Sunday, May 4, 2014

Mt. Hood Up Close and Personal

Yesterday we went on a bus tour to Mt. Hood.  42 of us including the bus driver.  :-)  It was the annual bus tour to train our Friends of Multnomah Falls Volunteers.  When we're staffing the information desk at the Falls, we are always sending people on the Mt. Hood Loop and telling them not to miss visiting Timberline Lodge.  I am putting a photo of Mt. Hood that I took last year when we took our two grandsons swimming at Kahneeta and I snapped this photo of this beautiful mountain on our way home as we crossed the mountain.  I am using this photo as yesterday was not a cloudless day. :-)


Our first stop was at Wildwood Recreation Area - Stream Watch - a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) park.  Do you think Oregon is a moist place?  We've got moss!


We hiked through the park where I snapped a few photos from a wooden bridge of the creek.  See all the lavender flowers on the right of the creek, the next photo is a close up of these amazing wildflowers.


I'd never seen these, but they are called Corydalis.  I also found out the pronunciation - cor-ID-aliss.  Aren't they pretty?


This is looking UPstream.. see the little roof beyond?  They have a window so you could see the fish in the stream, the photos I took did not come out well, but it was fun to see the small fish and underneath the water.


We could not take the bus up to see the old wagon trails, but one of our tour leaders, Chris, told us a lot of the history of the area.  Please read the board below to learn more of the old Oregon Trail days.  Can you imagine having your wagon full of all your belongings tied to a tree and let down the hill at a 60 degree angle!  One old grandmother insisted on riding in the wagon down the hill.  She began the descent in the back of the wagon and ended up at the bottom in the front.  :-)


Our next stop was the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum with Mt. Hood and Government Camp exhibits.  See the snow drifts that are still there in May?


One of my favorite exhibits was this vintage glass with an Indian on the top - all around the pieces were embossed designs of animals, trees and such.  The design was called "Westward Ho".  I covet a piece of this. :-)


The had a vintage post office window on display.


And even a stuffed bear!  Oh my!


I also liked this old alpine mountaineer's hat.


There was this pretty painting of Mt. Hood in the museum.


Next stop is Timberline Lodge!  For more history of the building, click HERE.  Did you see "The Shining"?  This lodge was used as the exterior of the lodge in that movie.  The interior here is way nicer than the one in the movie!



  This is the front door!


Next up was our banquet luncheon.  Oh my goodness, did they ever put on the grand spread!  There were salads, fruit tray, cheese tray, 4 chafing dishes of hot things, red potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, baked turkey, tri-tip steak, fresh baked bread and the most amazing desserts.  


The bread was worth the price of admisstion.. :-) and the desserts were caramel cheesecake, peanut butter crunch balls, apple cake, cookies and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting with candied orange peel on top.  And yes, all fresh and out of this world.  Can you say YUM?


I stepped out of the dining room to the plaza behind the lodge and snapped this photo of the center of the lodge, skiers were gliding by and snow boarders too.


This weather vane is the logo of the lodge.. it's beautiful.


Stepping back into the warm dining room.. wave to the camera!


Lunch.  Yes, the strawberry is really that big.


There were mountain climbers gathering for a hike.  It snowed the whole time we were up there!  


This is the top of Silcox Hut - you can see it from the lodge.  More info HERE.


After lunch we were given a tour by a USFS (US Forest Service) employee who told us history of the lodge and showed us around.  This art panel is just one of several that is in the old skiers lunch room.  This scene depicts a family camping, mom cooking a trout over the fire, the daughter making breakfast, the son smelling breakfast and pulling on his boots fast.. dad waiting for the fish!  And in front my adorable sister Denise and her husband Steve.


This is President Roosevelt's bedroom in the lodge.  This is his chair to the bottom right.


This rock fireplace looms upwards through 3 stories of the lodge.  This is the bottom in the entrance level.  The andirons were made using railroad iron rails - made by one of the blacksmiths who made many iron things for the lodge.


Each newel post is hand carved depicting mountain animals, this is a bear.


This is the 2nd floor, see the fireplace looming to the ceiling?  And all the lamps are made by the artisans that built the lodge.


The snow is still covering the windows on the 2nd floor!


The building is 6 sided and the beams are amazing!  You can see the 3rd floor, which is a balcony that goes around, the Ram's Head bar is located here.


Off this second floor is the amazing dining room called the Cascade Restaurant.  Their chef is excellent and there are gorgeous views out of the sides of the room.


This beautiful carved art piece above the fireplace in the dining room is magnificent, depicting local animals.


They always have 2 St. Bernards in the lodge, and they always are named Heidi and Bruno.  This is the current Bruno.  :-)


And then it was time to board the bus for the ride home.  41 tired adventurers.  But well-fed ones.  Goodbye Timberline Lodge, I hope to come back soon for a longer visit.. perhaps overnight!


The mountain is there.. you just can't see it.  :-)


This gives you a better idea of what is there from a photo I took a few years back in the warmer weather.  You still can't see the top.  The clouds love this mountain.


This view always inspires me.. it's off the road heading down from the mountain.


And so.. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Mt. Hood and it's beloved Timberline Lodge along with me today.  We're heading off for a birthday party at a bowling alley for my older son's older son, Michael.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

23 comments:

  1. YUM! I am still thinking of all the yummy things you had there at the lodge. Gosh, it's so pretty there. I am amazed that the snow is still piled up there...and two stories tall, too. Wow! Such a lovely place. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us all. ((hugs)) to you sweet friend.

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  2. I loved the tour Teresa. I know there is still snow on Mt. Hood. It never really goes away, but snow to the 2nd floor windows? Amazing! The lodge is absolutely stunning with all of the handmade pieces and rich history. Thank you for taking us along. You do so many fun, fun things.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  3. What a gorgeous area! The lodge is just stunning and this whole tour looks like my kind of day!

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  4. Fantastic tour Teresa and so much snow, wow. May I be lucky enough to visit one day ☺

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  5. Definitely time for another visit.

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  6. Teresa, You did a great sharing our road trip to Mt Hood!! The photos were wonderful and I loved the commentary. Thank you for making our trip so memorable!!

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  7. What a beautiful mountain. I've seen it in the distance on another blog (Posy Gets Cozy), but it's wonderful to see it close to. The lodge looks amazing, and what a fantastic lunch. I'm glad you had such a lovely visit, it such a stunning area, I'm sure you will be drawn back there at some stage!

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  8. What a wonderful trip Teresa, such an amazing lodge. I was stunned to see so much snow still around up there. I am glad you had a lovely day xx

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  9. Stunning photographs Teresa and the lodge is so beautiful...I would love to visit the area one day...I often show our girls and Mr.H your pics...x
    Hope you have a wonderful new week too!
    Susan x

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  10. What a fantastic trip Teresa. You always include us on your fabulous journeys and I love them. I love all the historic paraphernalia, I can spend days in museums.
    The lodge is outstanding! And the food...More food...I did have a day of crochet planned and now I want to bake! Thank you for taking us with you, I really enjoyed this post xxx

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  11. I love these posts so much. I know I say it every time but one day I'm going to visit your area and see all these things for real.

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  12. I am absolutely awe-struck by the look of this place, the mountain scenery is majestic (btw that moss looks like a fairy-tale!) and Timberline lodge is stunning. How I would love to visit one day. When I was little in the early 60s the trend in the UK was for programmes about the Old West, including much about pioneers making it in their wagons - my mum never tires of telling people how my early arrival interrupted her viewing of "Wagon Train"!! I have always been fascinated by the stories. I especially love the stone fireplaces in the lodge.

    And the lunch looked just the thing for weary travellers, wow what spread!

    Helenxx

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  13. Loved seeing this mountain trip, such stunning snowy scenery and a wonderful lodge! The building is so interesting, I love all the things you chose to photograph for us....and how delicious the food looks too :)
    Helen xox

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  14. I LOVE Timberline Lodge! I stayed overnight there years ago (so fun to swim in their heated pool in winter) and have eaten there too (Mmm)! It's a beautiful place--both inside and out.
    Have never been to a few of the places you toured...might be time for another day trip:)
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  15. Sorry about the second comment but I must say your luncheon looks totally yummy and I adore Timberline's St Bernard dogs:)
    Aimee

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  16. Thanks for the tour, Teresa! I really want to visit the northwest someday, it's a big goal for me. The Oregon Trail history is fascinating and I enjoyed reading about it. I'm amazed at all of that snow up there in May, but then I'm thinking it always seems to have snow at the top when you share a photo so it must be really high and cold. Our peaks in NM are around 10,000-12,000 feet so I think the snow does eventually melt in summer. Thanks again for sharing!

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  17. What an amazing trip, good friends, wonderful food and fabulous views.
    I enjoyed it so much.
    Thank you,
    Meredith

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  18. Teresa, wow what a fun and interesting trip you all had. Love the lodge and all your photo. BUT I didn't like seeing the snow (hahaha) after we have finally gotten rid of ours!!! Lovely surroundings and yummy food! Thanks for sharing, xoRobin

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  19. Another interesting post and some great pictures. I'm going to have to stop looking at all those yummy food photos -- have just got home from my first weight watchers meeting. LOL xox

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  20. We just oooed and ahhhed over the views from the parking lot the day we went :) Thanks for sharing your views, Teresa! xx

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  21. What a great bus trip. Beautiful scenery. Amazing that those snow mounds are still there. My son in CO says that mountain weather is bipolar. He went camping 2 weeks ago with 4 other guys and it snowed most of the day off and on. He said they spent most of their time trying to find firewood. Ha! Hope you are having a good week. Tammy

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  22. WOW WOW and WOW what a wonderful tour. Oh how I long to see it all. Lunch looked yummy. DH enjoyed the photo of the lodge used in The Shining. Thanks for sharing. Hugs Anne x

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  23. Hi Teresa, this looks to have been a really great trip! I'd love to stay in that lodge and I was drooling over the puds! Thanks for sharing.
    Hen xxx

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