Mt. Hood in June

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Another busy week around our house. Husband in meetings in California all week, kids studying for finals and I was trying to get my grading finished and lessons wrapped up for the year. The weekend couldn’t come fast enough. The forecast was a mixed bag, but since we enjoyed Camp Creek so much two weeks prior, we decided to head up for a single night…rain or shine…sleet or snow!

The weather on Saturday was far from ideal. It was the day of the Portland Rose Festival Parade, which historically means you can count on rain! We arrived at the campground around 1 p.m. and once again the place was virtually empty except for either of the two spaces we had hoped to get. Site 8 and 9 are beautiful, large and private and are located directly on the water. They seem to be the most popular sites however, and look to be booked throughout the summer.  We wandered over to the other side of the campground and found site 18 to be a nice choice. The site itself is a bit smaller, but it is very private and we could see the creek out of the window.

The sun peeked out for a few minutes!

Cold outside but warm in the Bambi!

After quickly setting up and enjoying a nice lunch we decided to head up to Timberline Lodge to explore a bit. The weather outside was misty and damp and spending the afternoon inside seemed like a wise idea! If you visit Portland, Timberline is a place you need to put on your itinerary!  The lodge was constructed between 1936-1938 during the Great Depression and in 1978, it was declared a national landmark. According to the Friends of Timberline, “ Timberline Lodge is unique in America. It is the only twentieth-century public building of its size constructed and furnished entirely by hand with original craft work in wood, wrought iron, weaving, painting, mosaic and stained glass.” You can read more about the lodge’s impressive history here: http://www.friendsoftimberline.org/about_lodge.htm

Snowing and sleeting at Timberline…June??

 

The drive to Timberline Lodge is just a 15 minute trip from the camp, but the weather changed dramatically during that 15 minutes as we gained in altitude. By the time we reached the summit, the fog was so thick that we could barely see three feet in front of us. The wind was howling and sleet stung our faces as we braced ourselves and ran from the parking lot to the lodge doors. It was hard to believe it was mid June!

The lodge is a fun place to spend the afternoon. There are several cafes, a cute gift store and lots of museum type displays to explore:

Neat old bar inside the lodge….

Historic handcrafted furniture from the 1930s

View of the old rooms

Lots of old tile and wood work throughout the lodge.

Historic displays and Pendleton Woolen Goods

We returned to camp, had a nice campfire and dinner and then awoke to blue skies on Sunday!

Coffee by the fire…

Love the fire glow! Even in the rain…

It was beautiful….quiet…and just what we needed. I love the ability to hook our little 16 footer up and leave at the spur of the moment!

Picked up some pretty new dishes from Crate and Barrel and some pretty summertime pillows from Chiasso! The brightened the inside a lot!

A little bit of blue up there!

Rhodies were putting on a show!

On a last note….Crocs are UGLY, but they are wonderful!!! I wear Todd’s around everywhere because they’re just so easy to slip on and off and I don’t drag in the dirt! Off to find myself a pair that fit a little better!!

Ugly, but oh-so practical!