On Sunday Alex and I went to the Aubrey Watzek Boy Scout lodge on Mt Hood to go inner tubing. We met Aunt Melissa, Uncle Steve, Hailey, and Hayden. Tiffany didn't go because she was nervous about not being able to make it to the lodge; it turns out she was right. The trek from the parking lot to the lodge would have been taxing on her even when she has her full strength - since she is still recovering from her last broken leg, she would not have been able to make it.
We were planning on leaving home at 7:30 in order to get to the lodge at 9:00. We had a late night last night and ended up getting much more sleep than planned. After eating breakfast, packing changes of clothes and food (Alex had to take a thermos full of hot chocolate), and just a generally hectic time of preparing, we left home about 10:00. We made several stops along the way. First we had to get gas. Next, we stopped at Wal-Mart to get Alex some snow boots. We stopped at Fred Meyer in Sandy to get a Sno-Park permit; they didn't have them, so we stopped at a gas station to get a Sno-Park permit, coffee, and candy bars. The last 10 miles of driving was on packed snow, and the last 4 miles (on Highway 35) had signs saying chains are required. We had four studded tires on the van and were doing just fine, so I didn't put chains on. This was upsetting Alex; I'm not sure whether he was nervous about getting a ticket or about having an accident. (Just after seeing the first little bit of snow outside of Sandy, Alex had quizzed me about all the things that make our van good in snow . . . studded tires, front wheel drive, ABS, equal weight front and rear, etc. . . . and he wanted to know how each and every feature helped in the snow. I think he was nervous.) With all of these stops, we pulled into the Aubrey Watzek parking lot about 12:30.
From the parking lot, we hiked 200 yards into the woods. There really weren't any obvious signs of a permanent path, but there was a trail where a sled had been pulled through the snow; we followed the sled tracks. When we finally came upon the lodge, we were amazed. The lodge is a fairly rustic building on the edge of a hillside clearing. A long inner tube run down the hill was populated by about a dozen people. We went inside to warm up.
The inside of the lodge was very warm, and had a rustic oaken aroma, either from the wood-burning furnace in the basement or from the wooden structure itself. There is a large lobby with a huge fireplace, couches, and tables. There are also four dormitories on lofts overlooking the lobby. Each dormitory sleeps 30 people on triple-stacked wooden bunks with 2 inch pads. There is a bathroom and a large kitchen in each dormitory. The kitchen is stocked with basic cooking implements, from forks and spoons to large stock pots. There was an urn of hot water and a gallon-sized can of powdered cocoa waiting for us in our dorm. The window in the kitchen overlooks the sledding hill, so you can sit at the table and see everything that is going on in the snow below, all while sipping coffee or hot chocolate in the warmth of the lodge. On this particular day, there were only about two dozen people at the lodge.
We wasted very little time putting down our loads and getting out on the snow. Aunt Melissa, Uncle Steve, Hailey, and Hayden were already waiting for us.
Alex took an inner tube half-way up the hill and sat to watch the action for quite a while. I coaxed him to slide down, but he wasn't quite ready. He said he would do it later, but just wanted to watch for a while. After 5 minutes of coaxing, he finally took the plunge.
Throughout the day, Alex only slid down the hill about half a dozen times. He spent most of the day digging holes in the snow and building walls. He went in the lodge a couple times to drink hot chocolate, but then went right back out. He had a blast. Hailey was quite a daredevil, sliding down the hill from farther up than most of the adults would start . . . even Hayden seemed to enjoy sliding. Steve was carrying him on the tube, and he would cry when the ride was over, then point up the hill as if asking to go again.
At 3:30, Alex finally came in the lodge for the final time to eat and pack up to go. We heated up some of the SpaghettiOs that we had packed in – they were about the best SpaghettiOs I have ever eaten. The lodge closed at 4:00, and we were heading out the door right at 4:00.
On the way back to the van, I slipped in the snow and fell. I was carrying a grocery bag full of clothes and food, and a cup of hot coffee. Neither spilled.
The drive home was uneventful. Because it was just Alex and I, we decided to detour to Powell's Books to pick Alex up another Star Wars book. He has read all of his Star Wars books many times, but he says he doesn't like any of the other Star Wars books he has seen in the bookstores. He was amazed at how many Star Wars books they have at Powell's, and easily found one he was interested in.
We arrived home at 7:00, just in time to eat dinner and go to bed.
It was a great day; the only thing that would have made it better is if Tiffany would have been able to enjoy it with us.
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