Sheppards Dell 1

 

 

 There are a couple dozen waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge, but my favorite is one that’s kind of out of the way; not many people stop there.  The other day, I drove out to Multnomah Falls.  There is a center divider parking area on I-84 for Multnomah Falls – since I-84 is THE major east-west road in this part of the Pacific Northwest, I knew it would be easy to get to the falls.  The weather was very cold but dry, and The Old Highway, which used to be the main east-west highway, passes Multnomah Falls, looked drivable, so, after going up to Benson Bridge and taking a few pictures, I drove east on 84 to the offramp at Ainsworth Park, and turned west on the old highway.  I passed Latourel Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls, and motored on to Sheppards Dell.

I’d never been here in the winter before; it looks VERY different than during the rest of the year.  Sheppards Dell has been the subject of many photo and slideshow posts here, but never like this:

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The path from the road leads down:

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And halfway down we turn to the right and see:

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Follow the trail down:

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To a platform by the falls:

In the summer, a cool breeze blows back from the falls….

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But there was very little liquid water that day – most of it flowed under the ice.

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Water is unstoppable and always moves with gravity towards the lowest point.

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