Multnomah Falls and a time-out

Surely Multnomah Falls is one of the most beautiful sites I've ever tried to photograph while keeping track of four children.

The water comes crashing down into a pool below that footbridge and then cascading further to just below the level of the first viewing point.

We didn't think it wise to take the Danger Girl up there.

She wouldn't stop climbing the railing so she had to sit down. Look how happy she was about that. And while we're checking out that time-out moment, let's consider my children's wardrobes. If there were any more stripes someone might've mistaken them for a short chain gang on the run. Barb once told me that she liked to dress her children (when they were younger) in a manner approaching clownish. I replied that I completely understood, that my kids do that all on their own. Remembering of course who buys their clothes, I am hesitant to lay blame.

Laura finally got over not being able to swim in the frigid water when later that day Daddy let her sit on a life-sized Clydesdale built out of barbed wire. Notice my six-foot-tall husband not even visible behind the horse. That's his hand holding the happy Danger Girl in place for a photo.

It was a cold, cold October day up the Columbia Gorge. Our stated mission was to visit a rescue center for Maine Coon cats, and maybe to come home with one.

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On the way there we drove right around Portland -- Powell's was calling my name -- and stopped at Multnomah Falls for a picnic of roast beef and cheddar on homemade oatmeal bread. Yum! We ate in the car though, because our clothing was fall-appropriate for our valley temperatures but not adequate for the biting wind at sub-40 temps. In fact durin our visit to Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood the thermometer registered 30 degrees. Brr.

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Note to self: Bring warmer coats next time. And maybe a leash for Laura.

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(Perfect spot for a parenting moment. I know those leash things are popular and intended to keep children safe. I realize parents are doing their best to keep track of active babies. But they bug me. (The leashes, not the families who use them.) No matter whether they have a monkey on them (talk about a weird metaphor -- a monkey on your baby's back) or Elmo, it's just odd, disturbing, even, to see a leash with a mother on one end and her child on the other. Feel free to discuss. Unless you're going to tell me I'm cracked, in which case, feel free to, you know, go visit Katie's blog.)