With all the chaos the last year has brought on, I find myself overwhelmed and withdrawing from the constant craziness. The polarization of our nation and even the people in my life is draining after a year of isolation and heavy current events. My friend Lyndsay and I planned at the beginning of the year to take advantage of the later sunrises to get out and take in some of the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Logistics allowed this weekend to work best for the both of us, and I couldn't be more grateful. Not only was the week so heavy with everything on Capitol Hill, but it was the most stunning sunrise I think I've ever seen. Our initial plan fell through in a few ways, but the day turned out to be so perfect and so refreshing. We decided that God just wanted to give us a little treat after all the ugliness of winter and egos and all the things.
We made our way up to Timberline Lodge (after finding out the hard way that they don't plow the 2 mile road from the highway to the parking lot at Trillium!) and gathered with the gaggle of others parking (maybe more appropriately) for ski and snowboarding. Not a soul in that parking lot wasn't captivated by this beauty - it was not only all-encompassing, it was such a source of unity - man has it been a long time since I've strangers share something so special!
We cherished the moment, made ourselves some coffee, took a few (give or take) photos, read the special liturgy for going on a holiday from Every Moment Holy, and attempted to go get breakfast at the lodge. Since this wasn't our first (or even our second) plan, we hadn't checked to see if they were open and functioning at regular or any certain capacity (with COVID and such). Thankfully, before we got too far from the parking lot, a man informed us that they're only open to lodging guests at this time. Lyndsay and I concluded that the view was such an absolute treat, that basically the whole rest of the day could fall apart and it'd still overall be a win. 
Our first thought was to drive up to Mirror Lake and watch the sunset from there. We didn't quite take into consideration the time for the two mile hike from the trailhead though, which is why we aimed for Trillium (thankfully, Trillium is super close to Timberline and we were able to catch so many amazing views!) So, when we found out the lodge wasn't open to outsiders like us, we chose to have a snack and work up an appetite for when other restaurants would be open for lunch. We went to Mirror Lake and hiked two miles through the forest to the loop around the lake and then two miles back. The photos don't even come close to doing justice of these views - Mount Hood was HUGE, mammoth, colossal! We couldn't believe how stunning the day turned out to be.
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| The babies I watch LOVE pinecones, but they always call them "KINEcones"! Haha, I couldn't resist. |
By the time we were done with the trail, we'd fallen three times collectively (not bad for four miles of mostly ice!) and had worked up two serious appetites. After a couple of strikes, we landed on Glacier Public House. Lyndsay's burger had CARAMELIZED CHEESE, like, a rectangle of crispy, baked, bubbly goodness. We sat outside in the beating down January sun and savored an afternoon of warmth, conversation, good food, and endless beauty.
What a special treat in a historically dark month?!
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