Today we had more of a travel day with one stop near the end of our trip.

              Our morning drive from Pasco, Washington to Molalla, Oregon took about four hours. We took a scenic drive along the Columbia River, enjoying the mountain views and even seeing some mountain goats along the way. We had a quick detour to visit some of the historic Oregon waterfalls. Multnomah Falls is Oregon’s largest waterfall, towering at 620 feet tall with a two-and-a-half-mile hike to the top. Students enjoyed the beautiful view, with some of our group even making it all the way to the top!

              Our only stop of the day was at the Marquam Hill Ranch to see their alpaca operation. They run nearly 90 head of alpacas and have a small store where they sell products made from their alpaca wool. Several students had the opportunity to trim hooves, and we all were able to feed and lead around a group of alpacas. Inside the shop, we were given a lesson on wool grading, and the EPDs used in the breeding program. Some fun facts we learned about alpacas are that they communicate through humming, they have an 11 ½ month gestation period, and their wool can be 22 different colors. 

              We had a lot of fun today and some of us got in some great hiking exercise! Overall, it was a great start to our time in Oregon!

 Multnomah Falls - from the bottom

  Multnomah Falls - from the top

 Views from around Multnomah Falls

Slippers from alpaca
 
Bears made from alpaca materials

Cute alpaca
 
Another cute alpaca
 
Alpaca female

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