OR 7/10- Eagle Creek Trail and McMenamins Kennedy School

Eagle Creek Trail is the most popular trail in the Columbia Gorge.  We were thankful to hike it on a Thursday since there were fewer people on the trail, and depending on where you are, the path can be narrow and a little frightening to pass.  

From creek level the trail gradually climbs upward, passing many streams that lead into the creek, and areas where the water just spills off the mountain above.  

Volunteers created the trail in 1915 by blasting through the basalt cliffs.

Chocolate lily.

Rockslide Larkspur.

Punch Bowl Falls, a 30 meter waterfall.  

Loowit Falls, a 27 meter waterfall.  

Yellow Glacier Lily.

We hiked to High Bridge (which allows you to walk 46 meters above the creek) and then turned around, totaling 8 spectacular miles.  I wish we could have hiked more, but we had a very limited food supply (only what we took from various hotel's free breakfast buffets).  

Dutchman's Breeches.

We stopped at Thunder Island Brewing Company after the hike, for a very late lunch.  (It really isn't a good idea to promise someone sandwiches on a hike when there are no sandwiches available for purchase.  But we survived to talk about it...)

Thunder Island Brewing Company is located right on the Columbia River, just a mile east of the Bridge of the Gods (which takes you across the river to Washington).  

Our final stop was McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland, Oregon.  Kennedy Elementary School opened its doors in 1915, but by the 1970s was falling apart and cost too much to repair so it was permanently closed down.  

That was until the twenty years ago, when it was purchased by two brothers, the McMenamins, who are known to purchase historic buildings and restore them.  With the help of volunteers from the community, and the McMenamin crew, the Kennedy School is now a hotel, movie theater, brewery and restaurant, forever preserving the history of the school, the employees and students, and the neighborhood.

We spent most our time at the Kennedy School wandering the halls, looking at pictures and reading about the school's history, including stories about wicked principals and naughty school children. 

Eric got in trouble. 

The Boiler Room Bar, not surprisingly in the school's old boiler room.