Yoga Talk
Counting Waterfalls
~ February 2010 ~
Soon after we moved into our house in the Oxbow neighborhood in 1997, a neighbor told us about a shortcut into Portland that bypassed Gresham and a lot of city traffic. This route took us through some cabbage farms, berry fields and tree farms on our way to the Stark Street Bridge. Once you cross the bridge, you wind along the old scenic highway by the Sandy River on the way to I-84. It is a delightful drive and I take it whenever possible.
Part of why I like to take this route in and out of town is because I am driving in nature and that is relaxing, as opposed to driving through ordinary traffic, which is not. It gets quieter and less busy the closer I get to home.
In late winter and early Spring I count waterfalls when I drive this route. The most I have counted is 13, but this only happens when there has been a lot of rainfall. Some waterfalls are year round and some are only there when it has been very wet for a long time.
Last weekend I took my granddaughter Eva home along this route. She is 6 ½ so I figured she would like the waterfall game and asked her if she wanted to play. She got right into it. It was so much fun to see her discovering each waterfall and yelling out, “number 6” or “grandma I see another one”. She counted 10 that day.
So, why don’t you play the game? Hop in your car, drive out I-84 to exit 18, and see how many waterfalls you can find as you drive the old scenic highway. Bring the kids or grandkids along, or just let your own little kid have some fun.
