We headed back down to Oregon where we set up camp at the Milo McIver State Park (No 18 on the map) on the Clackamas River. Nice place where we picked some blackberries and took a short hike to the river and back.

Tuesday we took the scenic route south (and east and west again) and ended up at Silver Falls State Park (just north of No 20 on the map, near Silverton), Oregon's most popular park. Here we are staying three nights to visit areas in the Willamette Valley, including wineries, restaurants, gardens, etc. Steve did some laundry in Silverton, we checked our email at the local library and checked out the towns of Silverton and Mt. Angel (a community of Bavarian heritage). Bought some locally made bratwurst in Mt. Angel and discovered that the microbrewery we thought was there is no longer operating (and wasn't really very good when it was). So we had to quit the microbrewery visit.

We found some fresh Pacific salmon which we took back to grill up for dinner. It was good, along with the fresh farm vegetables from the vegetable stand in Washington.

Next day, Wednesday, we took the hike to view the South Silver Falls (both upper and lower.) They were really nice to see and we could walk behind the falls as well. After the about 3 mile hike we returned to the trailer for lunch and then headed out to the town of Silverton to see the Oregon Gardens; some 22 gardens grouped together, each maintained and managed by separate nurseries or other organizations. It was really nice there and it reminded us of our visit to Chicago's botanical gardens two years ago.

After the gardens we drove out to the Markam Hill Winery to try some Oregon wines. They were so-so. On the way back to our trailer we stopped and to a short hike toe the North Silver Falls. At 134 ft they were pretty spectacular. Again, we could walk behind the falls for a complete view.

Thursday we packed a picnic lunch and headed out to tour the Willamette Valley wine country and visit some wineries. First stop, in Salem, at the Honeywood winery was good. All the wines we tasted were quite good and we purchased three bottles to take with us. Next was the Eola winery, which was so-so for us. But the Van Duzer winery was a big hit and their Pinot Noirs were excellent. Picked up two bottles there and had our lunch at their beautiful hill-top setting. After lunch we stopped at two more wineries and picked up a couple more bottles and a jar of marionberry jam. Back at the Silver Falls State Park we stopped and took a short hike to view the Winter Falls. But it wasn't winter yet and there was no water flowing over the falls. Nice little hike though through the 2nd growth primeval forest.