Thanks to my husband's spontaneity, we had one of our best vacations this weekend! On Friday afternoon, my husband announced to me and our kids that we were going to spend our weekend at a cabin near Government Camp. We left Saturday morning. The cabin was wonderful (better than we expected)! It's cozy and secluded, located next to Still Creek in Mt. Hood National Forest. The creek with a small waterfall was right there when we stepped through the back door. We could enjoy the sound of the waterfall and the creek even from the inside of the cabin. Tranquility is what we loved most about the place.
After we settled in our cabin, we started our first adventure. We went to hike up Mt. Hood (Oregon's tallest mountain...also a dormant volcano) from Timberline Lodge (a National Historic Landmark, 6,000' elevation). The weather was beautiful that day. We didn't get to the peak (11,239') but we went up high enough (approx. 7,500' elevation) to admire the spectacular close-up view of Mt. Hood, the stunning scenic views of the Cascade Range (including Mt. Jefferson with Three Sisters) and Trillium Lake, and to sled down a ski path (nobody was skiing at the time and we used our coats as sleds). It was FUNtastic!
Our adventures continued the next day. We went to Wildwood Recreation Site and we were deligted to see young coho salmons swimming in their natural habitat (actual streambed) through underwater viewing windows. We also spotted a frog and a crayfish. Way cool! We then had salmon sub-sandwiches for lunch. Very yummy!
Our next quest for adventures took us through Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. Oh...it was incredibly adventurous (we kept going until we came to a dead end in the middle of nowhere)! We had a great time admiring (and taking pictures of) old growth trees and ravishing creeks while keeping our eyes open for any wildlife. We also had tons of fun trying to catch the falling leaves while the van was moving.
Our next stop is a lot tamer :). We visited Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum. The kids really enjoyed the scavenger hunt (trying to find the answers to questions on the sheet by acquiring info. from the different exhibits). Mom and Dad had fun helping :). We got done just at the closing time; each of the kids received a paper placemat featuring a 1940's map of Mt. Hood (and all the cool facts about it).
Our last stop before heading back to the cabin for the night was Trillium Lake. The view was splendid and I wish we had more time to explore there but it was getting dark and we had had a full day.
Today after we packed up our van, we revisited Timberline Lodge/Mt. Hood because it got snow up there (at least a foot thick). We felt like we drove through a winter wonderland. Sooooooo pretty!!! We played snow ball fights (of course) and did more sledding (this time we used our big cooler chest's top). There were no sleds for rent around and we didn't take ours so we were forced to be creative :). We would love to stay & play in the snow all day but we thought we'd better head back home before it snowed harder and our van may have trouble getting out of that winter wonderland.
Later on, we stopped by the Oregon Candy Farm in Sandy. It was neat that visitors could view the candy making process through large glass windows. They use old-fashioned methods of cooking, molding, and shaping chocolates by hand. We got a variety of scrumptious chocolates to satisfy our sweet taste buds for a while.
Wow...what a memorable & sweet vacation! We praise God for His creation that continues to hold many surprises and indescribable beauty. WOW!
This sounds like a great trip! What fun to get out and enjoy the snow. Our snow adventures usually end up with freezing crying kids. The museum scavenger hunt sounds like a good way to get the kids interested. :)
My family used to take "Going Crazy Weekends" -- my daddy would load us four kids and my mom in the car and we would go wherever the car lead. Many of my best memories come from those weekends.
I am sure that your family will carry wonderful memories from your husband's spontanaity!!
This is a place for me to relax a bit, recount my blessings, reflect on God's Word, record my thoughts, reassure others of God's love, receive others' insights, recall precious memories, relate what the Lord has done in my life & my family, rejoice at God's goodness & faithfulness, relish writing, recycle my poems, and refresh myself.
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Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - sounds wonderful!