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The Drive Up the Mountain
The summer was still ongoing, at the time, so we decided on a quick trip to the mountain. By evening, we had all our bags packed and ready to go. Everyone hopped in the car, and we drove out of the neighborhood. We were surprised to find that the place we were staying was far past Skibowl and Timberline Lodge. The drive was a little over an hour, and we listened to plenty of music all the while. Mountain roads are very windy, and we found ourselves off-roading at one point.
I was happy to be given the passenger seat on this drive in particular because we were hurrying to make it to dinner on time. You cannot order dinner later than eight o’clock in the tavern at the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort. I don’t exactly enjoy driving through the mountains so much. There’s always a feeling of worry in the back of my brain. Perhaps we’ll go flying straight off the mountain this time around, I thought. My brain can come up with very illogical things. Although I couldn’t help being a total worrywart, I was at least comfortable in the passenger seat. We were driving a Rav4 Adventure at the time, and there was quite a bit of legroom in the front.
The sun was setting as we neared the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort, and we got quite the view. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to stop and take pictures while the mountain was golden and glowing. This may be the first time I’ve driven up Mt. Hood at such a pretty time of day. I can’t remember seeing the mountain so beautiful before. As the gold faded into shadow, I wondered how much further we would have to drive. We had entered strange new regions long before sunset, but the drive continued at the will of the GPS.
I had been very zoned out of the drive and much more focused on the music when we arrived at the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort. We hopped out of the car, a bit tired, each of us wearing warm clothing. It had been a while since I wore a sweater, especially one so thick and fuzzy.
Cooper Spur Mountain Resort
It was getting darker now, but there was still some light left. My family and I walked down the path to the tavern and walked in the door. We were seated in the corner and handed adult menus, as well as a few kid’s menus. Although ordered off the adult menu, I did fill in the coloring sheet. It didn’t make much sense because there was no green. I colored the bushes dark purple and gave the trees a fall color scheme. Perhaps it looked insane, but that’s okay.
After dinner, we walked back to the car and moved it down the lot, closer to our room. We saw some cabins here and there. Some of the rooms were not separate cabins, but several cabins within a large connected stretch of cabins. A building inside of a building. I’m not sure how else I could explain it. We were pulling our luggage out of the trunk when we noticed that the door to one of the rooms was swung wide open. It was the room at the very end of the building. There were no lights on inside, and we could not see far past the door. My brothers and I joked that there was a murderer in the cabin, until we realized that it was labeled room number eight. The creepy murder cabin was the cabin we would be staying in.
We hesitantly walked through the open door and flicked on the lights. It appeared very nice, but I didn’t even consider this until after we’d checked the whole cabin for creeps. There was nobody. The housekeepers must have left the door open by accident.
First Floor of the Cabin
There were two large couches on the first floor, that I believe could have folded out into beds. There was also a t.v., and a coffee table. Past the living room was a kitchen and a hallway to two different bedrooms. Each of the bedrooms was fairly large, containing what must have been queen or king-sized beds, as well as closet space. There was a single bathroom on the first floor.
Second Floor of the Cabin
If you climbed the stairs to the second floor, you would find four small beds, and another bathroom. This is where Jonah and I slept, while Noah and my mom slept in the downstairs bedrooms. The beds were cozy, although I think some people might be too tall to sleep in the upstairs beds.
There was plenty of room on both floors, and the cabin could have fit at least eight people, with each of them getting a separate bed or couch. It was much nicer than what we’d expected, and we definitely should have brought some board games. We’ll make sure to grab some if we ever go back.
Two Hot Tubs
Everyone changed into bathing suits, and we walked down to the area where they held the hot tubs. It was very dark out, and thoughts of woodland axe murderers crept into my brain again. Something about being so far from everything else was very creepy to me. We joked that if you were murdered up there, nobody would ever know, and nobody would ever find you. With that in mind, we walked by the light of streetlamps to the fence that enclosed the hot tubs.
My mom opened the gate, and we all through off our sweaters and kicked off our flip-flops. We hung our clothes on hooks and placed our shoes against the wall. There were multiple other people in the hot tubs. There was not enough room for all of us in either of the two hot tubs, so we split up.
My mom and I ended up in a large hot tub with a Spanish family that lives in Bend, Oregon. They chatted with us for a bit, but they eventually left. My brothers walked over and got in the hot tub Mom and I were in. They reported that the other was not as spacious or warm.
Eventually, we tired of hot tubbing and walked back to the room. We changed into comfy pajamas and chatted in bed, finally going to sleep beneath the covers.
Breakfast
The grounds of the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort were beautiful in the morning. The grass was wet with dew and the daylight made everything a lot less creepy, although it was still chilly on the mountain.
We entered the tavern once more and grabbed paper plates. My family and I grabbed fruits and freshly baked pastries, eating them in the same corner of the tavern where we had dinner the night before. There was also cereal, but I wasn’t very hungry at the time.
When everybody had finished their pastries, we exited the tavern. Just outside were picnic tables with Jenga and Yahtzee. We played Jenga for a bit and then walked back to our cabin to pack up.
Mt. Hood Meadows Scenic Ski Lift
We threw our luggage in the trunk of the car and drove off to Mt. Hood Meadows. Everyone dressed in sweatshirts and coats because it was bound to be cold at the top of the Scenic Ski Lift. Our trek down the mountain began, and I nervously sat in the passenger seat once more as we speedily wound down Mt. Hood. Half the time, I wasn’t quite sure we were going the right way, and I believe we took one or two wrong turns, but we somehow ended up at Mt. Hood Meadows.
I pulled an extra coat from my suitcase when we arrived and threw it on over my sweatshirt. I assumed that the layers would work, but I soon found out that I was wrong.
My family and I ventured up the steps to the main building and got our tickets. We walked down the path over to the only running ski lift and hopped on. As we rose, the temperature dropped and dropped some more. I was doing okay, but I was still cold. My mom and I shrugged on our hoods and turned our heads to watch the main building grow smaller.
A Great Place for Hiking and Photos
The view was great, although we knew it would be better on the way down when we were facing the bottom of the mountain. I snapped a few photos on the way up, but I actually didn’t keep any of these. The cords of the ski lift ended up in the corner of each photo, and it was just too dark. Luckily, I also got a couple of photos on the way down that turned out much better, especially because the sun was finally starting to overcome the grey clouds.
At the end of the ride, we lifted the safety bar and scooted to the front of our seats, so we could comfortably hop off the lift. We took a path through a line of trees that wasn’t actually a gravel path, but it was a shortcut to the area we wanted to get too. I also got a number of decent pictures along this path.
My younger brother Jonah had forgotten to bring a jacket, so he was hiking alongside us in nothing but a long-sleeve shirt. At first, he tried to wait out the cold and get over it, but I eventually ended up giving him my fleece. If I was chilly within three layers of shirts and sweaters, I’m sure he was much colder.
Our path eventually crossed with a large gravel path that led us to a number of great photo spots. It was very quiet and peaceful at the top of the lift. I think the loudest noises within the area came from my brothers’ mouths. We continued walking around for a while, but we eventually returned to the lift.
As I mentioned before, the view was even better on the way down. The sun came out and brightened the day, and we didn’t have to turn our heads all the way around to look down at the mountain. The lodge grew closer and closer as we took in the glorious view. We finally made it to the bottom and entered the main building once more.
Lunch at the Schuss Grill
The Schuss Grill is located inside the main building at Mt. Hood Meadows. This is where we ate our lunch. They had a selection of sandwiches and other foods. I ordered a vegan sandwich. It was okay, but it was a bit cold. I’m certain it would have tasted much better if it hadn’t been lukewarm. The sandwich also came with chips and a cookie. Although they were packaged cookies, they were actually really good. My mom claimed that the salted caramel kind was the best cookie she had ever eaten. It was good, although I’m not sure if I agree with her. I’m more of a chocolate chip person myself.
Outside of the building, you could play cornhole. Just before leaving the Mt. Hood Meadows, my family and I stopped to play. We didn’t really count points or take any of it seriously, but we still had a good time.
At the end of it all, we climbed back into the car and shed our extra jackets and sweaters. Everyone was happy to be warm again, and we continued our drive down the winding roads of Mt. Hood.
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