On our first full day, we crossed The Bridge of the Gods that crosses the river and takes you over to the Oregon side (Skamania Lodge is on the Washington side in the town of Stevenson).  We drove for about 15 minutes and we came upon Horsetail Falls where we parked and began our first hike.

 Horsetail falls is right off the side of the road, no hiking required, but we were going to hike the 3 mile loop that takes you to two more waterfalls and a scenic overlook of the river.

 It was a beautifully sunny, crisp morning and the scenery was so peaceful.

 It is an easy hike, but the first 1/3 mile or so was kinda steep with a lot of switch backs.  The great thing about going early (9am) is you don't see a lot of people and you can really appreciate the stillness and see God's creative design.  

 After about a mile, we came across Pony Falls.  This was our first glimpse as we rounded a corner.  You walk behind this waterfall to cross over to the other side.

 As they say on The Jungle Cruise, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the backside of water!"

 This is the little path we took behind the waterfall.

 This part of the country is usually really wet so moss was growing every where, but they hadn't had any rain since June and the moss was drying out.   Usually the sides of trees and hills that contain this moss are dripping with water.  

 Here is a picture of the side of a hill higher up and closer to the waterfall.  Very lush and water was dripping down the side of the hill. 

This was the last little waterfall on the hike.  Overall, the hike took about 2 hours and was about 3 miles long.  We stopped often to admire the view and take in the beauty around us.  

 Before this trip, we went to REI and we bought these LEKI hiking poles for me.  I loved them.  I would recommend them to anyone who has likes hiking.  At first, I was kind of embarrassed, but then I saw so many people with them and they helped so much, that I just enjoyed them.  They took the pressure off my knee during uphills and helped stabilize going downhill.  They also just helped to propel me along.  They are adjustable to your height and collapse down to about 18 inches for packing.