mt. hood and the falls

Before I get started, I'd like to welcome my wonderful friend Natalie to blogspot :) It took months of begging and convincing, and she finally took the plunge to spend all of her free time in the time killing vortex known as blogging! OK, not really. She does have stuff to do over at the BBC. And trust me, I know. I was once in her position. Nine years ago I was the one who answered the phone and said, "Good morning, Bethel Baptist Church, Wendy speaking." I worked there for two years in between teaching jobs and a move from Philadelphia back to Ashland, and then got hired to teach 5th grade and she took over. Actually, she took over before I was hired, but that's a different story for another day!

I think I just might be able to finish up on the vacation stuff today. Enjoy!

Saturday - Mom and I had a shopping trip planned since she rarely gets to just go shop for herself. So off we went while Phil and Dad were going to Beaverton for a cruise-in. For some odd reason, whenever Phil and Dad make it to cruise-ins, they either get there and all the cars are gone, or there weren't many cars there to begin with. (OK, this has only happened twice, but still, isn't it strange?) And this day was no exception.

So Mom and I are barely walking out the door (we had to wait on clothes to dry) and my cell phone rings. Phil and Dad are done at the cruise-in and where should they go next??? I said, "Take him up to Mt. Hood because we're not done shopping yet!" I figured Mom and Darick went last summer, so it wouldn't be too big of a deal if she didn't go with them this time. So, up the mountain to Timberline Lodge they went.

A bit of history for you . . .Timberline was built during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration. It is a National Historical Landmark.

There's not a whole lot of snow left, but people were still up there skiing in July.

Mt. Jefferson is in the background on this next picture.

On Sunday after church, we went home, packed a picnic lunch, and headed down the ol' scenic highway. I love this drive because, after a ways, you see waterfall after waterfall. It's so beautiful. Our first stop was along the entrance to the Columbia River Gorge at the Women's Forum Viewpoint, where we could look out across the way and see the Vista House at Crown Point. Then we drove over and went inside. Dad found himself yet another hat to add to his collection! I think all total he went home with five new baseball caps. And he almost left one of them in the car. I had to chase him down at the airport.

Continuing on down the road, we stopped at the first fall, Latourell Falls. We hiked down - not too far - to the bottom. Dad saw this humungous tree (really, the trees out here are pretty amazing) and had to get his picture taken next to it.

I love the moss growing on the rocks and the deep cuts and cracks and grooves in Latourell. And seriously, I want to bring my lawn chair next time and just sit down there and listen to the water crashing over the edge. I love that sound. It's sooooo relaxing.

There were other falls that we saw from the car, and we had our picnic lunch across the street from another, but we didn't spend to long at those because we wanted to get to the big mac daddy of them all . . . Multnomah Falls.

It's only a mile up to the top - a very insane, you-must-be-in-really-great-shape-to-even-think-about-it mile! Phil did it like 13 years ago. This time we just walked up to the bridge. That was enough for my mom.

We ended Sunday with a special Northwest dinner at Paul and Jackie's (Phil's aunt and uncle) where we dined on yummy smoked salmon, Alaskan halibut, wild rice with mushrooms, asparagus pickles, salad with fresh homemade raspberry vinagrette, and triple berry cheesecake. Usually I'm the dessert maker, and honestly, I've made some rather delightful desserts, but this time, my trusty friend Costco came to the rescue. I just didn't have time that week to even think about making dessert.

Monday morning we dropped them off at the airport by 4:30 and then Phil and I went back home to crash for a couple more hours before Bible School started. I was so happy that both of my parents were finally able to come out together and see the place I now call home. I only hope that we've left something for them to see and do when they come out next summer. You are coming next summer, aren't you, Dad? (Love you guys!)