This is one of the best times of the year to visit agriculture-friendly Oregon. The pear harvest is in full swing, fresh-off-the-tree apples are readily available, and it seems like every farmstand on the road is selling sweet corn. We spent yesterday afternoon driving what is called the “Fruit Loop”, a 45-mile stretch of meandering back roads south of Hood River, Oregon. Along the road, there are more than 20 farms and wineries offering samples, u-pick fruits and berries, wine tasting, and fresh-cut flowers. We stopped at about six or seven spots, and by the end of the day our fridge was overflowing with organically-grown pears, plums, blueberries, and pear cider.
Also along the route was a side road leading to Panorama Point, which is supposed to have spectacular views of Mount Hood. But yesterday it was so hazy that the mountain seemed to vanish right into the background.
Can you spot Mt. Hood? Yeah, we couldn’t, either.
We had better luck seeing it today, partly due to the weather clearing up and partly due to the fact that we drove more than halfway up the mountain.
There it is, Kevin. Behind you.
We came up this way so that we could visit the Timberline Lodge, a historic hotel built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930’s. Five hundred workers handcrafted the entire structure – from the foundations and staircases to the chairs and lampshades – out of local materials. Our Moon guide calls it “one of the unquestioned masterpieces of rustic Craftsman design.” Well, I don’t know anything about that, but I do know that the building was used for the exterior shots of The Shining’s Overlook Hotel.
It’s much less ominous in the sunshine, right?
The inside looks nothing like the movie, though – all the interior scenes were filmed on a soundstage someplace else. And there was no maze either, sadly. But there also weren’t any deranged people trying to murder us with an axe, and that’s always a plus.
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