TIDES and WATERFALLS
When I went to Portland, I wasn’t at my best, so no matter how many times I’ve actually had the opportunity to visit there, I did see only 10% of what this amazing state has to offer. Unfortunately I was in an abusive relationship with a functioning alcoholic temporarily stationed in Seattle and God knows “Alcohol has drowned more men than the sea”.
That’s another reason why I treasure great memories about Seattle, and Portland, over there I had the greatest friends ever. I made more friends around the world than in my own town. I wasn’t used to strong sentiments of friendship, I never have any luck with these things but since Seattle, things have quickly changed. I opened up with the rest of the world, with every single person I met along the way, wearing a big smile rather than a frowny face, seeking the bright side in things, a bright spin on things and doing it was funny, it felt great, it was challenging, and uplifting to briefly feel like I was making a difference in people’s lives and vice-versa.
CANNON BEACH, PORTLAND
I knew it would be an amazing experience in a beautiful city such as Portland. What I didn’t know before I traveled there is just how deeply my soul would be touched by the Nepali people. Sabin was a great American guy, with a kindred Nepalese spirit. I still consider him one of my dearest friend.
"Portland is a place whereyou can find a communityas a feminist, a vegan or a fat activist.Artists, musicians, knitters, and filmmakerscan all meet like-minded souls
Sabin, among other things, has taken us on tour, to two special places: Cannon Beach and Wahkeena Falls.
“ I could touch the skyreflecting in the seawater,and breathedthe legend of a princessfrom the top of a waterfall”
Cradled between the Pacific Ocean and Oregon’s coastal mountain ranges is the City of Cannon Beach, one of Oregon’s best-kept secrets. Cannon Beach is a quiet, beautiful town by-the-sea. It’s famous for its rugged natural beauty – such as forested headlands, magnificent monoliths, miles of pristine beaches – and its film locations. Cannon Beach is where the uber-famous Twilight (2008) and two of my personal favorite films were shot, The Goonies (1985) and Point Break (1991).
[Cry no tears captain, now the wind is in our sails.]
Punctuated by the Haystack Rock, a basalt “sea stack” that stands 235 feet tall, a Never-ending sandbar long enough to run…and yes, Cannon Beach got all the impressive ingredients to become as famous as Mount Hood, the Grand Canyon or any other breathtaking and beautiful natural scenary. As the tide recedes, a unique and diverse environment is revealed in intertidal areas and tidepools. Bright sea stars in a variety of colors cling tightly to rocks. Green anemones lay open like flowers at the bottom of pools. That day, We experienced 4 seasons all at once the same day. It was a sunny and warm afternoon, which drastically changed in a cloudy, windy weather, then rainy, and lastly a sudden hailstorm passing by over our heads and finally turning in rainy again. Cannon Beach is a place where you have to certainly be aware of tides and never turn your back on the ocean. Home to colorful tidepools. Here you can talk to the Seagulls and Puffins.
It was an eye-opening momentseeing how big the world is andthat I was just a small dot living in it.
Multnomah Falls
A waterfall as magnificent and memorable as any in the country is located just a 30- minute drive outside of Portland. At 620 feet (189 m), Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon. The dramatic two-tiered falls are fed by underground springs. Located just 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown Portland along the Historic Columbia River Highway. I was wearing some sorts of short man pants. When it’s about Italy, or my second home town (Agerola, 2 steps away from the God’s Pathways) I see tourists travelling from every side of the world, wearing short pants and tshirts. You know, I was trying to do good work here, really find the character, dressing the part, so I did. (LOL in the true sense of the term.) I was freezing to death and Sabin took us hiking hundred feet up the paved trail to reach Benson Bridge, which spans the falls at the first tier’s misty base. There was a volume of water coming over the falls like I’ve never seen.
Stories from the Native American, said that Multnomah Falls was created to win the heart of a young princess. I’ve been there, I can consider this path, one of my very first time exploring a place the way a tourist does. Multnomah Falls looks unreal, like if it’s part of the fairy world, a hidden spot that feels like Celtic holy secret.
You can tell, it’s a place that carries a Legend. You can sense a strong spirit dwelling there. The legend says, that chief of the Multnomah people had a beautiful daughter. She was dear to her father, especially because he was now an old man, who lost all of his sons in fighting. He chose her husband with great care, and many tribes came to celebrate the princess and her wedding, for both the maiden and the young warrior were loved by their people. But without warning, the happiness changed to sorrow. A sickness came over the village. Children and young people were the first victims, then strong men became ill and died in only one day. The wailing of the women was heard throughout the Multnoah village. What can we do to soften the Great Spirit wrath? “All would die, unless a sacrifice was made to the Great Spirit.
Some pure and innocent maiden of the tribe, the daughter of a chief, must willingly give her life for her people. Alone, she must go to a high cliff above Big River and throw herself upon the rocks below. If she does this, the sickness will leave us at once” said with low and feeble voice the oldest medicine man, who had not attended the wedding feast, but who came in from the mountains only when he was called by the chief.
“I have finished, my fathers secret is told. Now I can die in peace” Soon a dozen girls stood before him, all the maidens whose fathers or grandfathers have been headmen, among them his own loved daughter. “No maiden shall be asked to sacrifice herself.” – The chief of Multnomah said – “Even if I think that the old medicine man shared words of truth”. So the sickness stayed in the village and many more people died. A Few days later the princess saw the sickness on the face of her lover and now she knew what she must do.
She cooled his hot face, cared for him tenderly, and left a bowl of water by his bedside. Then She slipped away alone, without a word to anyone. All night and all the next day she followed the trail to the great river. At sunset she reached the edge of a cliff overlooking the water. She stood there in silence for a few moments, looking at the rocks far below. Then she turned her face toward the sky and lifted up her arms. She spoke aloud to the Great Spirit. “If you will accept me as a sacrifice for my people, let some token hang in the sky. Let me know that my death will not be in vain” Just then she saw the moon coming up over the trees across the river. It was a token. She closed her eyes and jumped from the cliff. Next morning, all the people who had expected to die that day, arose from their beds well and strong. They were full of joy. Suddenly someone asked “What caused the sickness to pass away? Did one of the maidens?” Once more the chief called the daughters and granddaughters of the headmen to come before him. This time one was missing. Everyone was searching for her, without any success. Then her father prayed to the Great Spirit “Show us some token that my daughters spirit has been welcomed into the land of the spirits” Almost at once, they heard the sound of the water above. All the people looked up to the cliff. A stream of water, silvery white, was coming over the edge of the rock. It broke into floating mist and then fell at their feet. The stream continued to float down in a high and beautiful waterfall. For many summers the white water has dropped from the cliff into the pool below. Sometimes in winter the spirit of the brave and beautiful maiden comes back to see the waterfall. Dressed in white, she stands among the trees at one side of Multnomah Falls. There she looks upon the place where she made her great sacrifice and thus saved her lover and her people from death.
My special price at the end of a long day!Huge Waffle at the The Waffle Window, Portland!
Getting to Multnomah Falls: You’ve got choices
Most Direct, 30 minutes:
From Portland take I-84 eastbound for approximately 30 miles. Follow signs and take exit 31 (an unusual left-side exit ramp) off I-84 to a parking area. Follow the path under the highway to reach the falls viewing area.
Scenic, 45 minutes:
From Portland take I-84 to exit 28 (Bridal Veil exit) and drive three miles east on the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway. You will pass other falls on your way.
Ultra – Scenic, 1 hour or more depending on stops:
Take I-84 eastbound to the Troutdale exit. Follow signs for the Scenic Loop drive. Follow the drive along the old Columbia River Highway, the first in our nation to be named a National Historic Landmark. On this route you can encounter breathtaking views of the Columbia Gorge, Mount Hood and several other famous waterfalls on your way to the Multnomah Falls parking area.
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