Multnomah Falls

What a day! I traveled slowly along the Historic Columbia River Hwy stopping here and there, exploring the vistas from high up and viewing the many waterfalls dotting the cliffs.

It truly is a magical place. Geologically, this area is rich with a history of massive lava flows, repeated over millions of years. Evidence remains in the form of huge basalt cliffs, strange rocks, hills, valleys and unusual erosion patterns.

At Multnomah Falls you can see this geologic record. Multiple layers of basalt, one on top of another, rise up forming the cliffs that Multnomah Creek falls over turning into the 620 foot high Multnomah Falls.

I spent the entire day mostly photographing waterfalls and enjoying the splendor of this region. I had a basic plan, but I really tried to let things happen so that I could find and thus experience places I didn’t know existed before today.

I have really been trying to work on this aspect of living. Letting things happen. Keeping my eyes open. Relaxing into the flow of what my life is turning out to be. Not judging myself too harshly or not at all. Not planning too much. Being relaxed and happy in as many moments as possible in a day.

In other words, just viewing my life as a journey; no goals, no destination, no expectations other than to be happy.

Have a great day!

Michael

Sunset at Ecola State Park

I’m in Oregon this week on a photographic tour. I spent most of the day on the coast around the Cannon Beach and Seaside areas. I haven’t been here for over 10 years. It’s so nice to be back.

The Oregon coast is phenomenal. I can spend hours watching the huge waves roll one after another into the shore. I especially like to watch them from the cliffs that tower above the beaches.

I took the sunset photo at Ecola State Park near the Sea Lion Rocks. It’s funny because I was dreaming of a beautiful sunset all day. Most of the day was hazy and partly cloudy. I continued to see a great sunset in my imagination.

Low and behold about 2 hours before sunset, I started to see the clouds open up and then separate above the horizon in the distance. So, all I had to do was to show up at the place I had picked to photograph the beautiful colors.

I had traveled all the way across the country to photograph a sunset on the west coast, specifically in this exact place. The forecast is rain over the next two days, so I knew my “chance” for the sunset was today.

Tidbit: This sunset at Cannon Beach was even mentioned on the local news this evening. Cool!

Everything worked out perfect.

Michael