Hike at Silver Falls State Park

On Saturday morning it was really windy, but we decided to go to Silver Falls State Park anyway since it was unlikely we'd be back this way anytime soon.  I'm so glad we went because the waterfalls were beautiful & the trails were sheltered since they were in a valley.  We saw the South Falls, the Lower South Falls, and the Upper North Falls.  In all we walked over 4 miles with lots of hills & stairs.  My knees were protesting a bit by the end.  I would definitely recommend this area to anyone who is visiting Salem.  I'd like to come back some day & do the entire 9 mile loop to view all 10 waterfalls.

 

 

 

Scott liked this giant leaf.

South Falls.  It's way bigger than it looks.  About half way up in the picture is the fenced trail where you can walk behind the falls.
 

Photo bombed!

The fenced trail from the previous picture.  Lots of cool rock formations.

The amazing back side of water!

We walked down to Lower South Falls.  There were a lot of stairs on this trail.

 

Gabby being naughty!

 

Back at South Falls

 

Trying to get a good Coug Flag photo.  It was hard because it was windy.

We also got a peekaboo view of North Falls.

Viewpoint.  There were tons of Christmas tree farms around this area.

 

Oregon Capital Trip

Scott & I have decided that we want to visit & tour all 51 U.S. capitol buildings before we get too old.  So far we've been to the ones in Washington, Utah and Washington D.C.   This weekend we traveled south to Salem, Oregon to tour the capitol building & also climb the 121 winding steps to the top to view the Golden Pioneer.  We learned lots of interest facts on our tour, such as: Oregon is the 33rd state; it is the only state with a different pattern on the front & back of its flag (the beaver is on the back); the capitol we visited is actually the 3rd capitol building in Salem- the first two burned down; and the Golden Pioneer is made of bronze and covered in gold leaf, which, if it was removed, would fit into the palm of your hand!  It was really fun to visit the building & the grounds.  4 capitals down, only 47 more to go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the dome.  The Golden Pioneer is right above the stars.  There are 33 stars to represent that Oregon is the 33rd state.

 

There were 4 murals depicting significant events in the history of Oregon.  I was only able to take pictures of two scenes due to poor lighting.  This was Captain Robert Gray coming ashore.

This is the expedition of Lewis & Clark.

We went into the Governor's office.

Scott got to sit at the Governor's desk!

The Senate Chamber

Desks in the House had patriotic elephants & donkeys on them.

 

They let us hold them.  They aren't wood, but instead are made of sponge like material, so you can squeeze them to relieve stress.

 

The House

Original Capitol Building

Second Capitol Building

Current Capitol Building

The back of the Capitol Building

Original columns from the second Capitol Building

View of the mall from the top of the building.

The Golden Pioneer!  He is hollow & 22 feet tall.

His body is faced north, but he is looking west.

The crazy stairs we had to climb.  My legs got a good workout!

Views of Salem.  I didn't realize it was quite so flat.

We also didn't realize Willamette University was right next door!