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| Morning Mt. Hood from Mirror Lake |
Who: Hank
What: Oregon Adventure
When: 9/26/17 to 10/11/17
Where: Vicinity of St. Helens, Oregon
How: Air, Car, Foot
Why: To visit the boy and experience the Pacific Northwest
The opportunity arose to execute a solo two-week journey to the Pacific NW to spend time with the boy and see the sights. This time of year can be the best to visit Oregon if the weather holds. Fortunately the weather was beyond amazing, so I was able to experience many out-of doors places of note. The boy was working, but we had plenty of time to share in the late afternoons, evenings and the two weekends I was there.
Day 1: Took an early flight out of CHO, had a short layover in ORD, and into PDX by lunchtime. Uber up to St. Helens, met the boy and picked up Enterprise rental there (so much cheaper than renting at the airport and more convenient for the end-of-trip drop-off). Settled into the boy's rental (very spacious and comfortable). Dinner was fried chicken and sides from Apple Market deli. Long day so off to bed.
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My Room and Stuff
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| My Bed |
Day 2: Up before sunrise (still functioning on EDT), slow morning, then an afternoon walkabout town to establish some bearings. Took a walk along the Multnomah Canal in an antiquated industrial district, padded across a several acre concreted area that used to be a broom handle factory, encountered a Stonehenge rock-like formation that was used in the TV production "Grimm" (one of our favorite shows), and then posted up at a picnic table for my packed lunch at the City Hall park area. Bob showed up and shared the table with me and he loquaciously told me his life story under a tree with warm, filtered sunshine staving off the chill of the river. Ended the day with a quiet evening chatting and reading.
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| Industrial wasteland |
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| Mini Stonehenge |
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| City Hall park along the Columbia |
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| City Hall from marina dock |
Day 3: The older daughter had given the boy a hiking guidebook, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Portland, which proved to be immeasurably useful. First outing was a two hour car ride west over to Saddle Mountain situated in the coastal mountains. A two mile steep ascent placed me on top with a 360 degree view of the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria, the Pacific Coast around Seaside, and views of Mt. Rainer (150 m NE), Mt. St. Helens (80 m ENE), Mt. Adams (180 m E), and Mt. Hood (120 m SE). The skies were clear enough to see all plainly (photos washed out). The hike includes a serious saddle near the top between two peaks with a rugged pathway and plunging drop-offs. Lots of people out; met a couple from Canada with a classic RV who were traveling about. Extended an invite to Orange. Back late afternoon. Great first outing.
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| Towering old growth |
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| False Summit |
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| Saddle |
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| Wire layered over scree to stabilize path |
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| Mouth of Columbia River from right |
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| Typical view - there is a faint mountain on the horizon |
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| BC couple |
Food: the boy recently moved into the house on West Street sans frig. He had been operating with a cooler and daily trips to the market. He eats well, simply, and healthfully. On the day of my arrival, he had returned to work to let me settle in and, after work, he and some friends presented themselves on the front porch with mini-frig in hand: a college dorm-like unit but with a separate freezer compartment, a step up from basic. That provided support for our culinary delights for the next two weeks. We ate out three nights (thanks M) and the rest of the time prepared whatever seemed desirable at the moment or on sale with coupons or store loyalty card. We ate well and efficiently; we are pretty good in the kitchen and on the grill. Could not overbuy at the store though, so kept it simple. Safe place for my half-and-half.
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| Tall and trim (not the frig) |
Day 4: Rainy, so I spent some time on life maintenance (amazing how you can manage budgets, bank transfers, and most business transactions with technology from most anywhere there is bandwidth). Decided to check out the local gym to see if Silver Sneakers membership was available. Snap-24 in Scappose, just south of St. Helens, filled the bill, yoga classes as well. Quiet afternoon. Out to eat at Dockside Steak and Pasta. Superb food and unpretentious setting, in fact, there is noting pretentious about St. Helens, a quiet working-class town nestled on the Columbia River.
Day 5: Boy was off, so we drove over to Mt. St. Helens in Washington to the Ape Caves, which comprise some fascinating lava tubes we could explore. Took the 1.5 m scramble up through a tube with evidence of 1000 year old volcanic activity. The walls and floor in places were glistening with wavy solidified lava. The path required some arduous rock maneuvering and vertical scaling in both claustrophobic and cavernous settings. Should have brought those gloves. Exited through a vertical shaft via metal ladder and then walked briskly back to the parking lot in rain on a forest path. Chilly day, but that hot air furnace at the boy's place is a testimony to the adage "cooking with gas". Heated up the house in short order for a cosy evening at home.
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| Scrambled over much of this, tough going in places |
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| Skylight |
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| Looking up to surface |
Day 6: Church day for me, I visited Christ Episcopal Church for the 10:00a Eucharist and found a warm and inviting group of folk. Had a meaningful chat with Rebecca and Jim after the service. Afternoon was quiet; the boy cleaned up a bit. Another beautiful, sunny day.
Day 7: Started the day with yoga then off to Mt Hood, 2 hours away. Prior to my trip I had considered hiking the Timberline Trail, a 40 m circumnavigation of the mountain about at the tree line. I brought all the backpacking gear I thought I would need to at least overnight on the trail. After arriving in St. Helens and considering the weather (forecast was clear but cold) and mountain conditions (glacial run off, more terrain than expected) I felt that a trek of 4 days and 3 nights was too ambitious. So I chose two places to visit. This day I packed into Mirror Lake and camped there. Mt. Hood was partially swathed in clouds most of the day but the early morning produced some spectacular scenes. Hiked up to the ridge above the lake for some more views and fellowship with those fearless squirrels. Settled into my tent early as all others left the area. Quiet moonlit night beside the lake.
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| It's a mirror |
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| Path to overlooking ridge |
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| Largest cairn I have ever seen |
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| Ridge top |
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| Mirror Lake from ridge |
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| Well signposted |
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| Glacial stream - see the banks? - imagine this full in the spring |
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| Downed wood crossing |
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| Ramona Falls - I was really there |
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| It's all about Hood |
Weather: There are few comments necessary. The temperature varied from warm to pleasantly chilly, easily managed with layers and sleeves. It just did not rain, which made all the difference.
Day 9: Attended my 9:30am yoga class and then met the boy at the fabrication shop he manages, to see first hand was this operation was about. Met his colleagues and received the grand tour. So proud of what he is doing. He is approaching 6 months with this company and has managed a significant production cycle of equipment from beginning to end. As an engineer I was able to fully appreciate what this relatively small company is able to accomplish and to see how well the boy fits into their organization. We took lunch at Dari Delish: 1/2# bacon cheese burger with lettuce, tomato, and mayo accompanied by fries and fry sauce, a proprietary mixture of ketchup, mayo and seasonings in a 50s (maybe earlier) through-back setting. Quiet afternoon and evening.
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| Two units soon to ship out |
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| Close-up; sophisticated piece of equipment |
The equipment shown in the photos is only the heart of a much larger collection of fabricated units that, as a system, basically dry a stream of product (like wood pellets) in large quantities.
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| Lunch |
Day 10: Took the day off. With the sun shining and temps in the 70s I basked in the luxurious rays (that's the way they feel about the sun here) for most of the day. Late in the afternoon I took another walk about and encountered Halloweentown. On my previous walk around town it seemed as though Halloween had come a bit early. I expect that at Walmart and the Dollar Store, but his town was already dressed up. What's going on? Soon found out.
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| Entrance |
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| City Hall - centerpiece of movie location |
Day 11: Headed all the way west to the Pacific coast near Seaside to Cape Falcon, recommended by my Ramona Falls ladies. Another two hour trip one-way but well worth it. Could be the most awe-inspiring place of those visited. It is one thing to see a big mountain but it pales in comparison to the vastness and power of the ocean. Hiked through old growth forest up to the cliffs, met some delightful and engaging couples, one out for the day and the other out for a month backpacking. Then hiked down to the busy beach bordering Smuggler Cove. Lots of sun and activity: surfing, sunning, walking, eating, playing. Driving back seemed a long way but stopped at one of those ubiquitous coffee kiosks situated on turn outs or parking lots all over this area.
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| Smuggler Cove from cliffs |
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| Pacific Ocean with coastline |
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| View of cliffs from beach |
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| Coffee stop |
Halloweentown: In 1998 Disney produced named movie on location in St. Helens, OR. They subsequently produced three more movies in the series with most of the original actors. Those features aired on the Disney Channel and were not filmed on location in St. Helens. and did not have the same appeal. The town has parlayed the movie into a month-long event during October called the Spirit of Halloweentown, so it is unsurprising that when I arrived in late September planning and decorating were well underway. The boy and I streamed the original movie and were entertained by recognizable local features of the town. Campy, certainly not scary, best describes the movie and the special effects were hilarious. I binge-watched the other three just for fun (not so much). Debbie Reynolds played the ageless good witch grandma of the family in all four. The boy dozed through them.
I researched the events planned and we discussed how we wanted to engage. Walked downtown to the City Hall river park area expecting a concert and some other festivities, but being a few minutes late missed the show. Not much going on, but there were families and individuals dressed up and just enjoying a beautiful night by the river and in the City Hall plaza. Landed for dinner a the Klondike Restaurant, good beer, fish and chips and hamburgers on the menu. We sat by the bar and enjoyed all the busyness with the staff flitting around in their costumes; the barmaids were distracting in a pleasant sort of way. We tried not to gawk and failed miserably.
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| Klondike Restaurant and Bar; our booth left front |
Day 12: Halloweentown: Slow morning with cooked breakfast and some house cleaning. Attended the 3:00p Halloweentown Parade, which was the quintessential small town event with floats and demonstrations associated with businesses, civil organizations (Cub Scouts, etc.), clubs (motorcycle, horse riding, etc.), and first responders. Hung around for a while then walked back to the house (just a mere quarter mile away from downtown) for some grub then back down to a concert at the pavilion. A four piece combo performed covers of many popular rock and roll bands for an enjoyable two hours. Small crowd tonight but next weekend will be the major event with thousands of people in town for the celebration. An multi-acre abandoned industrial site (I walked through on my first day here) was already cordoned off for parking; the town was expecting a big crowd.
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| Coven watching parade |
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| Dramatic musical with Halloweentown theme; Columbia River backdrop |
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| Nightime |
Day 13: Church day number 2 took me back to Christ Episcopal and a warm welcome. Traditional liturgical worship ties me to the ancient nature of the Church and its mission. I enjoyed a pot-luck lunch and the folks there pressed apples for cider. Fellowship among the unfamiliar faithful reminds me of the truth of belonging to a body that transcends time and space. The boy and I spent a delightful afternoon just enjoying the fine weather and talking.
Time with the boy: even though he was working we had many hours to just chat about whatever came to mind: his work, my life in Orange, the news, the location, things we like to do, challenges we have faced, my day trips, pictures, events - an endless list. In his adult life, we had never before had such a long period to be just the boys together. This was more meaningful and satisfying that any other part of the trip.
Day 14: My last outing was to Sauvie Island and the Warrior Point Lighthouse beach walk. I went to yoga a Snap 24, found coffee, then headed south to the bridge over to the island. When there is a big river dominating the landscape, sometimes you have to drive a bit just to get somewhere you can see from your back yard. I enjoyed a pleasant drive through agricultural settings to the trail head for Warrior Point. On the east side of the island is a nearly continuous string of beaches that in season are heavily populated, but this morning only a few folks were out and most bound for my destination. I parked at the trailhead and glimpsed the beach through the trees and decided to take a look before hitting the wooded trail. I spied the Lighthouse some three miles away along the curve of the island and saw a lot of beach between here and there. That guidebook had directed the adventurer to hike up the beach as far as possible then scale the small cliff to the trail. I was determined to see just how far I could go. Well, with a bit of scrambling over downed trees, dancing through slight marsh, and picking my way over a rocky jetty-like affair, I made it. Spent some time at the Lighthouse, and then walked further along the beach for a view of St. Helens across the canal. Lunched on a downed tree trunk on the beach then hot-footed it back on the 3.5 m wooded track and the drive home. Took advantage of the last day of sun, relaxing on the porch with dinner on the grill.
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| Wooded Track |
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| To beach |
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| Looking south |
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| Looking north to Lighthouse |
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| One of many scrambles |
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| Racoon? |
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| Wildflowers |
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| Telephoto image, Mt. St. Helens view |
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| Picking along carefully |
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| It's a working lighthouse |
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| St. Helens City Hall from Warrior Point across Columbia |
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| Lovely return path |
Day 15: A rainy, chilly day for organizing my stuff for the return trip. I visited the boy's shop once again to see how things had progressed since last time. The shop was nearing the end of a big build, some of which shipped out the last time I was there. After work we had our last meal out at Noi's Thai Place and consumed some fiery cuisine. I had a shrimp and garlic vegetable medley that was spiced to a tear-evoking, nose-running medium - very satisfying. Went to bed early to get some extra rest for the trip home.
Day 16: The boy drove me to PDX for my 10:15a flight through ORD to CHO (easy), then he went back to St. Helens to drop off the rental (easy). TSA Pre-check initiated the trip home (easy). M met me at CHO and we were home (easy).
Reflections: A trip well planned (with flexibility) and executed (one day at a time) that included stimulation for the senses: taste, touch, sight, smell, sound. Adventures in an out-of-doors paradise combined with an unparalleled family time with the boy. Amazing and unforgettable.
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