New Snow

Two days before Michael and I were supposed to go up to Mount Hood and spend one night at a resort there, the weather reports recommended people stay off the mountain due to a blizzard. Luckily, by the time Sunday came around the blizzard was gone, the skies were sunny and the roads were clear. I hit the yoga class early Sunday morning before we drove to the Resort at the Mountain. The Resort is nestled in the forest in Welches, which is at the base of Mount Hood. It’s about a 20 minute drive from there to the top, or Timberline Lodge.

Sunday afternoon was sunny and nice. The new snow wasn’t too soft and we decided to get some snowshoeing in before checking in at the resort. We went to Frog Lake. I realized that the last time we tried to do Frog Lake and there wasn’t enough snow, we actually were on the Pacific Crest Trail instead. This time we were on the right trail and there was enough snow.

The Frog Lake trail was easy, short (1.5 miles total) and flat. That was exactly what my knees needed. I wanted something not too strenuous or uphill so I could snowshoe for about an hour or so and feel good afterwards.

The trail we were on was shared with snowmobilers. I’m glad that once we got about a quarter mile into the trail we didn’t see any of them. They were way ahead of us. I did see a bunch of guys being pulled by a snowmobile while they were on snowboards. Looked fun and dangerous!

Also saw this on our trek:

Anyone need a nip? I’ll pass! We did a little over an hour and my knees felt great. After our short snowshoe hike, we checked into our room at the resort (deluxe king bed! Woo!) and then went to the hotel bar for happy hour. Michael and I split the parmesan garlic fries and sweet potato fries.

I also decided to end my February diet. I’d done it for 25 days and was mentally done. As a result of that decision, I kind of went overboard on my foods. I’m pretty sure I gained back what I lost on the diet. Oh well. I was tired of feeling deprived.

At happy hour I also had the BEST drinks. The first was a White Cloud – Vodka, Coconut Rum, creme de cocoa with a dollop of cream on top. It tasted like heaven. I love ever sip of it. After that I had a pina colada martini.

The bartender made great drinks, was friendly and we had a good experience at the bar.

A little bit later we went out to dinner at Skyway Bar. It was super close to the resort and boasted fantastic BBQ according to the reviews. The place was a total dive and inside it was a funky space decorated like an antique store. The decor was funky and quirky and absolutely absurd but it worked.

Now, I have to preface this review with the disclaimer that nothing can compare to Franklin’s BBQ in Austin Texas. I will probably never have anything better or anything that even gets close to Franklin’s. Despite that, this BBQ was decent.

I got the pulled pork sandwich and it came on a ciabatta bun with a small mac n’ cheese on the side. Michael got the 1/2 pound brisket with jalapenos and chipotle sauce. The flavors were good, the meat was soft and flavorful. The mac n’ cheese was REALLY good but still: nothing compares to Franklin’s.

We spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room watching the Oscars. 🙂 When they were finished we walked back to the hotel bar for dessert. I know! I went CRAZY. But just for one night, really. I was so burned out and done with the diet and all I wanted was some freakin’ dairy. Michael and I shared a dessert: brownie with ice cream. Michael is still doing the gluten-free thing so he got the ice cream and I got the brownie. It worked perfectly.

The brownie was freshly baked, warm and tasted like the best dessert I’ve ever had. It had been a long month of no treats! Even the bartender remarked that when the plate was cleaned I looked blissful. Hahaha! The brownie was topped with whip cream, a little caramel sauce, dried cranberries and crushed nuts.

Monday morning we planned on going for another snowshoe hike. We had breakfast in the resort restaurant (not the best service and the food wasn’t anything spectacular–which was weird because the bar food and drinks were great). We checked out and headed up the mountain. It had snowed a bunch overnight and they were now requiring chains to go up to Mount Hood. Michael had chains for his car but neither of us really wanted to mess with it.

I was also nervous about going up the pass when chains were required. That meant the roads were not as safe as they were the day before. Michael drove a little ways up and we turned a corner to where it opens up to a canyon. It’s kind of a scary stretch of road even in the best of conditions and with snowy roads? No thanks! I decided we should turn around and just go home early. The roads weren’t great, chains were required, and such new snow mixed with rain could lead to avalanche warnings.

So we ended up turning around and it turned out to be the right decision. I saw in the news that a snowstorm hit Mount Hood around noon that day–which is the exact time we would have been up there snowshoeing! Not safe!

I was disappointed that we couldn’t snowshoe again but it was for the best. I had a great time with Michael having a little romantic getaway in the snow. I love groupon getaways! Even if it was just one night, it was a refreshing change.