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 :-)