Day 2 of the NH Invasion was pretty mellow.  We ended up relaxing around the house, taking Codi for a couple walks, going grocery shopping (don’t ask) and having a belated birthday cake for James.

Day 3 proved to be a bit more exciting.  We did what is becoming the standard fare for visitors by doing the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River, and Mt. Hood as one big loop.  Juston and Laurel took Mia and I on this drive when we came out for my initial job interview.  Then Mia and I took Paul, Shannon and Freestyle on this loop when they came to visit for the first time.

Our little twist this time was to do it clockwise by doing the gorge first and then Hood River and then the mountain.  There are pros and cons to clockwise or counter clockwise.  Generally doing Mt. Hood first allows you to get up to Timberline lodge, and doing the gorge first allows for a bit more lingering at the various waterfalls.  We had to sacrifice going up to Timberline because it was getting dark, but we’ll get them up there next time.

We stopped at the Portland Women’s Forum (aka Chanticleer Point), Vista House, Latourell Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Multnomah Falls (of course), and then headed east to Hood River and Double Mountain Brewery for lunch.

So after lunch and a little shopping in Hood River, we headed out on route 35 towards Mt. Hood.  It was as clear as you could ask for and the sun was getting low in the west, really lighting up the peak.  It made for some nice light hitting the mountain as we came around towards Government Camp.  After stopping at one of the sno-parks for some pics, it was getting too late to drive up to Timberline.  By the time we got up it would have been dark and while a nice visit, not quite the same feeling if the sun had been still up.

Tomorrow we head for the coast……..

all the pics from today here

Thanks for reading

-Pete