Just outside the historic downtown of Troutdale Oregon, the self proclaimed “Gateway to the Gorge” city is home to Sandy Riverside RV Resort, stop 5 of our cross country trip.
When we checked in, our host got all excited to see our shiny Airstream and then proceeded to tell us that hers got caught in a hail storm that completely dented in the roof and she had to get all the panels replaced! Not even an hour after we settled in, a huge hail storm rolls through pelting us with marble sized hail…. not large enough to leave any dents but large enough to give us a bunch of anxiety thinking that they might! Fortunately we made it through unscathed without any issues.
We chose this location because it was close to town, close to the Gorge where we could go on spectacular hikes and close to Portland (so we could spend some time with our family friends). We spent four days at this resort and it rained most of the time and when we finally got a clearing in the rain we headed back to the Gorge in search of a moderate waterfall hike. We really wanted to go on the Elowah Falls hike, but the trail was closed due to a landside so we ended up hiking to McCord Falls instead. The beginning of the hike is pretty steep and before we knew it, we were hundreds of feet high with spectacular views of the Colombia River. The trail was very rocky but not too difficult to navigate and once we got closer to the waterfalls the trail became more and more narrow with the only thing between us and a 90 degree drop off cliff was a metal tube fence that was broken in a couple of places.
It was a bit nerve racking (for me but not for Kandace – she’s tough as nails!) but the views of the gorge and the waterfalls made it all worth making the trek. We were able to see Elowah Falls on the McCord Falls trail, it is just from a higher vantage point and not really a great angle for getting a good pic but the views were breathtaking nonetheless. (Check out our Insta for a fun video we made of the hike)
So many waterfall hikes, so little time…..especially when we wanted to spend some time in Portland visiting with friends and checking out town. One of our favorite food trucks that we visited pre COVID fortunately made it through the pandemic so we had to pay a visit to Fried Egg I’m in Love one more time before we headed east. We drove to North Mississippi Ave and grabbed a coffee at Bloodbuzz and two mouth watering good to the last bite egg sandos at Fried Egg I’m in Love – the Yolko Ono is our fave…. if you are ever in the Portland area, this is probably the best breakfast sandwich you will ever eat.
On Easter Sunday we had lunch at Steeplejack which is an old church converted into a brewery – super cool concept. We try to eat healthy as much as we can but we couldn’t pass on the fried mashed potato balls – incredible (not pictured)!
We also spent some time checking out all the interesting retail shops on North Mississippi Ave. Lots of super cool shops like Mama and Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop where we bought reusable zip lock bags and dissolvable laundry soap sheets which are perfect when you have limited space. We also bought some sage to “cleanse” the camper from PDX Exchange a store that supports local artists and of course left our mark on the light poles where we were there 😉
On a recommendation from an old friend from high school, we had to make our way to Pip’s Original doughnuts…. gourmet mini donut shop with a long line. They really love their doughnuts in Portland as there are always lines at Blue Star and VooDoo. Pip’s was no exception as we must have waited in line for 45 mins in the rain to get our hands on these mini devils – needless to say they were worth the wait.
On our last night in town, we had to check out the dive bars on the main drag just down the way from the RV park. We stopped in at Ye Olde Pub and Bandit’s Bar and Grill pretty much the only two bars in town. What we found most interesting about Troutdale however was that there were 7 hair salons within a 3 block stretch of the historic downtown area. I guess Troutdale is the place to be if you need to get your hair done and if we ever do decide to live there, Kandace will have her pick on where she wants to work 😉
Looks like fun. You might want to put all these stories and photos in a book when you are done. Love you cuz. Suz e
Just to clarify, we’re Carrington’s friends, too. Got myself into a little trouble with my last coment 🤣 Did you get any Pip’s chai? Best ever! If not, now you have a reason to go back.
Haha. Too funny. Will be sure to let Carrington know ;-). We did try the matcha chai but will have to go back for some of their other gourmet options sometime soon. Cheers!