A couple of weeks ago Nolemana and I really needed to get out of the house and went for a drive out past Estacada along Highway 224. We hadn’t been up that way for awhile, and we were so glad we went.

We love this view looking east:

I really miss my Hawaiʻi home and also love Oregon and it’s lovely vistas. And it’s so green!

We decided to take a road we’d never been on before called Fish Creek Road. The road crossed the Clackamas River several times.

We parked the car in a small parking area and walked over to the bridge that spanned the river.

Here’s a video of the swift-moving river.

To the right of the parking area, these steps went all the way down to the river. Ho da steep, yah? They were pretty slippery, so we didn’t go down.

See how steep? One side was for down, the other for up.

Try look all the moss on the trees! This is still at the stairs going up and down.

Back at the parking lot, we saw this car…here all the way from Alabama and Yellowstone.

There was also one couple there that was trying to load their large Great Pyrenees/Bloodhound dog into the tailgate of their car. She definitely didn’t want to do it despite their best efforts. We talked with them for a bit from where we were, all of us laughing together at the dog’s recalcitrance. In the end, they had to put her into the back seat. They said she was the greatest dog; they’d gotten her from a rescue organization. It was a wonderful exchange with total strangers; the human contact added to our already pleasant day.

We got back into the car and drove up Fish Creek Road some more. Moss was hanging from the trees in the shady places.

On the way back to Highway 224 we spotted a tiny parking area and decided to walk down to the river.  The sound of the water was absolutely wonderful!

Here’s another couple of videos. The path down was well-maintained. Check out the rocks!

No go ova da edge, Mokihana!

Panorama shot.

Heading home, we saw this kayaker in the river. Hard to see, but he’s there.

The rock wall around the highway curved around us. It was pretty awe-inspiring. See the trees growing out of it?

We haven’t had pizza in a very long time, and stopped at Papa Murphy’s in Damascus to get one. We love their Deluxe Vegetarian one. In the parking lot, we saw this cool rig.

We were so glad we’d gotten out into nature! It calmed our spirits and soothed our souls, and we came home refreshed and more ready to be quarantined for awhile longer.