Day - 16 Gresham, OR to Mt. Hood & Return

Today was off to a slow start. Made it down to the free breakfast with 15 minutes to spare. I walked in and spotted the waffle griddle instantly! Wow... a fresh waffle for breakfast... doesn't get much better than that. I followed the directions and 5 minutes later I had that golden beauty on my plate covered with butter and syrup. It didn't have a chance. I washed it down with coffee and juice.... perfect.

I dragged all of my camera equipment in the night before to give it a quick once over. Charged batteries, downloaded pictures, cleaned lens filters and other surfaces. Even cleaned the sensor on the 20D!. Packed it all into the car and headed up the "correct" way to Mount Hood.

Along the way you pass a number of small towns with interesting names: Sandy, Firwood, Cherryville, Rhodedendron and Government Camp. But my favorite was Boring, OR. I saw the Boring, OR Fire Truck taking care of business at a minor collision. Little cars and big RV's don't mix well... that's for sure!

I continued my drive and at some points you could actually see Mt. Hood. Very impressive with a cloud covered summit shaped almost like a hat. Then there's the part of the drive where you can't see the mountain at all! I did stop at Government Camp which has a ski area and a partial view of the mountain but not much to write home about.

I decided to press on to the Timberline Lodge. An historic lodge located at the base of the mountain. I pulled off at a parking area just short of the lodge and there it was.... Mt. Hood. It was kind of a let down. At this distance you could see how the snow had discolored and darkened over the warmer months. With a lack of sun, the mountain was a dark, ominous hulk of stone. I did snap some pictures of the mountain and the surrounding scenery. Will have to take a look at them on the computer to see how they came out.

At this point, it was time to head down the mountain and back to the hotel. Rain was falling off and on but nothing too heavy. The roads were fun to drive... lots of "S" turns all the way down. I needed gas and noticed a number of the stations along US 26 had pretty good prices. I found a Shell station and there was actually an attendant who filled my tank AND offered to clean my windshield! That hasn't happened in a lot of years.

I continued on back to Gresham and the safety and comfort of my hotel. Found a simple meal of chicken strips. Put my feet up and DWTS on the TV. Tomorrow.... coastal Oregon or Maybe Northern California.

Till the next time...