July 7-8, 2021

Goldendale is about 130 miles east of Sauvie Island. Once we got through Portland, we were on Interstate 84 on the Columbia River Gorge, part of which is designated a national scenic area. The drive was beautiful and the traffic moderate but the wind was fierce (as it has been often this summer)! Jane was driving when we crossed the Columbia River to reach our RV park and felt okay about the wind itself but almost panicky about the buffeting caused by oncoming tractor-trailers. Fortunately we reached our destination without incident.

We set up the coach and headed out for a late lunch and a geocache. We found good barbecue at Dirty Cowgirls and were surprised to be able to name many of the western women pictured on the walls: Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Pearl Hart, and Rose Dunn. Our waitress had no idea. The geocache was at a Sinclair station. We think you’ll recognize the icon in the background of our selfie.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood is one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade mountain range. It’s elevation is 11,250 feet and its prominence is 7,707 feet.

Timberline Lodge is at an elevation of about 6,000 feet. It was constructed by the Works Progress Administration from 1936-38 and used local and recycled materials.

Dave’s geocache required a picture of his impression of the lodge.
Opening scenes for the movie “The Shining” were aerial shots of the lodge.
The chair in the foreground was made for President Franklin D. Roosevelt who dedicated the lodge to the skill and performance of WPA workers.
Fireplace on the ground floor
Carving on the staircase
Fireplace in the head house. The chimney is 90 feet high.
Quiet corner of the lobby
Mt. Hood has the longest skiing season in the U.S. Its ski area is open all 12 months of the year.

Of course, we’ve often seen runaway truck ramps but on our way down Mt. Hood, we saw one in use for the first time.

Categories: Travel

1 Comment

Susan · August 17, 2021 at 9:04 am

I remember skiing and hiking on Mount Hood. We even stayed at the lodge and skied at night as they had one of the runs lit up at night. Those pictures brought back long ago memories.

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