We visited Mount Hood and the historic Timberline Lodge, three times during our year of living in Portland. The drive was a little less than two hours from our apartment in the city.

The first trip was on a cloudy and chilly, June 10th. We set out in the late morning. Here are a few pictures from the drive: lush and green, mostly farms and forests.

There was a lot of snow on Mount Hood. I'm not sure if this is true, but we were told that Mount Hood is the only place in the United States where you can ski year-round. After I took Dan's picture, a bird landed on the very top of the tree.

Not only was there snow on the mountain, but it started to snow as soon as we arrived. Snow in June!

And we saw hikers starting off on a trail. People have died on the Mount Hood trails. 

No extreme hiking for us, just a photo.

Recognize the historic Timberline Lodge? The exterior of the lodge was used as a stand-in for The Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, The Shining. It has been used in many other films, including the recent adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir, Wild.

Timberline Lodge was build during the Great Depression as part of the Works Progress Administration ( renamed the Works Project Administration). Its lobby is filled with antiques from the era. 

We headed up to the Ram's Head Bar, located on the upper level of the lodge, to warm up with the most decadent hot chocolate, that included a shot of Bailey's. Look at all of the whipped cream and toffee. Yummy!

We feasted on a cheese plate and homemade bread. 

Our view of the snow storm outside. 

Less than three weeks later, we visited Timberline Lodge with the kids. It was a sunny Forth of July and we were all in shorts. Much of the snow had melted, but there were still skiers on the slopes!

And three weeks later, on July 30th, we brought Dan's mom. Snow was still on Mount Hood, but the areas close to Timberline Lodge were blanketed with wildflowers. 

If you're planning a trip to Oregon, Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood should be on your itinerary. If I were to visit again, I'd definitely make an effort to spend the night at Timberline Lodge. It's an incredible historic landmark. Obviously this is a wonderful place to ski, but if you're not a skier, there are other nearby activities, like The Ski Bowl, which is a family friendly center with activities like Horseback Riding and an enormous alpine sled. If you drive a little, you're near the "Fruit Loop," a scenic drive that takes you by local farms selling fresh produce. Fishing is also nearby. The whole area is beautiful and not to be missed.