Mountains and Soccer Songs

Headed out towards the mountain. it gets closer, we pass strip malls and strip clubs. Portland has more strip clubs than any place else in the U.S., so we are told. So past all that we found a gritty little taqueria next to a mexican butcher shop. Perfect. We had to wait a while and watch some weird univision comedy but they were making fresh tortillas in the back for every taco. Good morning breakfast.

So we kept on, past Zig Zag, past Government Camp, up to Timberline Lodge. Its called Timberline Lodge because its way up high towards the top of Mt. Hood, close to the timberline, not so many trees. The lodge was a WPA New Deal project and its full of amazing carpentry, masonry, ironwork and craftsperson detail. We stomped around in the snow a bit (threw obligatory snowballs at one another) and saw die hards snowboarding, which you can do all year up there, so long as you are ok with not a lot of snow. You can't really tell it from the picture, but way up there, looking out, its just miles and miles of mountains off into the distance. I was telling Rebecca it made me feel a funny lonesome feeling because i am used to wide open flat spaces where you can drive fast in a straight line. There are no straight lines around Portland. I'm penned in. Rebecca talked me out of feeling nervous reminding me that we live in the middle of a major metropolitan area so if i am in distress, my rescuers will not have to cross a mountain range.

After that we took the long way home, through an area called the Fruit Loop where there are a lot of apple and pear growers. We drove down along the Columbia River Gorge, past Multnomah Falls (which is stunning) and then back home. And we bought apples that I have never heard of but are SO GOOD. I like apples but am incredibly fussy about consistency. And these Pacific Rose apples, grown by the Draper Girls Orchard, are my favorite apples ever ever ever.

We got home just in time to catch the second half of the Portland Timbers game at PGE Park by our apartment. Soccer madness courtesy of the Timber Army. Lots of involved and profane songs and cheers. Rabid soccer fans screaming off their collective asses at the MLS Toronto team. We went down into the middle of the hooligan rabble of the stadium and cheered along. Every time a goal was scored, they hoisted giant flags up through the crowd and a guy in Carrhart overalls behind the goal fired up a chainsaw and cut off a big piece to commemorate the point. And the Timbers beat the MLS team 4 to 1 and the fans screamed, in very loud unison "Your team is so shitty it's unbelievable!" as loud as they could. Good times.