The wedding festivities are now behind us, and we're heading north for the next phase of our trip. We knew it would be a tough day, because we had crossed two mountain passes on Interstate 5 when we returned to Ashland from Crater Lake. Today, we had to cross the passes going the other direction.
Our Allegro motorhome seemed to relish the challenge, and we crossed the passes with no problem. We haven't done much summer traveling in the past. In fact, Carol and I have only done three summer trips in our 15 years together. We generally travel in April and September. We're not only traveling early in the summer, but Oregon has had a very wet winter, and the snow melt is very late. That means the rivers and waterfalls are full, and the hills and valleys are a gorgeous, verdant green. As we crossed the ridges of the mountain ranges today, we looked down into the amazing meadows and valleys that follow the rivers and streams. Some of the ranches that were tucked into the hills looked like a little bit of paradise.
Our GPS took us on a bit of a circuitous route to Silver Falls State Park after we left Interstate 5, but we saw some beautiful country. One of the things that has stood out on this trip is the tremendous pride that so many people take in their yards. Many of them are so manicured they look like public gardens. It seems like nearly everyone has irises growing in their yards. Rhododendrons are in full bloom in this area, and several of the yards had a striking red rhododendron that immediately drew our attention.
Every time we return to Silver Falls, we're struck by the strange combination of "crops" in this area. Farmers grow Christmas trees and grass for lawn seed. In many cases, the farmers grow both. Huge fields of grass grow in the flatter areas near the road with fir trees planted in perfect rows covering the hillsides. The contrast of colors and textures makes a very interesting "canvas."
We reached Silver Falls about 2:30. By 3:30, we were all set up, had eaten lunch, and started hiking to photograph
South Falls.
This is our
favorite waterfall of the 10 major waterfalls in the park, and this afternoon's lighting made it even better.
The late afternoon light emphasized the green of the trees and plants surrounding the falls without causing the contrast
issues we often have when photographing waterfalls. There were very few people on the trails, so we had a very relaxing afternoon.
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