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September 10 – Monday – Rainy Morning in Government Camp

We share an omelet with homemade salsa at the Huckleberry Inn Diner and then stop in at the Post Office to mail post cards.  It is raining heavily.  The town has not seen rain for 2 months so they are happy.  We are not.

We drive to the Timberline Lodge, built in 1936 (or somewhere there abouts) as a WPA Project.  FDR came to dedicate it.  Touted as the place where “The Shining” was filmed – but only exterior shots of the lodge were used.

Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge

We love this place.  Locals made the lodge (and furniture) from materials found on Mt. Hood – rocks, timber, old phone poles, etc.  Built in 18 months with a creative, practical, “can-do” attitude, it is a blending of engineering and artistic marvels – Man, I should write their brochures!  The locals gathered the materials from nature, did the carvings, made the furniture and even wove the fabric for the curtains.

Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge

We spend the morning exploring the lodge.  The main lobby room traps the musty, B.O. laden smells of the rained out backpackers who leave the contents of their backpacks strewn about for an airing.  We hold our noses and find an area where we can breathe.  I email Silke to send her some love.

Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge

With prices too high for lunch and with the sun breaking through the clouds, we head back down to Government Camp to find something to eat.  A Deli is the answer to our prayers – We share a $10 Ham and Cheese Sub.  We go back to the room to get our things in order and then take off to Mirror Lake and the Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain Hike – a 6-mile trek with a 2,000' elevation gain.

We adore Tom, Dick and Harry’s trail.  The temperature is just right for climbing.  We watch the sun break through the glorious clouds with new hope in our hearts.
 
We start the hike in a forest which gradually thins out leaving a little vegetation with hints of once magnificent spring flowers.  The huckleberry bushes are filled with goodies for the bears’ bedtime snack before they settle in for the long winter’s night.  Before long, we arrive at Mirror Lake with gorgeous views of the mountains above.  Then we climb to Grand Carin where we meet a couple and their dog Govy (named for Government Camp – needless to say, they love this place). 

At the top, it’s windy and cold, but with WOW views that you wouldn’t miss for the world.  We finish the loop around Mirror Lake, taking a great swamp lands trail on swishy planks – love those trails where you’re whole body gets into action.  We pass by dying clumps of spring flowers and get back to the car about 5:45.  We are happy to get to do such a marvelous hike and happy that the rains have moved on.  What a place!

Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain

We drive back to the room to catch the local news.  A fire is close by in Sisters.

About 7, we walk down to Charley’s Mountain View Café to share a beer and burger.  (OOPS, we share a burger, NOT a beer).  We like this funky place started by an older skier named Charlie who passed on in 2010 at age 87.  He was very well loved.

We phoned home.  Molly made it through her surgery.  She was scared.  Brain said when she saw her family at 4, she peed. (What else is new?) 

The Chargers play Oakland and WIN! Wow – this season they’re going all the way, I just know it.

NOTE:  I need new words to replace the everyday words – beautiful, amazing, wonderful – but the language that really describes this place isn’t invented yet.

September 11 – Tuesday – (11th Anniversary of 9/11) Government Camp to Mt. Rainier

Up at 6:30.  We share an omelet at the Huckleberry Inn.  The waitress has our order committed to memory and knows what we want.  It doesn’t take long to become a regular.

We say good-bye to Government Camp – a quiet, eerie little town with little signs of life. It has that Twilight Zone feel.  The youth are beautiful, friendly and helpful – almost like Stepford kids.  All too good to be true.

We drive on and off the Historic Columbia Highway, taking 26 North to Troutdale, then to the Columbia River (as part of the Columbia Gorge / Mt. Hood Loop.)

We first stop at the Vista House that opened in 1918 as a stop for tourists.  It’s still a tourist stop -- not much has changed.  I liked the old classy, gilded age building with great views of the Columbia Gorge.  

Vista House
Vista House
Vista House
Vista House
Vista House
Vista House
View from Vista House
View from Vista House

Multromah Falls is our next stop. We park close to the crappy Gift shop and then weave our way through the tour buses and old people (who act their age – struggling with walkers).  Finally we climb the first set of steps to the old iron bridge and marvel at the 620 ft. magnificent waterfall crashing down from above.  From there, it’s a 1.5 mile hike straight up to the top of the falls.  We trudge on and on until we come to a little platform perched over the side of the cliff with minimal view of the waterfall – pretty disappointing, although we did meet a couple with a dog that looked like Molly.

Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls
Multromah Falls

Back on the road, we stop at the Bonneville Lock and Dam, created by the Corp of Engineers and dedicated by FDR in 1937, bringing plenty of jobs and lots of electrical power to this part of the country.  The Bonneville was the first of several dams to restrain the Columbia River.  The bulge in the Columbia River is packed with engineering feats: two powerhouses, a fish ladder, navigation lock, fish hatchery, spillway, power lines, towers and a couple of Visitor Centers thrown in. 

Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam

We go to the main Visitor’s Center on Bradford Island and find ourselves immediately overwhelmed.  The big, four story Visitor Center houses lots of dusty old exhibits that were probably mind boggling back in the 1950’s. We watch some of the orientation video before the player breaks down.  The message from all the exhibits is clear – “The project is good.” 

Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam

We go down to the basement areas to see the fish ladder.  It’s an automated wheel used to help move the fish up and over the damn.  It was designed mostly to give the salmon a boost going upstream to spawn.  It also moves along steelhead, sturgeon and others.  At first the wheel was touted as a good thing showing how much “the project” cared about the environment and the little fishes that the dam may have disrupted.  In today’s world, environmentalists are appalled by such a contraption.  We watch the fish get lifted up and over the wheel through glass windows caked with years of fish feces.  We see a few employees at old desks charged with watching and counting the fish that go by.  After an hour or more of tacky exhibits, we were ready to move on down the road.

Crater Lake
Bonneville Lock and Dam

We drive to the fish hatchery to see the 12 ft. sturgeon in the pond.  The hatcher is a beautiful, peaceful place, but we are always in a hurry so we miss exploring the historical part.

We drive down the road (I-74 East) to Cascade Locks to have some lunch and then catch the bridge to cross over into Washington.  It took a while to get our burger and shake at an old drive through frozen in time.  The food was good – but certainly not fast.

Cascade Drive Through
Cascade Drive Through

For $1, we cross the wonderful old steel bridge – The Bridge of Gods. 

The Bridge of Gods
The Bridge of Gods
The Bridge of Gods
The Bridge of Gods

Once in Washington, Bill picks a series of remote, back roads winding through the mountain to take us to the South West Entrance to Mt. Rainier, our destination for the night.  GPS seems to have a break down -- many of the roads do not show up and are called simply “Road.”  The car symbol on the GPS keeps going into the water or driving into oblivion.
    
With little help from the GPS, the drive becomes a nightmare. Finally, we are only 10 miles from Paradise Inn, our lodge for the night, when we are blocked by a "Road Closed" sign, and a construction guy who tells that we will have to go back around to the South East Entrance.  We want to kill him and say very bad words.  We know he is just the messenger and so suck it up and turn around, adding another 1.5 hours to the already long drive.  We are sick of the very windy roads and the same scenery – nothing but tall, green, healthy trees that blocked our view of Mt. Rainier.  However, Mt. Rainier seemed to play peek-a-boo with us and from time to time, we got a good look.

Cascade Drive Through
Mt. Rainer

Finally, it is 7 pm when we arrive at the Paradise Inn.  We are testy, disheveled and sick of the car.  We park illegally to check in and schlep our stuff to room 211.  We grab a Blue Moon and wait for dinner call.  Our mood changes when the Blue Moon takes effect and then are happy again in the lovely dining room eating the veggie pesto pasta.  We remember the place from 1975 when our little Amy (then 5) was along.  We love the memories and the lodge.  Very nice – except for the guy next door who snores rather loudly. 

Mt. Ranier
Mt. Rainer
Mt. Ranier
Mt. Rainer
Paradise Inn
Paradise Inn
Paradise Inn
Paradise Inn

September 12 – Wednesday – Mt. Rainier

We wake up to a chilly, blustery morning so we snuggle in bed – a very nice bed to snuggle in.

We order oatmeal at the Deli in the Inn.  It’s pricey.  It has that stomach turning snotty consistency that oatmeal can sometimes have and it is served in a plastic bowl.  Doesn’t make for the most appetizing breakfast.  So breakfast was bad – but the day, that’s something different.  It is one of those crystal’s clear mornings where everything sparkles. 

At 9 am, we start on the Skyline Loop trail right behind the Inn.  About 50 feet into the hike, the chill subsides and we are warm.  Thank you Sun!  Beautiful day – beautiful hike.  Of course I take pictures – plenty of them – of the wild flowers, the mountain, the streams and the amazing landscape – broken up by the shadow of Mt. Rainier.  Bill is frustrated because my picture taking has consumed me.  He encourages me to hurry along and says we’re going 200 pictures per mile.  I am powerless over myself in such beauty.

Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail

The loop trail is a 6-mile hike with 3 miles to Panorama Peak.  We add another mile or so to avoid the ice fields.  We are glad we did because the best part of the hike was high above the ice fields when we were closest to Mt. Rainier.  We watch an avalanche.  We see friendly marmots, friendly people and one shy pica.

Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail

I make a stop in one cool old stone bathroom with a view to die for.  We love the hike.

Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Skyline Loop Trail
Paradise Inn

1:30 pm, back in civilization, we order some chili at the Visitor’s Center – not a bad lunch.

The Visitor’s Center, finished in 2008, is a beautiful building – but not much substance in the exhibits.  The orientation video takes a poetic approach to the Rainier experience.  I can do “feel good” on my own.  I want to see the history – the Indians, the explorers, the early tourists, and so on.  However the ranger at the desk is informative.

Mt. Ranier Visitor's Center
Mt. Rainer Visitor's
Center
Mt. Ranier Visitor's Center
Mt. Rainer Visitor's Center

We plan to do another big hike in the afternoon, but stuffed with chili, we crawl into bed for a nap.  It is a good choice -- although the guilt lingers with us.  Our first Happy Hour arrives enjoying the view and the Blue Moon from our room.

Our room at Paradiste Inn
Our room at Paradise Inn
Happy Hour
Happy Hour

The second Happy Hour is in the lobby.  I work on postcards and then we dine in the lodge.  Bill goes for the clam chowder.  I have the London Broil – very good.

Paradise Inn Lobby
Paradise Inn Lobby
Paradise Inn Dining Room
Paradise Inn Dining Room


We go back to the room where I edit down the photos on the trip.  Got it down to 749 – and the trip is just getting started. 

September 13 – Thursday – Mt. Rainier to Pat’s House (Auburn, Washington)

We indulge in the buffet breakfast at the lodge. (No more snotty oatmeal for us!)  We pile our plates high.  My body craves fruit – so I set the hash browns and meat aside and hit the melons with a vengeance.  Oh so good.

We are on the Lakes Trail by 8 – another perfect day on Mt. Rainier – 75 degrees and crystal clear.  The hike is 5.1 miles with 1700 feet of elevation gain.  The theme of the Lakes Trail is “Quiet Meadows” – unlike the “Maniac Majestic” theme of yesterday’s busy Skyline trail. 

Here’s what stood out for me on the Lakes Trail

  • Disturbing the Gray Jays
  • Peaceful meadows
  • Wild flowers – gorgeous, but just a hint of their former glory
  • Streams and babbling brooks
  • Steady up and down hill – certainly not boring
  • Wooden bridges
  • Views of Mt. Rainier and views of Paradise Inn
  • Soft breeze
  • Forests
  • Solitude
  • No hint of asphalt
  • Empowering headphone music that speaks to my soul and makes me feel strong and happy.
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail
Lakes Trail

I wish I were an Indian on this hike – without heavy hiking boots, backpacks, cameras, jackets, sunscreen, water bottles, snacks, etc.  Oh to be free of stuff in this most freeing place.
 
We are back at the Paradise Inn at 11:30, we shower and check out.

Paradise Inn
Paradise Inn
Paradise Inn
Paradise Inn

GPS has another psychotic break from reality.  Bill reminds me not to take it seriously.  GPS is only as good as its information (which must be a lot of garbage in these here parts).

We stop in Longmire to see the museum tucked into an old log cabin, which was built in 1916 as the first park headquarters.  I like Longmire and its uniform old stone government houses.  Longmire was the first to file a homestead for mineral rights.  After the search for minerals, the place attracted naturalists, park administrators, tourists and now us, more tourists. 

Longmire
Longmire
Longmire
Longmire
Longmire
Longmire

The friendly park rangers were helpful – and overweight with strangely colored hair.  One told us to stop for lunch in Cooper Creek – best ham sandwich anywhere.  With a clear goal for lunch, I put my whining on hold and we made a bee-line for Cooper Creek.  The sandwich was good – but I didn’t need the extra $1.59 for fries.  More guilt.

We head for Auburn to see our friend Pat.  A series of detours make us late.  We arrive about 3.  I didn’t recognize the house because two big magnolia trees in the front yard were killed by an ice storm.  It is so good to see my soul sister and friend Pat.  I’ve known Pat for about 25 years.

We have a beer and tour Clarence’s garden.  Pat takes us to her Dad’s house with a view of Rainier – a hazy view today.  Pam, Pat’s sister, was there.
 
For dinner, we go to Kouros, a Greek-Italian place for Syrian food.  Owners Tony and Hamon, in their 40’s, are having a tough time in this land of opportunity raising their children and building their business.  However, compared to their original home sweet home in Damascus, life is GREAT!

Kouros Restaurant
Kouros Restaurant

Back at Pat’s house, we phone home (our sweet home) for the news.  Molly almost died from her hysterectomy and Zion has an algebra test tomorrow.  We talk ‘til 11:30 and then talk some more to Pat – such a wonderful friend.



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