Sunshine! I almost forgot how wonderful it is. A time for a shirt-sleeve hike to see three waterfalls east of Salem. And, to add icing to the cake, we had not done the five-mile loop hike before.

The 40-foot Lower Falls was impressive, but nothing like the 100-foot Upper Shellburg Falls. A side trail led to a beautiful overlook of the bottom of the Upper Falls. Sunshine was streaking into the slot canyon, forming a colorful rainbow as the water flowed over the basalt rock above. The trail then passed behind the Falls, very reminiscent of similar rock formations in near-by Silver Falls State Park. In another 1 1/2 miles we reached a short, rough trail to Stassel Falls crashing down into a deep canyon. What a nice way to spend a few hours on a pretty spring day.

Bottom of Shellburg Falls

Colorful rock in crystal-clear Shellburg Creek

A testy Douglas Squirrel

Blue sky and white blossoms, a fine mix

Snow Queens, an early spring wildflower

My favorite model reading Bill Sullivan’s description of the hike

Slow elk