Who knew? Multnomah Falls spectacular, accessible.

Byline: John Rezell The Register-Guard

Funny how you learn about things. Just as our family began to think we were becoming some sort of experts on waterfalls, having sniffed out a number of the area's gems in the past year, my daughter Sierra came home from school with some news.

Multnomah Falls is the highest waterfall in Oregon, she said, it's 620 feet!

She saw the amazing poster at school. You know, the one with the bridge in the foreground.

Suffice to say, we put it on our must-see list, even though we still knew nothing about it. Maybe, Sierra suggested, we can see it this summer on our way to Glacier National Park. It's somewhere in the Columbia River Gorge.

I tried to explain that saying something is in the Columbia River Gorge is akin to saying it's near the Pacific Ocean. That descriptions covers a lot of real estate.

Eventually we found time to do some research on the Internet, and lo and behold, it just may be one of the easiest superstar landmarks of Oregon to get to.

We planned to catch it on our next trip to Portland and, when we pulled into the parking lot at Exit 31 on Interstate 84 heading east out of Portland, wow, I couldn't believe it.

What I couldn't believe is that not even two years ago I drove right past in our moving truck. Of course, that was about 6 in the morning on the third day of an all-out drive from Tennessee, but still, the real question is how could I miss it?

It didn't take long for us to snap a bundle of pictures and spin off minutes of video.

Once again, Oregon's nature delivered on a grand scale.

We didn't expect there to be much of a trail, since this was just a stone's throw from the freeway. With so many people marching up and down the trail, we figured it had to be pretty easy.

Not that easy, but we made it to the top in quick time, and wished we had prepared to take more of a hike around the top.

Once again, there's nothing shy about the trail. You hike up a few hundred feet to see a waterfall? We'll show you a waterfall.

Until I came to Oregon, I've rarely stood at the top of a waterfall and watched the tons of water go tumbling over the edge.

Our grand hike to the top of Vernal Falls at Yosemite, I thought, had set an unmatched standard.

Yet, there we were, once again, watching an Oregon waterfall from the perfect setting - a wooden deck built out on the edge of the rocky outcrop to give you such an amazing experience.

I was reminded of that fantastic access when we trudged down a muddy trail in the rain at Yellowstone for a peek at Tower Falls, only to see it from a good quarter-mile plus away.

In any event, the unending views up Multnomah Trail No. 441 offer a great variety of looks at the falls, and help you love the fact that you can snap like a crazy person with a digital camera getting as many photos as you'd like, without feeling the least bit of guilt.

After an extended stroll through the visitor's center, we now know that we've seen the two highest waterfalls in the United States, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, and Oregon's gem, Multnomah Falls.

You learn something new every day.

John Rezell, aka, Raz, wants to share your favorite outdoor experiences. Invite him along at [e-mail].