September 14th through 24th, 2014 Last trip to Portland and Brookings OR

Three free days in our future so a trip to Portland to visit family was immediately added to our Oregon Experience Itinerary. La Quinta, its pet friendly rooms, free breakfast and quiet location continues to be our favorite Portland overnight.

Timberline Lodge, the closest lodge to the top of Mount Hood, outdoor scenery filming for The Shining, was scheduled for our day trip destination.

The Shining

The classis 1980 British-American psychological horror film, produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson was filmed on the grounds of the historic Timberline Lodge. The original maze that was used in the film has long been removed but the Lodge, for itself alone, is worth the visit.

The Shining, in case the story’s plot has evaded your memory, is about frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) who takes a job as the winter caretaker at the ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. When he arrives there with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son, they learn that the previous caretaker had gone mad. Slowly Jack becomes possessed by the evil, demonic presence in the hotel.

Mt. Hood from the Lodge

The Lodge was not used for the indoor scenes but the Lodge’s past is an amazing part of our countries history.

Completed in 1937 and dedicated September 28th by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Lodge was a project of the Works Progress Administration and completed by Oregonians, with Oregon lumber during the depression.

Timberline Lodge  Dedication Plaque

Our original plan was to overnight here and enjoy the trails, however, the sky high view also came with a sky high price. The least expensive room was $130.00 per night and consisted of one set of bunk beds, a window and an entrance door. Restrooms were down the hall. Nope, don’t think I would enjoy the experience. We settled for a docent Ranger led tour and lunch with a view.

Mount Hood

Our docent was an excellent speaker and knowledgeable about every little detail of this remarkable Lodge. Imparting information about the Oregonians who used anvils to hand forged the door hardware, gates and boot scrapes, all with amazing details,

Anvil and tools  Boot scrape Hand forged hardware

to the woodcarvers who hand fashioned detailed forest creatures out of solid tree trunks and amazing wood carvings on walls and doors,

hand carved newel post Side doorLower Lodge entrance

to stone cutters chiseling designs into the massive stones that make up the three story fireplace,

Main Lobby  Fireplace stone carving

to tails of the first skiers who took advantage of the chill averting roaring fires before climbing up the staircase to their rooms after a day on the slopes.

Lower lodge fireplace  Original room

From the casual first floor reserved for skiers, up side steps to the main lobby, we exited an open door to look out over the valley.

Side staircase  View from the Main Lobby Road to Mt. Hood

Re-entering, the docent pointed out the 1,100 pound door, so perfectly weighted that it swings open with a slight push from one finger. Exceptionally impressive wood and iron work.

Front Door

From start to finish, a perfectly enjoyable day with family.

Early morning rise, packed up to depart for Lone Pine, one last breakfast with family. Bags in hand, walked behind Ribbit and stopped short. Ribbit’s rear license plate was gone. Walked back into the office, called the police, got a grouchy officer that yelled every time I tried to ask questions, ended up cutting the conversation short, hanging up to call back after we filed a report with the hotel.

With trepidation, I again called the police on the way to breakfast and got a nice officer who explained that I could do the whole procedure on line. Thankful that I didn’t have to deal with the grouch, we filed the paperwork while we ate.  Saying our good-byes to family, John took the front license plate and put it on the back and we began our journey home to Lone Pine. Two hours into the ride, we got a call from an officer who reminded us not to use our front license plate as it was now reported as a stolen plate. Quick stop to remove the license and continued driving with no license plates on either end.

On the way up and back to Portland, fires surrounded the freeway bringing thick choking smoke that blanketed the Eugene valley. Had to put on my Michael Jackson mask to breath and kept our air intake shut for several hours of the trip.

Smoke from the fires near Eugene

Back at Lone Pine we settled back into our routine and finished prepping for the next group.

Blue Grass Jam going on at IdleYld Lodge this early evening. Banjo, guitar, fiddle, base and mandolin jammed for two hours with special guest singers. In this land of multitudes of microbrewery beers, we drank Moose Drool while enjoying the tunes.

Blue Grass Jam

Foot stomping for Cotton Eyed Joe, clapping and foot tapping along with the Battle of New Orleans,

Cotten Eyed Joe

reverently joining in the chorus of a guest gospel singers original song written for his younger brother. Catchy tune now stuck in my head.

Gospel Singers

Returning while still daylight to check on our group campers and packing for our last family trip, visiting my dad in Brookings.  Soon we will leave our peace on earth for Kanab Utah.

A slow paced four hour drive to Brookings along the coast, we made our farewell stops at old familiar haunts and arrived at Otter Terrace Bed and Breakfast for the next two overnights. Spacious comfy room.  John could not help a cantankerous grimacing when asked to “smile”.

Our room

Awesome seal barking view of the ocean from the deck a few steps from our room.

View from the deck Barking seals from the deck

A herd of wild deer strolled around the neighborhood, unafraid of humans, stopping traffic and staring down anyone they happened upon.  Our hostess mentioned that no one in the neighborhood was able to plant anything editable without them finding and stripping the plants bare.

Our heard of deer

Delightful tranquil visit but duty called and propelled us through the newly arriving dense fog and cold rain, pausing only for three specialty stops while homeward bound.

We had noticed Kate’s on the way up and a wake-up call was beckoning after our early rise for the journey back.  If nothing else, our passages through tiny towns has availed us to invitingly friendly and unique characters, of which, for Oregon, this was momentous.

Tasty Kates Cafe

Definite hippie ambiance exploding with psychedelic colors on the outside, some seeping inside and spreading itself throughout the interior, mixing with aromas of fresh baked wonders and freshly brewed coffee before settling in the smiles of its patrons.

Entrance to Kates

Kate’s seating was one long banquet table snugly tucked into the solitary open space, with varied styles of chairs scooched in around its edges. Several couples had already arrived and seated, were chatting and enjoying their selections. When we sat, we were drawn into the conversation, a protest that was supposed to happen all across the US, the amazement being that these were not the hugely Democratic majority that populated the state of Oregon. Finding like-minded citizens and speaking freely about our opinions was a refreshing change of pace. Sometimes you find the most fascinating people in the most unexpected places.

Kate with her tasty treats

Harvest, best described as a hippy market, had a delightfully surprising interior.  Everything for the home gardener, winery and beer entrepreneur, fresh organic spices and herbs, an enormous bouquet of bottled scents, mysterious organic produce, heritage grains and a top to bottom wall covering refrigerated case with every brand of Oregon microbrewery offerings you could imagine. The bathroom had music festival posters from the last few decades plastered on every inch of the walls. Best part…huge purple perfectly ripe fresh-picked organic figs invitingly perched on the checkout counter. I didn’t hesitate in purchasing a handful, the first one gone immediately, the rest within the hour.

Harvest Inside Harvest

Just outside of Roseburg we came upon Spangler Winery.  It didn’t take much convincing for John to drive one block to the tasting room.

Spangler Winery Spangler tasting room

Inside we were greeted by three humongous Akita’s.  John got his petting “big dog” fix, we tasted a few reds but nothing came back to LilyPad.

Akita big dog fix

We arrived at Lone Pine and began our last responsibility as Hosts Extraordinaire, making ready for our last group campground guests of the season.