Portlandia + Mt Hood

July 17 brought us to Portland. Here we treated ourselves to a hotel in Beaverton; it was close to downtown and the cheapest place we could find.

Guest laundry, free breakfast, and dog friendly...which means we had bacon and clean clothes for the first time in what seemed like forever.

We caught a lyft downtown, anxious to get into the Rogue and Deschutes breweries. Rogue had a killer marionberry beer on tap.

Deschutes had nothing I hadn't had back home, so I settled for a fresh squeezed and admired the large, intricate wood carvings the divided the taproom/restaurant up.

Buzzed up pretty good, we dipped into the Low Brow for a drink as we waited for a lyft back to the room. They claimed to be a dive bar, but they had a lot of rules for a dive bar. I couldn't even eat my leftover tuna casserole from Rogue in there.

The Portland Saturday Market was along the river the next morning, and we found all sorts of weird stuff there.

Homeless people with rabbits in harnesses just soakin' up the sun. Hippie stuff and locally made stuff everywhere. A few people were trying to hawk jewelry and watches.

One vendor hit my soft spot when I saw she had bow ties for dogs for sale....a bow for Boe? Shut up and take my money.

Looking for a place to soak up some sun, we stopped at the Clackamas River beach on the way out of town.

The water was too dirty for my friends and they wanted to leave instantly. Personally, I've swam in much dirtier water and enjoyed the sandy beach and relative isolation.

With our sights set on The Gorge, we headed for Mt. Hood.

We splashed around in the Columbia River for a while, drove up and around one of the famed ski resorts, and bunked at Sherwood Campground for the night. Mt Hood watched over us the entire time, its snowcapped peak guarding the winding path we travelled on.

This winding path eventually brought us to Lake Trillium. Though it was a little crowded and the water was at least as murky as that of the Clackamas River Beach, it had an unbeatable view.

It cooled me down just looking at the peak as I bathed in the sun and I wouldn't have minded camping there.

Many were scooting around the lake on stand-up paddle boards and kayaks. Trails surrounded the little lake.

We drove deeper in to the woods, to the heart of Siuslaw National Forest. Mt Hood Brewing Co was nestled in these trees, and their Cascade Pale Ale was definitely something to write home about.

Baker Beach was a great little campground, with the exception of horse shit everywhere.

Apparently, it is a popular place for people to load up their horses and ride around. I myself hate having to step around horse turds on the beach. There was so much that it was actually a struggle to find a place to set up a tent. If it were free camping, I wouldn't complain. But it was $12 to set up a tent.

The water itself was pristine, and the dunes high enough to board down. We found oodles of sand dollars on the beach, and the morning fog provided an interesting atmosphere. It was quiet, dark, and chilly. Perfect weather for cuddles and coffee.