Today was all about driving around Mt Hood and the Mt Hood National Forest.
Standing at 11,239 feet (3,425 meters), Mount Hood is the highest point in Oregon and the fourth highest peak in the Cascade Range. It is also well-known for its geology, history, and natural environment as these characteristics have not only helped to shape northwest Oregon but the entire Pacific Northwest.
There is obvious evidence that Mt Hood has had a significant eruption in the past and as we circumnavigated it became more obvious. It is still considered an active volcano. The last three eruptions are estimated to have happened in the last 1,800 years.
We thought we should explain the Cascade Range. They are part of the Pacific Ocean‘s Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. All of the eruptions in the contiguous United States over the last 200 years have been from Cascade volcanoes. The two most recent were Lassen Peak from 1914 to 1921 and a major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
When we left Hood River at 9.00am there was not a cloud in the sky and that is how it continued all day. The temperature got up to a positively balmy +10c and our trip up the mountains showed a very poor start to the ski season as there was just no snow around.
We drove up to the ski hill on Mt Hood where the very famous Timberline Lodge is and which we were advised to visit. We knew nothing about the place but thought we would follow the suggestion from a local. It has a certain old-world charm about it but lacking in a lot of modern conveniences.
The Timberline Lodge is on the south side of Mount Hood and built in 1936-1938. It is a popular tourist attraction and a ski resort, with the longest skiing season in the U.S. It won’t be the longest this year though as there was bugger all snow. It was the exterior of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining (1980).
We have concluded that the state car for Washington and Oregon is the Subaru Outback. Every fourth car is an Outback so that makes us feel right at home. Whoever has the franchises for Subaru in these two states must be a multi millionaire. They are the perfect car for this region but it still needs to be said that they are butt ugly!!!
Nope, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. When we drove past this, we couldn’t believe what we saw so we pulled off the road. Believe it or not, the 747 is part of the water fun park and the slide starts up in the body of the plane and then you make your way down into the pool.
It is part of a much bigger complex called the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. First envisioned by Michael King Smith, a former captain in the United States Air Force and son of Evergreen International Aviation founder Delford M. Smith, the Evergreen Museum opened in 1991 with a small collection of vintage aircraft in a hangar at company headquarters.
In March 1990, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would close the Long Beach, California, exhibit of the Spruce Goose. The Aeroclub of Southern California began looking for a new home for the historic aircraft. In 1992, the Evergreen Museum won the bid with a proposal to build a museum around the aircraft and feature it as a central exhibit. We didn’t go into the museum, but you could see the Spruce Goose through the glass in the front of the hangar and she is one very large plane. Her wingspan is enormous as she has four engines hanging off each wing.
We made it into Lincoln City around 3.00pm and settled in for the evening after doing the household chores of the washing and some shopping to keep us going for the next few days. Lincoln City is on the coast so going forward we will remain on the coast until we get to California.
Toque update – she has eaten and has some energy, so we are pleased about that. We just have to keep a close eye on her but we are pretty sure that this exacerbation is stress related.
We have covered 2,500k in the last week which puts us at the half way point in distance and time so we are tracking as per the spreadsheet!!!
Rowkin Rovings Blog 