My Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World, JOHN, and I enjoyed a 20+ year close friendship and we both loved taking short trips within a day, round-trip, from our home in Portland. We both enjoyed amature photography and had the equipment and processing to capture many of our "adventures" on film. Today's trip was taken in August, the summer of 1998.

Expect Uni to accompany you on this trip, after all, we're going into HIS Homeland again, and he never misses a chance to go Home.

We naturally make our traditional first stop at the Women's Forum State Park. The view is of the World Famous "VISTA HOUSE", it's a 10 min. drive if you go slow and look at the scenery--5 min. if you're on a "schedule"--We are NEVER on a schedule, giggle.

The drive to the "Official" spots along the old Hwy. is magical and thrilling in itself!and take lots of time on a bright summer day like this to notice the wide variety of colors that blanket the area:The wild flowers are all nestled in green carpeting of every shade and thicknessAll of this is shaded by Fir trees of many varieties with sudden and INSTANT breaks in which the shock of the sun hits you and dazzles you. Wild Rodedendron grow here in every color imaginable

The next stop is Latourell Falls at the "Official" stop on the Old Hwy. Notice the artistrey of the stone work!.

Let me just show our Visitors the way John loved the view under the bridge and we'll go down Uni!! PATIENCE!!

John loved to go out on the supports for the bridge for a favorite view spot. He was my "DARE DEVIL", and as "Klutzy" as he was, I always held my breath till he came back to "safety"!!He really was careful though

On down we travel, off the "Official Old Hwy",, under the trees, and through the little Community found there. Past there, less than 1/4 mile, is the small wooden bridge with a parking space for 1 car.

This is "OUR SPOT", First thing we do is just get out of the car and go sit on "OUR BRIDGE". "OUR BROOK" is very loud and joyous every time we come here.

Uni always takes off like a rocket as soon as the car parks, he's up and around the bend just upstream to covort with his Kin! So we are alone here, what never failed to ASTONISH us was the fact that in ALL the times we were there, though we could see the bridge, very few cars came down and across "OUR BRIDGE"!!We just relax and slowly get together whatever "picnic supplies" we had brought that day.

Now you need to keep in mind that John is "NO DANIEL BOONE" when it comes to the outdoors, but was very much a Boy Child when we came here, and we played like Children by the brook, under OUR BRIDGE, building neat dams and canals and one hot summer, even built us a "swimmin' hole" there about 4 feet deep and delightfully COLD!! We were ALWAYS young there. John would try valliantly to build our fire, eventually getting frustrated enough, (no D.B. remember), and bringing down BBQ Charcoal fluid or something like that and HOURS later, TA-DA, FIRE!~~GIGGLE~~!!!

This was also the very place that after our more than 20 year friendship, John asked me to marry him. One one knee and all-(I already wore the ring where it was supposed to be)-- the gravel wasn't soft or smooth either!

All the while, Uni and his Family frolicked just around the bend.