Since I had been in Hood River, OR all of June…I was quite excited to come back to a familiar place. We actually were less productive than we intended to be, but this was partially due to weather. Our main agenda for the Hood River stop was rest, relaxation and some maintenance. We did lots of laundry, took more showers than we needed to, washed LilMoos and got her an oil change. We also hit up some breweries and a winery and we ate like queens. Chad made a great home cooked meal upon our arrival of grilled chicken, steak, vegetables and some roasted potatoes. We went out for dinner the second night, and before our departure, our last meal was grilled salmon, cous cous, zucchini and caprese salad. Absolutely delicious.
We spent an afternoon in Portland – went to a local Farmer’s Market and a sandwich shop called Buck Sandwiches, which has been featured for their wonderful creations on Dives, Diners and DriveIns. It lived up to its expectation to say the least. We got some great food from the farmer’s market – fresh raspberries and cherries and of course Chad’s favorite – some massive Snickerdoodle cookies. Portland was a cool city – very artsy and hipster. It wasn’t very busy or noisy at all, just a quaint little west coast city.
We also attempted a drive up to Mount Hood with the intention of going up the Magic Mile Chairlift to the summit. It was overcast in Hood River when we left, but once we made it up to the base of the mountain, it was raining. We decided that the ride up the lift would not be worth it because the view would not be visible and we would get soaked and be cold. So we opted out and just went down to Government Camp instead. It was weird to be back there – where I used to spend a few weeks every summer when I was in middle school. I hadn’t been back there in 9 years. Although the Huckleberry Shakes at the Huckleberry Inn were twice as expensive now, they were just as delicious as I had remembered them.
We left Hood River bright and early Wednesday morning for our trip to Crater Lake, about 5 hours south. Chad took off work for Wednesday and Thursday so he could join us since he hadn’t ventured down there yet. We successfully claimed a campsite in a partially opened campground where there was still a decent amount of snow on the ground. We were also informed that only two hiking trails were open in the park, and that the eastern half of the road around the rim were open. Albeit a little disappointing that they didn’t tell us this on the phone when we spoke to someone there the previous day, we did not let it put a damper on the absolute epicness of Crater Lake. The views from the rim were nothing short of spectacular and the water was so incredibly blue. We bundled up for our first (and would later realize only) hike of the afternoon up Garfield Peak which climbed up to over 8,000. The trail technically “closed” at some point, but we just continued up the path that had been established by footprints in the snow. We just wandered around the top of the peak for awhile in the snow and got awesome views not only of the lake and the rim but also of the valley surrounding the crater. Chad had fun pack sliding down a few of the faces and it was just awesome up there.
Of course as we attempted to hike the other “open trail” the road was closed. That one would have descended to lake level which would have been awesome, but oh well. Nothing we could do about it. We explored a few parts of the rim a little more and then headed back to the campsite where we made some chicken stir fry over the fire and roasted some marshmallows. The fire was necessary because the high of that day had been 50 – so as it was starting to get darker the temps were dropping. We attempted to see a sunset, but it was very cloudy so it wasn’t as awesome as we were hoping. But it was really cool and eerie driving around the rim through the cloud. Little to no visibility. After a cold night’s sleep we were up and out of Crater Lake by 7am in 33 degree weather. It was sad saying goodbye to Chad since we have spent so much time together this summer. But it was fun having him come on a short part of our trip and it was great staying at his place for a few days and reenergizing. Thanks for being a great host, Chad!!
HIGHLIGHTS:
Good food and drink – between home cooked meals, a dinner out, a brewery and a winery.
Open Mic Night at Naked Winery – good wine, good talent from local musicians and got to hang out with some of Chad’s friends that I got to know last month
Seeing Multnomah and Horsetail falls on the way to Portland
Every aspect of Crater Lake – it’s unbelievable that a place that looks like that exists in our country. The water is so blue and the view from the rim is something else.
Making our first meal over the fire at a campsite! (due to Chad’s presence). We have just been eating turkey sandwiches or eating Ramen because we are never at the campsite until it is time to go to bed – but it was great to make a fire and roast marshmallows!
NOT SO GLORIOUS HIGHLIGHTS::
The overcast weather which deterred us from getting to the summit of Mount Hood or going on a local hike. We took it as a sign though to actually take the afternoon off and relax.
Being slightly unprepared for sub 40 degree camping weather. Also that we were not warned the previous day about the condition of the park when we had called. Oh wellllll
Some pictures are on Chad’s camera, so I will post those once he emails them to me! More to come!
We just drove through the Redwoods which was quite a sight. Actually, we just drove THROUGH a Redwood. Not sure if it was worth $5, but it was a treat for LilMoos – gave her some excitement. Did a short 1-mile loop at one point and now we are en route to San Fransisco! Looking forward to some warmer weather and getting to another city!
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