Our trip from Bozeman to Hood River, OR was uneventful, 700 miles and about 12 hours with a brief stop through Coeur d’Alene, Idaho–where they had run the Ironman Triathlon the day prior. Once in Hood River, we grabbed dinner at 3 Rivers Grill–where we sat outside on a deck overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. After a great dinner and cocktails, we went down to the river–and watched kite boarders and wind surfers frolic around as the winds picked up for the first time in a few days. We called it a day and headed 25 miles West to Cascade Locks, where we had a hotel reservation for the evening. Upon checking in at the hotel, they informed us that our reservation was for the month of July and the hotel was booked. All we could do was fire up the laptop and go into scramble mode. Luckily, we found a room at the Hood River Hotel, and drove 25 miles East back to Hood River. Needless to say, we were exhausted. Rising early, we grabbed breakfast and travelled to Timberline Lodge up at Mt. Hood. Surprisingly, there were herds of people still skiing–even though it was the last week of June. The Timberline Lodge is a stunning historic property. We went for a nice hike around a lake where Cali went swimming, and later travelled to Tamawanas Falls–one of the most stunning hikes we’ve experienced as a family. Starving, the kids persuaded us to grab a late lunch/early dinner back at 3 Rivers Grill–which once again did not disappoint. Following dinner, we went to Indian Creek Golf Course, where we toured the front 9 of the golf course. The kids will always go to a golf course if they get to drive the cart. Yvonne and I eventually dropped the kids back off at the hotel and took Cali for a walk at Post Canyon. This is an epic mountain biking destination, and I’ll be shredding it up tomorrow with Wes Swearingen, owner of Mountain View Cycles in Hood River. Then off to the Oregon Coast in the afternoon.
