January 2000
Located in SE Washington state, about 2.5 hours from Portland, is a small town called Packwood. Some friends had a cabin in the mountains, with an amazing view from the deck of a river, mountains, and if it were clear, Mt Rainier. But it is hard to be disappointed when you sit on a deck and watch Bald Eagles flying around.
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Not quite a metropolitan area, Packwood is a blip on the map. But that blip is in an absolutely beautiful area. |
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On the way up to the White Pass ski area, we drove by these cliffs. What you cant tell is that in between the first set of trees and the cliffs is a large gorge area. |
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Ok, quick photo op here. This was only the 3rd time Ally had been around snow. Needless to say she was in heaven! But she has a unique way of making me very nervous when she starts running around all over and poking her head through the fence behind us. Through that fence is a straight drop of a very long way. |
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Back on the road... I was laughed at for taking this picture, but for those of you who are looking at this from the South, I am sure you can appreciate it as much as I did. |
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The cabin. What a great place this is. I should have taken this picture one day later though. If I had, you would have seen a GREAT set of skid marks in the dirt where I came within about a foot and a half of crashing into the cabin. Washington mud is slippery....and the Goodyear tires on the Durango suck! |
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The view from the back deck of the cabin. I want to go back to this cabin in the summer time...the views would be absolutely amazing. What you cant tell from these pictures is that there is a mountain to the left, one to the right, and in the middle you would see Rainier on a clear day. We were only about 25 miles South of it, so it was disappointing to not see it. |
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I am taking my fly rod with me next time. I could have spent the whole time on the deck with a view like this. |
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The ski area... TONS of snow...and surprisingly, really great skiing. |
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For my family and friends back home, this picture is not distorted. The trees and ground really were white...the stuff is supposedly called "Snow". |
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White Pass offers some dynamic skiing, pristine runs and powder, and some chances to be completely alone on the side of the mountain. |
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Ok...one last shot of Ally by the cliffs. Yes, that is a Texas flag bandana.
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Sunday means it is time to drive home, back to Portland. Just outside of Packwood we see a sign indicating a road that would go to Cougar, WA, right by Mt St Helens. A shortcut??? SURE!!! One small point... this "shortcut" entails cutting over a mountain pass. Just a rule of thumb for my Southern friends and family... "Shortcut", "Mountain Pass", and "Winter" should NEVER be used in the same sentence. We got about 20-30 miles up into the mountains before the road was closed. About 10 miles into it the roads started to get wet, then icy, the covered with snow and ice. Thank God for the 4x4. This river was taken pretty low down. At this point, I was still enjoying my decision for the shortcut. |
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On the way back down... the road was closed, we had almost skidded off the road a couple times, my shortcut had now added well over an hour to my drive home, and the humor was being lost. When people talk about how the winter in the Pacific Northwest can sometimes be gloomy, just look in the background of this picture. Granted, this is USUALLY limited to the mountains, but from time to time even Portland is like that. One last point of clarification...the "dry" bit of road you see on the right is just that....a single tire track on the road to follow. Not too long before this picture, we didnt even have that much!! All in all though, a beautiful drive, great skiing, cool people, and an amazing cabin. |
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