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Published: September 26th 2009
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Our fairly uncomfortable bed, in our nonetheless charming room, afforded us the opportunity to get up early enough to watch the sunrise over Crater Lake and take many photos. After breakfast we headed north through the middle of Oregon towards Mt. Hood. We were surprised to realize that central Oregon is considered high desert, and with its sagebrush and mesas and canyons, it reminded us of parts of New Mexico, especially when we drove through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. After 5 hours on the road, we arrived at the Timberline Lodge. The huge crane blocking the front entrance and the scaffolding and construction netting covering a good portion of the back of the landmark building did not give us the impression we had been expecting. In fact nothing about the Lodge was really how we pictured it. First of all, only the exteriors were used for the movie The Shining, so the interior looks completely different that we had imagined from the film. Nothing scary about it—it was like staying in a museum—and after a ranger guided tour of the place we understood that it really is a living museum. Mostly it is a testimonial to the WPA, which constructed
the massive structure and built furniture and created artwork for it as well, in only 15 months! And like a museum, it is perpetually low on funds and plagued with loads of delayed maintenance, both structurally and with the interior furnishings. Still, because we heeded the warnings of online reviewers of the place, we booked the highest category of room and enjoyed a spacious room, with king bed, seating area, and fireplace. The view from the (dry rotted) windows was spectacular, south over the way we’d come, with Mt. Jefferson, 50 miles away, poking through the horizon. Unfortunately, there were several fires burning in Oregon and the smoke made the sky quite hazy, so our photos don’t do the view justice…
After the tour we attempted to find a hike to take, but quickly abandoned that, since the few trails around the Lodge were less than exciting. Mt Hood is impressive from afar, but up close and personal, it was barren and rocky—as I pointed out to Dave, it’s called the Timberline Lodge because it’s right at the tree (timber) line—and nothing much grows on the slopes above the Lodge or on its property. In the National Forrest below
lakes, rivers, campgrounds and trails abound, but you have to drive to get there. Also, the area is definitely oriented towards skiing and winter recreation. In fact, the Lodge used to be the ski center for the area, and was built to accommodate ski rentals, storage, etc. Even the furniture around the lower lounge fireplace is made of strips of rawhide in an open weave to accommodate the melting snow off the skiers' clothing as they warmed up in front of the fire…
We enjoyed the same great view as from our room over a glass of wine on the stone patio built over the main entrance, which was where Roosevelt himself dedicated the Lodge in 1937. Dinner in the dining room was pleasant, but the food not quite up to meal we had the previous night at the Crater Lake Lodge, where we were impressed with the menu and the preparation. (All the National Park concessioners seem to be competing with each other to see who can come up with the most high-end sounding menu, although the results don’t always match what was attempted.) The highlight of the night was relaxing in front of the fire in our
room…
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