There are days I want to turn off the television, the radio, social media. Days I want to escape from the horrors of our world. Days I want to let nature enfold me and bring a sense of peace back to my soul.

If you’re visiting this blog today, maybe you’re feeling that way, too? Want to come on a virtual journey with me?

When my husband and I were in Oregon for the Olympic trials, we spent one of the competition’s off days visiting the McKenzie River in the Cascades. The drive was beautiful, and at one point, I couldn’t see anything but a sliver of road surrounded all around by tall evergreens. It was a sight for sore eyes missing the green of home.

Trees, trees everywhere (a view from where we parked the car and got out to venture around)

Our surroundings turned magical once we got out of the car.

The McKenzie River rushing by

We planned to hike a trail that would take us past two waterfalls: Koosah Falls and Sahalie Falls. The river is a mesmerizing force, but all that rushing water didn’t prepare us for the falls we would discover.

Both us grew up in the Southeast, and our mental concept of “waterfall” has been forever shaped by the waterfalls we encountered in that part of the country. We were spellbound by the waterfalls of Yosemite, and here again, standing in the Cascades, we found ourselves amazed by the magnitude of the waterfalls. Koosah Falls drops 70 feet:

Koosah Falls

We also weren’t prepared for the pure blueness of the water rushing by us as we hiked. As we walked, I kept taking off my sunglasses, amazed they weren’t the cause of such a deep blue color. I didn’t doctor this photo. The water truly is this color:

Amazing blue of the McKenzie River

I’m never sure from state to state how accurate trail categorizations are, but this trail was a fairly easy one for us. The reward at the far end of our hike was the second waterfall, Sahalie Falls. It drops 100 feet, and the volume of water rushing over its edge is dizzying.

Sahalie Falls, with a swimmer (right) for scale

We’ve traveled to Crater Lake and to the Oregon coast on previous trips. While there’s much of Oregon we have yet to see, the McKenzie River is (to me) the most beautiful place in a beautiful state.

Where do you head when you need to get away from the cares of the world? What do you think is the most beautiful wild place in your state?