Beginning of August 2013
Leaving the Oregon coast, the woods and the mountain trails
behind me I ventured back towards civilization. Vectoring myself into Lake
Oswego outside of Portland, Oregon I edged my way towards a reunion with an old
girlfriend. Actually, I think she was my first girlfriend! Laura and I were the
focus of so many rumors back in the day and as anyone with hindsight on those
teen years can appreciate, they were mostly bullshit! But I digress.
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| One of Oregon's innumerable rivers |
Actually, amidst those early teens years, when you have no
real idea what you are feeling, what you are doing, or for that matter what a
"girl" really is, I'm not sure the term "girlfriend"
accurately applies. But you get the point and in any case it doesn't diminish
that special bond you have with your first "puppy love".
We ushered each other into the world of the "other
sex" and so it was with no surprise that our reunion was met with big smiles and hugs! As well as with the question, "Where the hell do we begin
to catch up after some 20+ years since seeing each other last?". Well,
that question was never answered, it wasn't necessary. Where 20 years ago there
was nervousness and insecurity, today there was simply a comfortable
familiarity even after so many years.
So much so that we began our reunion with a night in
Portland at the long standing "Dante's Sinferno" which I leave to your
imagination and googling prowess and ended a few days later with a leisurely
afternoon lazy tube ride floating down the Clikackas River with her lovely daughter
(No, no relation to me!)
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| Mt. Hood |
Not far from Portland is Mt. Hood off to the East. It's hard
for me to resist venturing towards anything as majestic as a 2 mile high peak
with snow on it during the summer, so off I went. So through the small mountain
town of Government Camp I drove and then made a stop at the historic Timberline
Resort. If you remember the movie "The Shining" you'll appreciate
that this lodge was an inspiration for its location and also used for some of
the movie's external shots where Jack Nicholson worked too hard and became a
"dull boy". The lodge itself
seemed to me a historical wonder of old craftsmanship and I could imagine that
if subjected to some fireside ghost talk one could definitely be led into some
neck-hair raising experiences! It certainly had that spooky almost
claustrophobic vibe to it!
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| Timberline Lodge- inspiration for "The Shining" |
Unfortunately the weather and perspectives I was privy to at
the time amounted to some considerably less dramatic photographic opportunities of Mt.
Hood. I got a few shots that may be worthy of sharing, but in any case, there will be other extinct volcanoes to
photograph in the future. Hell, if I'm lucky, there will be some non extinct
volcanoes too!
For Photos and Videos please check out the following links:
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