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Tag: Coffee

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood

Next stop, Mt. Hood, Oregon.

Found Sundance Espresso in Yakima, Wa. Stopped here to catch up and plan. This is a nice clean place with a friendly staff. It has a nice large dining area that is comfortable for setting up shop. The only complaint I have, and this is for all coffee shop owner/operators, could someone please come up with a quieter blender for all of the fancy hootie hoo drinkers out there. Damn those blenders are irritating! Rant off.

Still two hours away. It sure looks much closer than that. It ended up being 2.5 hours. Awesome view for the drive though.

Stopped at a war monument along the way designed after Stonehenge. This was a very cool monument. Each stone had a plaque dedicated to each soldier from the county who had died in service to our country. You can see Mt. Hood in the background.

Here’s a fashion statement you won’t see on just anyone. Only you old folks that need readers will get it. I’m trying to see Google maps while I drive, but still need sunglasses. For all you young people – bite me – your time will come.

Crossing the river into Oregon.

Wind turbines are everywhere. I get clean energy and am a fan – no pun intended – but I wonder about the trade off. It really kills the scenic beauty of an area. Like I said, these things are everywhere and it is difficult to get a good picture without a windmill in it. Seems like there is always a trade-off.

I finally made it to Mt. Hood. Notice the ski lift on the far left. Let me back up; my mother spent a great deal of time here when she was younger and living in Oregon. She said I should stay at the Timberline Lodge if I had a chance. I called ahead and due to the long weekend, it was full. That was just as well as the cheapest rooms started at $260. I would have had to decline regardless, a little pricey for my budget. This is the view from the lodge. I arrived late and started scrambling to find a campsite.

My plan was to find a campsite and explore the area the next day. Unfortunately, Mt. Hood has become way too touristy for me. They had summer skiing and everything was crowded. I went to four different campgrounds before finding one with an opening. This is Frog Lake, $24 a night with a nice little lake. Lots of families – and kids – but it had three open sites; I took #1. (The semi-colons are for Paul and Michael) The sites are clean and well used. I settled in for dinner, some wine, a cigar and a good book. Due to the crowds, I decided to push on to Crater Lake in the morning. (Sorry mom).