Road trip

So I drove home to see my brother, my sil and my mom. the drive starts with 70 miles of freeway (I-5)












Cruising through the North end of the verdant Willamette Valley - some of the richest farmland on earth.

As you may have noticed, I am taking all these photos one-handed out the car window, so they are not carefully framed or set up.







Then a left turn onto Highway 20 headed up four thousand feet into the Cascade mountain range. Here's where I stopped for a potty break.
I like a nice view when I whizz in the woods.










Detroit Lake was created by damming the Santiam river. It's a big, beautiful recreation location and water reservoir, not to mention a handy hydroelectric producer. And it's raht purdy, too.









A fire swept through the crest of the pass area about 6 years ago. Recovery is slow.












The wet spring gave rise to lots of lush grass growth, which the dry summer has turned into tinder. A lightning strike now will start a grass fire through here, but there's not much timber left to burn.











This is what it's supposed to look like.












My brother got antsy, loaded Mom and my SIL into the car, and met me on the road. I couldn't figure out why that old fart suddenly showed up on my tail and started following so darn close, so I pulled over to let him pass, and when he flipped me the bird, I recognized my brother. We pulled off the road here, and spent about twenty minutes chatting, then he said, "Well, I got things to do. Good to see ya." And it wasn't till I was back on the road headed home that I realized this probably wasn't what most folks would consider a normal family visit. It's pretty normal for my family.

For a treat, I took myself to Suttle Lake Lodge for lunch. Suttle Lake has been a resort for over a hundred years.

The lodge is new, though. The old lodge was a log cabin and probably wouldn't pass any health inspections. Generations of pack rats lived under the place, and their treasure troves must have been awesome!

I got a seat on the deck right next to the lake.

Close enough to stick my foot through the rails and dandle my toes in the water. And suddenly I was five years old again and remembering what fun it was to swim there. And I wished I had a swimsuit with me. Amazing how fifty five years can vanish like that.

As with any rustic resort, the food was overpriced and merely adequate, but the experience was grand!