Trip Report

We left Eugene at 8:00 a.m., drove up I-5 to Wilsonville Rest Stop where we had our morning break, continued to Exit 212 off Hwy. 205 and then followed Hwy. 26, the Mt. Hood Hwy., to Timberline Lodge, arriving about 11:30 for lunch. The weather was perfect with lots of sunshine and no wind with beautiful views of Mt. Hood. It was quite crowded, however, with many carrying skis who reported perfect snow conditions at higher elevations. Some of us ate in the elegant dining room, some in the Ram’s Head kitchen, some in the WyEast buffet and some brought lunch and ate on the outdoor balcony, where tables are provided.

We left Timberline at 1:30 and arrived at the Carousel Menagerie Museum in Hood River for our tour at 3:00 p.m. The Perron family has collected and restored one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of antique carousel art and it is now housed in a bank building which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The collection is mostly horses, of course, but there are other menagerie animals including dogs (a sincere looking greyhound and an earnest St. Bernard), pigs, zebras, camels, giraffes, tigers, cats and many more. Our tour leader held us spellbound for about an hour. Afterwards we walked to the hotel, two blocks away. The town was crowded with wind surfers, a popular sport in Hood River.

The hotel had provided a package which included a delicious dinner, comfortable rooms, a continental breakfast and the train ride. We boarded the train at 9:30 from the depot right in back of the hotel for a two-hour ride up to Parkdale. Paralleling the river, we soon backed up and went a different direction through many ripening pear and apple orchards. This area is the largest shipper of d’Angelo (brown) pears in the world. We stayed in Parkdale for about an hour, had lunch, visited the gift shop and museum and returned to Hood River at 3:00. There were spectacular views of Mt. Hood, especially from Parkdale, a town very close to the mountain. We returned home via the Columbia River Hwy. and stopped for a short time at Multnomah Falls, arriving home at 6:00.

Thanks to Mary Lee Cheadle who took care of registration and helped plan the trip, especially the Carousel Menagerie Museum. On this two-day trip were: Ethel Allen, Mary Jane Arpin, Jim Arthurs, Glendora Burbank, Mary Lee, Norman & Virginia Cheadle, Betty Dolan, Margaret Fea, Dora Harris, Barbara & Kess Hottle, Phyllis Hulse, Ben Kirk, Gloria Layden, Grace Miller, Jane & Randall Montgomery, Lois Nelson, Frances Newsom, Barbara & J. Lee Schimmer. June & Nan Smith, Dick & Janet Speelman and trio leaders Bette Hack & Liz Reanier.