The Cascades and Northern Exposure

We are finally out of the heat wave, heading up to Glacier National Park, after spending time in the Cascades of Oregon and Washington.

After Bend, our first stop was Mt. Hood, which despite the heat, was still open for skiing and snowboarding. It’s the only mountain in the lower 48 that has summer skiing. Incongruous sight seeing skiers in shorts and shirtsleeves. Classified as a dormant volcano (which on the average erupt every 50-200 years), Mt. Hood last erupted in 1780 so it’s about time for another. The mountain was also open to hiking. We did a nice trail early morning (before it got too hot) up to the base of the snow field. Not only did we have great views of the area and another nearby volcano, Mt. Jefferson, the mountain was bursting in wildflowers, especially mountain lupine.

The Mt. Hood area is where the old Barlow Road passes through, which was used by homesteaders on the Oregon Trail. A tough road, many ran into trouble trying to bypass the Columbia River on this road. Turns out the Barlow Road just about did us in too. We wanted to get to a remote campground that sounded really nice. Only caveat, we had to drive one mile on an unpaved road to get there, which turned out was part of the old Barlow road.

However, we’ve taken the Honey on gravel roads before, so we decided to give it a go. (the campground is called Devil’s Half Acre, which should have been a tip off to avoid it altogether.) Once we started down the road, we realized this was something we shouldn’t be on: Steep, rutted, and very rocky. But once we started down, we were committed as there was no place to turn around. Our only option was to get to the bottom, turn around, then get back up.

Once back on pavement, we heard a loud thumping: Flat tire? Nope! Turned out a large rock was wedged between our two left back tires (the Honey has duelies in the back). Jim worked and worked to get it out. Nothing doing. Finally, a nice young couple came by. And with help, we deflated one of the tires and jacked up the Honey so Jim could get better leverage on the rock. Which finally worked. No more unpaved roads for the Honey!

After Mt. Hood, we went on to the Columbia River Gorge area, just east of Portland. Beautiful area. It’s the place where Lewis and Clarke finished up their journey to the Pacific Ocean.

The place has lots of trails, featuring numerous waterfalls. My favorite was the hike to Tunnel Falls. The trail is an engineering marvel. To maintain an easy grade through the canyon, the builders blasted ledges out of sheer cliffs, bridged a colossal gorge and even chipped a tunnel through solid rock behind 120-foot Tunnel Falls. Thank goodness they also installed cables into the wall, providing a secure handhold for traversing along the narrow wet ledge on the other side. The thundering vibration of the falls was really awesome and gave me a real respect for the sheer force of falling water.

As many of you know, I am a diehard fan of the 1990s TV series, Northern Exposure. So, when I learned that after St. Helen’s, we were only 20 some miles from Roslyn Washington, where the exteriors were shot, I had to go. Loved it. Even got to have a beer inside The Brick, nosed around a gift shop that was the former office Dr. Joel Fleischman (still has his misspelled name on the window), and had my picture taken outside the Roslyn Café. A real Oasis! Turns out they have a Northern Exposure festival every summer (just missed it). Maybe next summer?

Mt. Hood and wildflowers


Rock in tires


Victory!


Multnomah Falls in Columbia River Gorge


Tunnel Falls


Ranger Talk gave us only view of Mt. St. Helens


My Northern Exposure