I awoke bright and early on the second day of my Oregon vacation eager for the day’s adventures! There was no time to get to a cafe, so my breakfast consisted of the Portland Cream doughnut purchased the prior night at VooDoo Donuts(Voodoo Donuts)!

The tour van arrived at 9 am in front of my hostel. It was to be a day of striking panoramas! Our first stop of the day was the Columbia River Gorge. The Gorge is a deep canyon in the Columbia River. The gorge goes through the Cascade Mountains connecting the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean.

 

A little further up the road is the Crown Point Vista House. It is a an observatory for travelers to relax and enjoy the panoramic views along the Columbia River Highway.

 

The remainder of the afternoon was to be spent at several, splendid waterfalls along the Columbia River! Our group visited Latourell Falls first.  Shepperd’s Dell Falls was of the next waterfalls we viewed.

 

Our next visit took place at Bridal Veil Falls. As we strolled through the forest, I notice many varieties of beautiful, native flowers.  

 

 

We arrived at Bridal Veil Falls to behold it’s grandeur! The top waterfall flowed downward, as it’s middle section twisted and turned to form the bottom falls.

 

Finally we had arrived at the piece de resistance…the Multnomah Falls. These falls are the longest falls in Oregon and the second longest in the United States. The falls are fed from Larch Mountain underground springs. I hiked to the wooden  bridge that overlooks the center of the breath-taking waterfalls!

 

Our  tour van proceeded towards the small town of Hood River.  The lunch hour had arrived. I dined at Farm Stand in the Gorge (http://farmstandgorge.com/ ). They offer several vegan options in their deli. My meal choice was the tempeh rueben sandwich with marinated tempeh, sauerkraut, cashew and sunflower seed cheese, and thousand island dressing on rye bread. It was really tasty! For dessert, I selected the ginger spice cookie. The sweet treat was yummy!  

 

 

Onward to Mount Hood, our tour group went! Timberline Lodge, located at the mountain base  displayed historical photos on it’s walls and showcased various indigenous artifacts from the region.  I felt energized gliding through the snowy base! Waterfalls, trails, wild flowers, and wildlife may be found within the wooded area.

 

After a full day of amazing scenery, our tour had come to an end and the guide drove us back to our individual accommodations. I headed to the Blossoming Lotus Restaurant (http://blpdx.com/) by bus. This upscale restaurant is quite elegant! For dinner, I chose their chana waffles. The savory spinach waffles are e topped with curried chick peas, crispy cauliflower pakora, cilantro-mint chutney, and cashew sour cream. These were very flavorful! The presentation was exquisite also.

 

 

The evening was still young, so I hopped on the bus again and headed over to Back To Eden Bakery ( http://www.backtoedenbakery.com/). This all vegan bakery offers pastries, breakfast items, cakes, cookies, and soft serve vegan ice cream. I devoured the Columbia River Hwy Sundae. It contains Soft Serve ice cream, Dark Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Cream Cookies & Holy Kakow Chocolate Sauce. I absolutely loved this sweet and chocolaty goodness with the superb flavor of the vegan soft serve!

 

I purchased a treat there also. The peanut butter filled sandwich cookie was so decadent and delicious!

 

It was time to get back to my hostel for the evening. I fell asleep while looking forward to the next day’s Portland City Tour.