Fruit Loop, Waterfalls,Trillium Lake and Mount Hood........

The ships continue to float silently by down the Columbia River past our campsite. If we aren't looking up, we miss them completely...they are that quiet. Its amazing that these huge ships can sneak by us!

logs heading out of the Pacific Northwest

so quiet!

wonder what is being transported?

The Hood River Valley in Oregon has what is known as the "Fruit Loop"-a loop of small farms and wineries open to the public. We had done research online and printed out a small map which was hard to read. Luckily, we had a gas station stop and were able to find a brochure with a nice map.That helped us out a lot! We picked out a few places that we really wanted to stop, since we had more big plans for the day and our time was a little bit limited. For more information, click here.

Hood River Valley

popular fruit and bakery shop

the small farms are so scenic

who can resist a homemade cinnabon?

or marionberry scone

One of our favorite stops was the Lavender Farm, where we picked a couple of bunches of lavender ourselves. Though there were beautiful flowers all around us, we could only pick the lavender. This little farm was so charming...everything about it. I especially loved the little gift shop, and I may have purchased some handmade lavender soap and a lavender spritz made from essential oils the owner distilled herself.

lovely lavender farm

are you having fun?

pretty

great flowers here

and the lavender was so healthy looking

the owner taught me how to cut the lavender

bzzzzz.....

is this enough?

just love this adorable farm

nice

the flower gardens were awesome...but we could only cut the lavender

pretty

another section of the farm

isn't this the most adorable shop?

side view of the shop

One last stop on the "fruit loop trail" for us was the Alpaca Farm! It was such fun seeing the animals and knowing exactly where the fiber was coming from. The staff was very friendly and encouraged us (if we wanted to) to feed the alpacas. They are adorable, especially with their haircuts! They looked like they had JUST been sheared.

The store at the farm had something for everyone. Finished goods such as woven blankets, hand knit hats and socks, hand spun alpaca, roving....you name it, they had it. I may have made a purchase here as well. Hard to pass up fiber from the animal standing right there.

Hood River Fruit Loop Trail

okay!

we've arrived at the Alpaca Farm

great shop

who's hungry?

wait your turn big guy....its Blackies' turn

soooo cute

in the fields

oops...got a little itch?

We had picked out a hike on our way to Mount Hood that looked really good. It was about a 4-mile RT, which was perfect for the day, and had a beautiful waterfall as a bonus. The trail was so pleasant, winding through the forest and along the stream for most of the way. Between the shade, and the sound of the rushing water, it was a very refreshing hike. Oh, and the birds singing and the smell of the pine. Perfect! My kind of hike! (Except for a few dicey parts-very narrow, very high, very scary). With a little hand-holding over the scary parts, I was able to manage my fear and enjoy the rest of the hike (thank you Tom-my hero)! The waterfall at the end of the hike was fantastic!

the start of the trail

we followed the stream for most of the hike

here we go....heading into the forest

ready Susie?

heading up...and it gets steep and scary soon after this (no pics)

nice...can you smell the pine?

glad for the bridge...wouldn't want to cross the log there

stream along the trail

hear the birds?

sweet

gaining elevation (its higher than it looks in the pic)

so refreshing

beautiful

lots of rocks

what a pleasant hike

fungus

are you still with me Susie?

nice waterfall

sounds so refreshing

pretty nice

continuing on

the water is so clear

more fungus

Part of the trail went through a rock-slide. The trail here was quite slippery, even with hiking shoes on, and the forest service very thoughtfully put down some black felt-like fabric over the really slick parts that were on an incline. We made it through without incident. 

walking through the rock slide

the rocks are so big...they fell like pebbles!

a lonely pine rooted in a rock

Rounding a corner, the view was awesome! It took us by surprise as we didn't expect to see that waterfall like that. WOW! A beauty! Part of the trail near the end was very very narrow, and of course, steep....but folks managed to get down to the water. We stayed on the trail and took our pictures from there. We also had a nice perch on some rocks in the shade to tighten up our shoelaces and drink some water. Oh, and admire the view!

around the bend...this is the view

beautiful!

what a treat at the end of the trail!

why yes, you can take our picture together....thank you!

nice! the mist was very refreshing too!

One more stop before Mount Hood...and that was Trillium Lake. What a gem of a state park! The lake is surrounded by forest, with Mount Hood standing guard over the lake. The picnic area is great, with private picnic areas nestled in among the trees along the lake. There is a 2 mile hike around the lake, and we were sorry we didn't have time to do that! There just aren't enough hours in the day, I tell ya!

Mount Hood

new to us!

we haven't seen these before

no other ducks on the lake but these two 

beautiful view

Late in the afternoon, we reached Mount Hood. We were amazed by the amount of skiers and snow boarders we saw in the parking lot and lodge. We didn't see anyone on the mountain, but it was the end of the day. Timberline Lodge is a historic lodge, built in 1937. For more information, click here. You can take a tour of the lodge or just walk around yourself, like we did. There is a lot of wood...walls, floors, ceilings....which adds to the character of the place. To be honest, we were walking around until we found the restaurant! We were starving and wanted to eat an early dinner.

approaching the lodge

we don't see any skiers or boarders on the slope

there are some content-looking boarders!

Got that? Tom? Andrew?

the view was really nice...and the path could take you even closer

We ate in the casual eating area, with windows all around and great views of the mountain from one side. The food was delicious! Afterwards, we looked at the path up to see the mountain top even closer. Its actually not a mountain top. Its a "potentially active" volcano with 12 glaciers and snowfields on its peak. For more information, click here. Anyway, we decided we were satisfied with our view from the lodge area, and did not feel the need to walk UP the path. (Key word...UP).

hungry?

clam chowda and a pastrami sandwich....perfect!

the best 3-bean chili!

do you want to walk UP a little? Just a little?

close up

America the beautiful!

Timberline Lodge

the peak

view of the Cascades

beautiful mountain views

Once back home, we unpacked our purchases of the day....fresh fruit, lavender, soap and spritzer, and a couple of skeins of hand spun alpaca! I bundled the lavender to hang to dry, and found a suitable spot to do that! Whew...In about a week, it will be dried and I will be able to make some sachets. Lavender is used frequently to deter insects from wool, and I have a LOT of wool. Smart to be using so much lavender to protect my stash! Right?

found a good spot to dry the lavender!

it smells so nice!!