A Blue Bird January Weekend

This weekend was marked by sunny blue skies and fun in the snow. Friday night we had a little movie night with some friends from Summit (work). Saturday morning I met up with some friends to head to the mountain for some skiing. It was only my fourth time on skis EVER. But, I'm having a great time learning to shoosh down the mountain. Most of the people we know have a season pass for Mount Hood Meadows, so you can always find someone who wants to head to the mountain, even on a weekday for night skiing.

This morning, we slept in and went for an afternoon snow shoe at Trillium Lake. The trail to the lake is about a 45-minute driver from Hood River. The main town nearby is very small and is called Government Camp. Very inventive name. ;)

The main trail to Trillium Lake is very well-worn and busy, so we went off the trail to make some fresh tracks. Snow shoeing and skiing make winter very fun. :)

Blue skies and smilin' trees.

The day I left for my trip home for Christmas with my family, Tom and I went snow shoeing around one of the campgrounds in Mount Hood National Forest and I took some photos of Tom in the snow on the picnic table.

As you can see, we've gotten a bit more snow. :) Yes! There IS a picnic table under all this snow!

After hiking in about three miles, we reached Trillium lake. I made some chili and chocolate chip cookies last night. There's NOTHING like a hot meal in the snow with a view like this, of our friend, Mount Hood.There's also nothing like chocolate after a long hike. There IS such a thing as DESERVING chocolate. :)

The drive from Triullium Lake back to Hood River demands your attention. The smilin' man likes it.Mount Hood is closer AND BIGGER than it may appear.

As you drive North on 26, Mount Hood greets you with a great view at a few choice spots.

See ya, Hood! The search for those guys who got lost up there in December won't happen until summer, when the snow recedes.

I've never seen skies with so much color and mood before experiencing Oregon skies. You really appreciate the way the sunlight changes everything.

As we get closer to Hood River, we get a peak at Mount Adams in Washington. From our bedroom and kitchen windows, we can see the summit of this mountain.

And it's soon Monday again.