn't have to take my hat off in the pouring rain to trade the Coug hat with the Seattle hat and give him the Seattle hat. He wore the Coug hat for a while and then I traded him when it stopped raining because I didn't want to hear him complain about the Coug hat. He asked me if I was in his situation and it was a Husky hat what I would have done. I would have went without. We had decided to go a little bit further to get a cache called Final Fall (GCHRQQ). That one was a doosey. Looking for it was similar to Pure Insanity back in Longview, Wash. It took us a while to locate it because the coords jumped really bad. We read logs and even found a few pictures on the cache page. After about a half hour or more of looking I knew exactly where it was.
We started our journey back down after we put the cache back where we found it. On the way down we admired Lancaster Falls again while talking about how cool this hike was. We put Truly Gorgeous (GCG9H8) onto the GPS and made it back down where the trail followed the creek. We read the hint a few times because the GPS really didn't like the tree cover. After some looking around we found the fern against the maple tree and pulled out the ammo can.
We walked past the other two falls again and out towards the car. We were both soaked. I gave him the keys and told him I was going to use go get the information for the earthcache, Columbia River Basalt at Starvation Creek (GC4TD9X) at Starvation Creek Falls. I answered all the questions and headed back. I used the bathroom really quickly because I wanted to get out of my soaked clothes. I was starting to get cold. Ben had already changed. I got in the back and got my clothes and brought them to my seat. I peeled off my wet layer of clothes and tried getting my dry jeans on. Ben touched me and I slid and my knee hit the horn. We almost peed ourselves. We got the rest of the information for the earthcache and headed into Hood River again for some gas.
When we got to Hood River, which was only 5 miles down the road, we got gas at the first station we saw. It was the Shell. Then it hit me, crap...we're still in Oregon. They have to pump it for us. Lame. Ben handed me the $40 and the gas attendant filled it up. We got back on I-84 and drove back towards the Bridge of the Gods. We figure we'd better go this way. If we tried to go towards Portland at this time we would be stuck in horrible traffic. We stopped one more time, in Cascade Locks, to get one more earthcache, Bridge of the Gods (GC25DMZ). That one taught us about the bridge and the huge landslide that happened many years ago.
We went over the bridge again and into Washington. We followed Hwy 14 into Vancouver and found the Buffalo Wild Wings in Hazel Dell. That place was packed. We forgot it was Thursday night football, Broncos and Chargers. They did manage to get us in pretty quickly. We watched the game, played trivia, ate our food and just chilled. We left Vancouver around 8 and arrived in Lacey about 9:15. We had to stop at his bank to deposit the money he got a few days ago. We stopped into the Fred Meyer to go potty and to get some drinks. Then we drove back to Rochester and I helped him unpack his stuff. It was pouring down rain. We said our goodbyes and I headed home. I was exhausted. It poured down rain as I unpacked the car. I took a shower and got my stuff ready for work the next day. It was a great trip and I was sad to see it go by so fast. I can't believe its already been a year. Here's to many more trips and years together!
Next Adventure: Freaker's Ball, Haunted House in Bucoda and Trick or Treating
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