Skiing anyone?

Last evening was pleasant and I decided to walk down to the Sandy River that runs behind the campground. I was hoping to photograph some birds or flowers. Instead I spotted this young man enjoying surfing on the river. He must have some skateboarding or snowboarding experience. He dropped his board, ran and jumped on and rode it about 40 ft up river.





Today (Wednesday) we took the Mt. Hood scenic drive. Since our arrival in the Portland area, we have seen this mountain from a distance. It was called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe and that name is used for numerous businesses and products in the area. It is the highest mountain in Oregon, reaching 11, 249 ft. There are 12 glaciers on this mountain and it too is a volcano- in fact it is the one thought to be the most likely to be the next to erupt. The day of our visit, the peak was shrouded in clouds. The clouds in this picture almost look like a spider has snared the mountain and is wrapping it in silk.


The road is in excellent shape and the drive was very pleasant, with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. This one is Mount Jefferson. You may have to look closely since it is covered in snow and appears ghostlike in the distance. Mt. Jefferson was named for Thomas Jefferson by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and was the only mountain they named. It is the second highest mountain in Oregon and most difficult to reach.




We drove through the village of Government Camp expecting to find some old gray buildings and maybe some historic markers. Instead we found a thriving ski village! That was our first clue that Mt.Hood is a snow sport meca. Signs at the entrance to the Mt Hood lodge state it has the longest ski season in the US. Even after reading that we were a bit surprised to see skiers and boarders taking advantage of late spring weather. At least one lift was going and the grooming equipment was working on maintaining a few trails.




The historic Timberline Lodge was open so we stepped inside. It was smaller than we expected and not as opulent as led to believe in the travel brochure. But, it certainly looked like it would be a pleasant place to warm after a day on the slopes.









The ski lift above the lodge goes to over 8,000 ft and that's too high for us. You can just barely see the poles going up the mountain from the left side. We can imagine the view would be fantastic but if you ride up, you would be expected to ski or board down and, no thanks.










The guide books suggest a stop at Trillium Lake to view Mt. Hood. It is supposed to offer a "nice" view. Nice???? Wow, is that an understatement. The clear lake reflected the mountain perfectly. Trillium Lake is a day use area and several families were enjoying the beautiful weather. And being below snow line, the flowers were starting to bloom.









After Trillium Lake, it was a pleasant drive north towards the Columbia River. This rock outcropping caught my eye and I got lucky with the camera. From the mountain, we drove down into a pretty valley that is the center of Oregon's fruit growing region. There were apple trees everywhere you looked. It made us think we were back in Adams County.









Since we were above the Bonneville Lock and Dam and it was before closing time, we decided to stop and tour the dam. We wanted to see the fish ladders since neither of us had ever seen them in operation. In the underground viewing area, we watched numerous shad swim by the windows. But, this is the wrong time of year to see salmon. Just prior to our arrival, a paddlewheeler had gone through the lock so we missed that also. But, the view of the dam spewing that much water was amazing. There are actually two powerhouses that house 18 generators. Together they have a generating capacity of more than a million kW. The stop was worth the return trip.








We have decided to head east from here rather than drive up to the Olympic National Park. One of the reasons to go to the far northwestern corner of Washington was to see the rainforest. The other reason was to see the resident pods of Orcas in the Pacific. The drive is long and we have seen a tremendous amount of moss growing on trees (mini rain forest?). And last evening I saw the Orca, floating down the Sandy River! So east it is.