Great Escape 2013 – Potholes State Park

This year’s Great Escape was really great! We left on Sunday after Family Nite and spent the night at Greater Grace in Portland in order to get an early start on Monday morning. But not before our vehicle made a stop at a 7-11 for Slurpees!

Then we took off bright and early (but not too early) for a bit of hiking in the Gorge. First stop: Vista House.

Then we stopped at Multnomah Falls for a pic on the bridge.

   

Next we did some hiking at Horsetail Falls and the viewpoint beyond.

  Then we headed east for lunch at Stonehenge Memorial at Maryhill. Unfortunately, this is where the pictures stop. We were just so busy and having such fun that we didn’t take any more.

From Stonehenge we had to take a detour through the Tri-Cities due to the fact that the highway was closed because of huge forest fires. That also meant a state-wide burn ban and no campfires again this year.

But we had a great group spot all to ourselves right next to a lovely creek that ran right into the reservoir for swimming in. There were bees everywhere, but no one got stung! There were also mosquitoes everywhere, and we all got bit up like crazy! The bathrooms left something to be desired but thankfully there were showers!

We spent an afternoon at a water park in Moses Lake, where Tanner was able to convince Josh to go on a water slide multiple times thanks to his magic beard! ;o)  Chris and I spent an afternoon getting the brakes fixed on the van for the trip over the pass into Seattle. Not as much fun but glad we did it!

The teaching was amazing and God worked in and through it! We look forward to seeing what He has next for our group! We also said goodbye to Zack and Andy as this is their last Great Escape. :o(

On the way home, we spent the day exploring the waterfront and Pike’s Place Market in Seattle. I even got to have my picture taken with Dr Who!

Here is the group shot we took just before sending everyone home happy and exhausted! I wonder where we’ll be next year???