North of the 45th Parallel

Dad left town at 5:26 PM and crossed the 45th parallel (half way between the equator and the geographic North Pole) at 7:15.  After a quick stop at the iconic Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge, he continued west to the US Forest Service campground at Camp Creek.

The original plan had been to overnight near the lodge but that was idea was tossed.  It having been a record year for snow in the Cascades, four feet of it remained covering the campground..  A quick stop for a picture was all the motivation needed for a retreat to a lower elevation.  The dashboard thermometer read 28F.  It would not have been any fun trying to prepare dinner outdoors there.



Ten miles or so west, and a couple thousand feet lower, was Camp Creek USFS campground 

The wondrous white noise of the fast-moving water outside the View assured a deep and uninterrupted sleep.