Days #607-612 of Our Epic Trip

7-1-2025
H: 78ºF L: 57ºF
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

We decided to go see all the waterfalls along Columbia River east of Portland. Our first stop was to get a free parking pass for Multnomah Falls at Gateway to the Gorge Visitor Center in Troutdale, OR. There is a parking lot in the median of US-84 but, between the hours of 9am-6pm during the summer months, you can’t park there and see the falls unless you have a pass. We took Historic Columbia River Highway 30 and found some beautiful views, small hikes, and many waterfalls. Our first stops on this road were Portland Women’s Forum Overlook and Crown Point Vista House, which is a rest stop.

Next we stopped at Latourell Falls which required just a short hike. I love the old cement bridges covered in moss and leichen that we drove over and hiked next to.

Next we went to Shepperd’s Dell Falls which required another very short hike. It was hard to see the full waterfall all at once but the view at the end of the trail was so pretty with the sunlight bouncing off the water. There was also a really cool, really huge rock near where we parked.

Next was Bridal Veil Falls with a 1926 lodge across the street. This waterfall required a longer hike to view and the return hike to the parking lot was mostly uphill. We saw a gorgeous butterfly feeding on flowers.

We stopped at Horsetail Falls which was right next to the road and didn’t require any hiking. There was a larger pool at the bottom with many people cooling off in the water. I liked this waterfall because it had a fallen tree across the top where the water starting falling. I feel like I have seen this log and waterfall in a movie.

Next we stopped at the famous Multnomah Falls with the iconic Benson Bridge. It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon and draws over two million visitor every year. There were a lot of visitors while we were there, especially on the bridge. We also went in the lodge which was old and had Harry Potter vibes but Daniel didn’t like how the place felt.

We stopped to talk to some Jehovah Witness pamphlet distributers to ask if they were vegan. Since watching Christspiracy, we believe this is an important question to ask of anyone who follows the bible.

After seeing all these beautiful waterfalls, I have to say that the highlight of our day was listening to a Today, Explained podcast where we learned that the US Supreme Court justices have a long history of watching porn in the basement of the Supreme Court Building for cases they were reviewing. We laughed especially hard after learning that a Supreme Court Justice with poor eyesight had to have an aide sit beside him and verbally describe what was on the TV. That poor aide!

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7-2-2025
H: 67°F L: 51°F
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

We hung out at camper all day and just relaxed.

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7-3-2025
H: 67ºF L: 50ºF
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

We exercised this morning and noticed the clouds hovering in the treetops. It’s such a beautiful area.

The campground has a tiny home village (two homes are currently for sale for around $160k) which we like walking through. It’s very quiet and peaceful.

We had planned on driving to Mt. Hood and down to Columbia River today but our travels were quickly averted by a flat tire. So we ended up at Discount Tire in Gresham, OR where we also did some shopping.

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7-4-2025
H: 63ºF L: 48ºF
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

Happy Fourth of July! It’s a very special day in our household. Daniel and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary and it’s Peter’s birthday/gotcha day. He’s 11! Most people are surprised by his age because he’s so healthy.

We went to Joe’s lake house in Lake Oswego, OR and met some of his friends: Natalie who does cat rescue and has a large edible garden, Diana who is into raw plant based eating, Kerry who shares our frustrations at working in healthcare, and Kathleen and Jeff who we learned are local social butterflies. We had a great time talking with them and they shared such delicious food with us.

We also loved this dog having a Titanic moment in the background of one of the pictures.

We also learned that from 1951-2023 it was against the law in Oregon for people to pump their own gas. Wow!

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7-5-2025
H: 69ºF L: 45ºF
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

We took Lolo Pass Rd near Mt. Hood. It is a very pretty area with small waterfalls everywhere and views of the snow capped Mt. Hood. We especially liked the orange Columbia Tiger Lilly that we found along the road.

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7-6-2025
H: 85°F L: 55°F
Home Depot, The Dalles, Oregon

We left the beautiful trees and ferns of the Mt. Hood area and drove to The Dalles, OR. It’s dry and hot here.

We have been getting coal rolled a lot lately. Coal rolling is when a driver of a vehicle, typically older pickup trucks, deliberately do something to make their vehicles emit black smoke aimed at electric vehicles. Today, a pickup truck driver coal rolled us as we passed by bicyclists. Talk about inconsiderate.

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Stats

Expenses:

• Tesla Cybertruck fuel: $0
• Tesla Model X fuel: $0
• Campsite: $0
• Camping memberships: $32.79
• Food: $576.74

Tesla Cybertruck miles driven: 157.2 (81.1 kWh)

Tesla Model X miles driven: 367.4 (106.1 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 2

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#FullTimeTraveling #FullTimeCamping #FullTimeRVing #TravelingTheUS #CamperLife #VeganLife #RetiredLife #FIRELife #WelchesOR #CorbettOR #CascadeLocksOR #LakeOswegoOR #ColumbiaRiverHighway #PortlandWomensForumOverlook #CrownPointVistaHouse #LatourellFalls #ShepperdsDellFalls #BridalVeilFalls #HorsetailFalls #MultnomahFalls #Christspiracy #TinyHomes #DogBirthday #WeddingAnniversary #NewFriends #LoloPassRd #MtHood #RollingCoal