Mountain drive

Driving to and from the mountain (Mt Hood) is now a routine- we go up to the mountain almost every weekend. The way always includes coffee and breakfast sandwiches a la` Phillip. We talk about the week's news stories and world happenings. We lose the radio close to Brightwood? and pop in a CD. The way back includes re-telling the highlights of our day: catching air, speed, best runs, and any aches or soreness we bring back home.

These pictures are from our February 24th drive home. We took the route to Hood River/I-84 which takes us around a full loop of the mountain from our drive in through Sandy on Hwy 26 in the morning. Traffic leaving Meadows was pretty awful this day- lots-o-snow had come down and it was looking pretty bleak to get home soon. Not many people take the Hood River route- the drive is much more scenic but gets a little long once you hit I-84. Phillip had his camera to take some shots to send to his parents. We decided it would be easier for me, the passenger to take the photos versus the driver. This first shot was taken by Phillip before handing the camera over to me.

The art direction got a little manic as Phillp shouted the sights coming up- "Creek! Creek! Creek! Craggy Rocks! Rocks! Trees! River! Clouds!!" I love this one of an orchard fan.

Moments like this I want badly to live in away from the city and am grateful that I live near enough to enjoy it on the weekends. Mom, Dad buy a house here! The drive winds through the mountains and ends in a very idyllic (and a little backwater) Parkdale and the orchards nearing Hood River. Everything was snow covered with a glaze of beautiful.

After a day of fun in the snow we, at least I was, a little hazy and dreamy about life- which is good. We were playing around with the idea of staying in Hood River for the night and heading back to the mountain on Sunday for another round of powder. Hardly prepared for another day- we had no lunches packed or sundries for the morning. We decided it was a great idea for another time. We did stop for dinner in Hood River before finishing the leg of our journey.