Day 12: Ainsworth to Albany, OR

In the morning we went back to the Horsetail Falls, which were only 1/2 mile away, because the boys had said they wanted to swim in the pool at the bottom (some others were doing it when we saw it last night.

Well, despite the hot temps, the water was FREEZING cold. I put my feet in and they almost went numb, so I decided to be the photographer instead.
After a short while, Ben was the first to jump in, Alex soon after. It was an awesome event.

I was happily snapping photos, thinking I would only go in to the knees. However after Daryl took the plunge and they all seemed so exhilarated by it, well I couldn't resist!

I went in, too. It really zapped your breath away, but it's not every day you can say you swan beneath a waterfall!

We then checked out of Ainsworth and decided to go to Mount Hood, thinking it might be cooler at higher elevations! We drove the 2 vehicles as far as Government Camp, then left the camper parked and drove just the van up to Timberline Lodge (apparently where the movie "The Shining" was filmed).

It is a really nice place with lots of photo opportunities. It also had a nice gift shop, including a penny crusher machine for Ben's growing collection.

 

 

 Leroy and Elaine stayed at the Lodge for a drink, while the 4 of us decided to take the Magic Mile Chairlift up the mountain to 7000 feet elevation. We brought layers (long sleeves) expecting it to be cold, but it was not at all. It was a fun ride with great views!

Despite the heat wave, though, there were areas of snow still remaining up there!

At slightly higher elevations, people were even snowboarding and skiing! Odd!

So I decided to take a snowball down with me as evidence for Leroy and Elaine to see! It melted quite a bit, but lasted long enough for them to see!

After that adventure, we fetched the camper and drove on the Mollala, where Leroy's brother Ernie lived and where Leroy grew up. We found Leroy's parents' old home and talked to the nice young lady who has been living there for the last 2 years. A trip down memory lane for Leroy.

Then, we travelled on, but after stopping at a restaurant for a nice supper (it was our 22nd anniversary today!), it was so late we did not make it to the Pacific yet. We stopped at a truck stop in Albany, OR for the night. It was right next to a Walmart, so we stocked up on some supplies, too, and all went to bed early.