Oregon Road Trip: Day Four

Mike Jandl
Aug 25, 2017 · 7 min read

Cold as the Dead, Hood River,
Sweet Digs, The Pearl District by Night,
Waffle Cookies for Cats

In a panic, I burst bolt up-right and out of my sleep at God knows what time, shivering like a mad man testing the durability of his own spine. I could see my breath and that’s all I was able to register. It was a few seconds before I realized where I was, and by then Jane had joined me in my shiver shuffle shake down, danced to a chilly number featuring our clattering teeth on percussion and our quick-sharp-breaths to add a bit of melody. It was kind of jazzy, real free-form. It had gotten chilly towards the end of the night, but it must have dropped another 25 degrees since we’d fallen asleep. We’d been laying on top of Jane’s quilt for some extra padding, but we quickly — without a word — worked together to sneak under the quilt. We hugged each other tight and with the extra layer added to our sleeping bags and fleece blanket, we formed a tight cocoon around ourselves that held the cold at bay long enough for us to find sleep again. Camping; a great way to build teamwork skills.

View from inside our tent.

When the light of day finally did come, I woke up surprisingly refreshed. I left the tent and was treated to an amazing view of the mountainous forest as I took a leak into the river from atop the bank, only feet from my bed. I once had a history teacher who would say, “It’s good to be a man, for the world is our urinal!” So true…so true.

Jane and I took our time that morning. We built a fire and perked some coffee, which we sipped while sitting in the hammock we’d hung along the bank. Both she and I are laid back, so we didn’t worry too much about the loose schedule we’d planned for the trip. If you especially enjoy some place, spend extra time there and tell yourself that there will most likely be some other stop along the way that you wont be so crazy about, and that things will just even out. Stay in the places you enjoy a little bit longer and don’t think about losing time or irrevocably throwing your plans off. RELAX!

Our campsite at Nottingham Campground in Mt. Hood National Forest.

While cooking breakfast I accidentally knocked the percolator over like an idiot and lost the rest of our morning coffee. Luckily we had one can of beer left in the cooler, which we shared happily over — you guessed it — breakfast burritos. When it comes to camp cooking it’s important I think, to stick to what you’re good at. Also, breakfast burritos are delicious, versatile, easy to make, and filling… AND f***in delicious. So with full bellies, we tore down camp and loaded up ‘Vicci’ the civic, took one last look at the beautiful ‘campsite 21,' and headed towards Trillium Lake.

Jane catches me contemplating life while gawking at Mt. Hood over Trillium Lake.

Don’t get me wrong, the view of Trillium Lake with Mt. Hood towering above that deepest-blue-you’ve-ever-seen(until you get to Crater Lake)-water was gorgeous. It really was. But you get basically the same view from every spot around the lake, plus you can see Mt. Hood from all over the surrounding country. Maybe it’s just because I’m a Minnesota-man who has grown up with all the lake action I could ever hope for, but I would recommend soaking up the views of Mt. Hood from back at Solera brewing or one of the wineries in Parkdale. There the scenery is supplemented by wonderful wine vineyards…and tasty beer..and wine. But don’t let me stop you from checking it out, that’s just my two cents. If you’ve got extra time or have kids, Trillium Lake would be a great bet; there were a lot of families who seemed to be having an awesome time there.

Trillium Lake was gorgeous.

This time around, on our way back to the Columbia River Gorge that would lead us west to Portland, we actually stopped to check out Hood River rather than just passing through it. The way the town is set on a hillside along the water reminded me of Duluth, though it’s population of 10,000 is much smaller. Downtown was extremely busy for a Wednesday. Tons of small shops enjoyed loads of foot traffic moving through their doors and the available parking spots were scarce.

Jane Enjoys a ‘Sweet Jane’ IPA at Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River.

We found a brewery called Double Mountain Brewery and Jane was especially pleased to find that they offered an IPA called ‘Sweet Jane’. We both enjoyed two of the delicious ‘Sweet Janes’ and shared an equally tasty pizza. We liked the brewery so much that we decided to buy shirts and mine even glows in the dark!! Cool.. I would highly recommend making a visit to Double Mountain if you’re in Hood River. It was definitely our favorite town so far. Best campsite, best town. It’s an awesome area.

Rivendell, Middle Earth. AKA — Multnomah Falls.

On our way to Portland, we stopped at Multnomah Falls. It was ridiculously busy — by far the busiest tourist attraction so far. When we reached the falls, just a short ways up the trail from the main parking lot, we saw why. It totally reminded me of Rivendell from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. A beautiful arching bridge stretched over the lower falls and provided a brilliant view of the upper falls, which are super impressive. There was a switchback trail — eleven switchbacks in all — leading to the top of the falls. Looking up the hill from the road it looked as though it was nearly a completely vertical slope. But it’s worth the climb because from the top “There’s a gorgeous view,” a random traveler told Jane and I just before we rounded the sixth switchback and turned back with our heads hung shamefully. It’s probably super over-rated anyways….WE WERE GETTING SWEATY, OKAY!? But seriously, be sure to make a quick stop at Multnomah falls if you’re already taking my advice to visit Hood River. I’m sure YOU can make it to the top…

A short time later, we pulled into a small neighborhood in Roseway — a suburb of Portland — where our AirB&B awaited us. It was a magical basement room that smelled a bit like a pile of wet cats. But after a few minutes the smell became a part of us and we settled in just fine. The woman who was putting us up was a social butterfly during our communications over the AirB&B app and she seemed nice. She had some individually wrapped waffle-cookies in a cookie jar that I helped my self to, completely guilt-free. She put in the extra effort with the waffle cookies, I thought, and I decided she was an alright lady.

‘Brueben’ Sandwich at Fat Head’s.

After a couple well-needed showers, we took an Uber into Portland. We basically had to waterboard the driver before she’d give us any cool tips about the city, which she then shared with the enthusiasm of a woman who had just been waterboarded for way too long. It was late by the time we made it to the south end of the Pearl District, where we wandered for a short time before eating at Fat Head’s Brewery — I hadn’t heard of it before, but it’s a chain of considerable size. They had a ‘Brueben’ sandwich that I absolutely approved of. Unbeknownst to us — and probably to our Uber driver — we were just two blocks away from the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House. Naturally, we stopped in for a couple pints of just before closing time.

Jane and I enjoying some last call beers at Deschutes Brewery in the Pearl District of Portland.

We had a slight buzz going as we walked out to meet our next Uber driver, who was just infinitely better than the first. He told us some pretty funny stories — boarder-line inappropriate, which we found pleasing — and offered advice on how to check out Portland as he whisked us away to our palace. There we dined on waffle cookies and saltwater taffy, which I somehow missed before (life is full of beautiful surprises), and we fell asleep in a comfortable bed to the soothing pitter patter of one of the cats who lived upstairs. I wonder if cats like waffle cookies… probably.


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Mike Jandl

Written by

Trying to tell some stories, share some photos, and have a good time.

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