Where the heck is Elowah Falls? OK, some back-story. Every couple has their "Special Place" and we're no different. Having grown up along the Columbia River, I became very familiar with the Columbia River Gorge a long time ago. Chelle had been to Multnomah Falls a few times, and had traveled up to Maryhill once, but she never really knew about the Historic Columbia River Highway (hereafter referred to as "HCRH"). Here's a history lesson for everyone who has headed I-84 east without deviating from the freeway. Around 1913, a guy named Samuel Hill (enter your Yosemite Sam "What in the Sam Hill's goin' on here?" joke here) decided that the current state of roads was terrible, and that a highway needed to be built that both highlighted the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge and provided an alternate method of travel than boat or train. He and Samuel Lancaster modeled the work after the Axenstrasse in Switzerland. By 1922, the road between Portland and The Dalles was complete. In the 1930's, what was termed "The King of Roads" started being eaten away by progress. One dam, several new railroad lines, a freeway and the rising of the Columbia River left much of the Nation's first Scenic Highway abandoned or destroyed by the 1960's. Fast-forward to the 1980's, where a movement to revitalize the highway started. As memory serves me, a majority of the highway has been rebuilt or rejuvenated. The gemstone of the HCRH is the stretch between Portland and Warrendale (Where in the Sam Hill is Warrendale?), where the highway winds through a half-dozen waterfalls. I shared this drive with Chelle early in our relationship, as a place to get away and submerge ourselves in hiking and photography. It indeed became "Our Place." Everyone knows about Multnomah Falls, but few venture beyond it. The very last falls is nearly unknown now, since the picnic area that identified it was neglected by the Forestry Department approximately 40 years ago. Elowah Falls drops nearly 300 feet into a basalt amphitheater, half of Multnomah Falls' drop. Still, you can walk to the base of the falls here, and the misty wind from the energy released by the crashing waters is exhilarating. John Yeon State Park bears no mention of the falls, and even the trail signs neglect it, only pointing out "Elowah Trail" as heading the opposite direction of the falls. If you don't know it's there, you ain't gonna find it!

This will be a tiny ceremony; just us, a waterfall, witnesses and the officiant. We will post pics of the site soon!

Welcome to our wedding site! This represents a couple of firsts for both of us, which is neat since we've both done the marriage thing before. The "first First": Neither of us has actually had a honeymoon! When we both looked back at previous relationships, we realized that we'd never had the opportunity to enjoy actual "time away together" due to work schedules, or family obligations, or whatever! The second First: We'd never really been on a vacation that took us away from family. My travel opportunities had largely been dictated by work in the past, or consisted of trips up to visit Mom and Dad in Alaska. Chelle's travel involved either moving or visiting her ex-husband at a military base when he completed Basic Training.

We decided that we would do this one thing for us! Take THAT, cruel gods of past vacation time! This may well be our one opportunity to travel, so we're going to make it a great trip. We're really looking forward to sharing the pictures and stories with friends and family when we get back. This will force me to sit and write again, a good thing since my writing has lapsed terribly. However this will allow Chelle and I to geek out with the camera gear, and will hopefully have some wonderful images to share. We will be putting a site together and sending out the link so that when we return, we can email everyone and let them enjoy the trip as well. The trip? We will be leaving September 14 for a week of cruising, diving, running around and frolicking in the warm, shark-infested waters of the Western Caribbean. We'll be sure to wear our Lucky Hams! Our stops include Miami, Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, and Rotan Island. Mmmm, sparkling waters!

Thanks for stopping by!