Mt Hood is glowing proudly with its new coat

 I never tire of looking at Mt Hood. I grew up looking out the window at Mt. Hood while I stood at the sink washing dishes, outside doing chores.  It has always inspired me and made me feel at home and safe.

When I moved to Estacada, Oregon last year from Central Oregon I figured it was only a 2 hr trip home so I could go home and see my beloved mountain. I also love the rest of the Cascade Mountain Range in Central Oregon. Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson being my favorite.  When I got to my new home I had this amazing view of Mt. Hood. Anytime I am lonely or depressed I go look out the window and know the friends I am missing are just on the other side of her.  She makes me serene again, she settles me nerves, I am at home if I can see her standing majestically tall and proud.

She is the second most climbed mountain. fourth highest  in the Cascade range. tallest one in Oregon. She has so much native history and they called her Wy'east who was a warrior.  You really should google it and find out about this mountain as it has so much about its history I can't write all of it in my blog and bore the ones that don't want to know that much.

Every year it seems we loose a climber or a hiker on it.  It is beautiful and dangerous.  When I was a child it stayed covered with snow year around but now only the glaciers remain in summer.  It is beautiful from all sides and you can take a great drive around it, go up I84 to Hood River and turn and go through Parkdale and up to hwy 35 and over the mountain to hwy 26 and back to Portland and see how amazing she is from all sides.  I keep calling the mountain a she but Wy'east was a he. 

Wanting a beautiful relaxing day trip, head up and around Mt. Hood, see the meadows, the streams, the mountain, the trees, the valleys, she has it all. 

Christmas tree farm

 A lot of people do not realize that Christmas trees are one of Oregon's biggest crops.  Trees are usually harvested between 6 an 10 years old. That is a lot of committed time for a crop before you get any money from it. Oregon is one of the leading states to produce trees. They are usually harvested starting in the first part of November and shipped all over the world. According to google in 2016 Oregon harvested 5.2 million trees. They say the average growing time of a 7 feet tree is 4 to 15 years depending on the type but average is 7 years. 

   

Farming on the West side of Mt. Hood

 Mt Hood is a staple to look at no matter where you farm. Each area has its own crops. On the south side they grown peppermint, wheat, alfalfa, potatoes and now lots of seed crops.  On the east side they grow a lot of fruit, apples, cherries, and lots of other food crops like squashes etc.  On the west side they grown a lot of Christmas trees, shrubs, flowers. I think almost anything is grown somewhere in Oregon. It is a diverse state from farming to ranching to recreation.  If you like it you can find it in Oregon.  A lot of people don't even know that we have geysers in SE Oregon. Many people travel outside of their area or state and don't even realize what it right outside their doors. I remember once posting a photo of some caves and people were saying, "wow, those are so neat, where are they?". Well they were right outside of their home town by 2 miles.

There is no reason why you can't travel and enjoy our state when you are elderly, you can drive or even take a wheel chair to many nature places, see animals, see historical places.

Here are a few photos I took yesterday of some farming on the west side of the state near Portland. Portland is big but right out of town not even 20 miles you will find a lot of farm ground.

We don't grow hot weather crops like cotton but are starting to grow a lot of hemp and wine grapes. 

 My new home

Here are some reasons you will see why I love living in Estacada and how Mt. Hood is still a prominent part of my life and makes me feel at home.

 I used to drive out to the boonies to listen to the birds and relax, now I step out my back door and see these views and set and listen to the birds.  We have so many birds up here.  So I might be homebound because of COVID 19 I still have a great view that changes a little each day. I never get tired of looking at the view and you will see many photos of my back yard.

Welcome to the beautiful area of Estacada, Oregon and the Clackamas River which runs right below our house. McIver Park is right below us to the south and we live right on the cliff which scares me sometimes as I don't like heights at all.