Category: United States

American Northwest Trip, 2017: Timberline Lodge

Michael Rappa

Knowing that Portland was only a 90-minute drive to Mount Hood, I couldn’t resist spending my final night in Oregon at Timberline Lodge near its summit. The lodge was made famous by The Shining—Kubrick used exterior shots of the lodge to depict the Overlook Hotel. Although the interior was not used in the film, Timberline has fully embraced its Shining legacy, as some of the photos below make clear.

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Dannny!!!
I found this painting to be creepy. Maybe it’s the look of the guy’s face while holding a miniature Overlook (err, Timberline Lodge) in his hand.
Native American symbol on the stonework.
This chair was built for FDR to use at the dedication of the hotel.
They’ve definitely embraced their Shining legacy.
Might this start playing music despite no source of power during the Witching Hour?
The infamous Room 217 was changed to 237 for the film because Timberline was afraid nobody would want to stay in room 217 after seeing the film. Now it’s their most requested room.
One more dark corridor.
I don’t normally take photos of photos, but I thought this shot of skiers traversing a snow-covered Tmberline Lodge was neat.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Grand Teton Historic Buildings

Michael Rappa

There are numerous historic buildings located throughout Grand Teton National Park. Here are some shots I took of the iconic homesteads along Mormon Row, as well as a few photos of the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

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Mormon Row: John Moulton Barn
Mormon Row: John Moulton Homestead
Mormon Row: Thomas Murphy Barn
Mormon Row: John Moulton Homestead
Mormon Row: John Moulton Homestead
Mormon Row: Clark & Veda Moulton Homestead
Mormon Row: Andy Chambers Homestead
Mormon Row
Mormon Row: Andy Chambers Homestead
Mormon Row: T.A. Moulton Barn
Chapel of the Transfiguration
Chapel of the Transfiguration
Chapel of the Transfiguration
Chapel of the Transfiguration

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Grand Teton National Park

Michael Rappa

When I was planning my trip out west last year, I wasn’t sure whether a day trip to Grand Teton National Park was worth spending one fewer day in Yellowstone, so I inquired with a couple of friends, who told me that I should definitely see it. I decided to go for it, and I’m glad that I did. Grand Teton is a park filled with majestic mountain peaks and beautiful lakes. The photos below feature shots taken at Jenny Lake, Jackson Lake, and Snake River (site of one of Ansel Adams’ most famous photographs), as well as miscellaneous photos taken from around the park. My next post will highlight Grand Teton’s historic buildings, such as those located on Mormon Row.

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Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
View from the top of Signal Mountain.
View from the top of Signal Mountain.
Jenny Lake
Jenny Lake
Jenny Lake
Snake River. This is almost the exact same spot from where Ansel Adams took his famous photo.
Snake River

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Iron Mountain Road and Mount Rushmore

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my visit to Mount Rushmore, including a drive along the scenic Iron Mountain Road. If you ever visit Mount Rushmore, I highly recommend first driving Iron Mountain Road from south to north. Complete with switchbacks, pigtail bridges, and single lane tunnels, it is a beautiful drive culminating in the final tunnel that frames Mount Rushmore as you drive through it. Along the way there are scenic lookouts, including one in which you can get your first look at Mount Rushmore from a distance across the valley.

As for Mount Rushmore itself, it is more impressive in person than photos would lead you to believe. It was late in the day by the time I got there so I only stayed long enough to take a few pics, though there is a hike around the monument if you have more time.

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A good look at the upper torso of Washington, which was never completed. The original intent was to carve all four presidents from head to waist.
Scenic lookout.
Scenic lookout.
My first view of Mount Rushmore in the distance from a scenic lookout on Iron Mountain Road.
Scenic lookout with Mount Rushmore visible in the distance (upper right).
The last tunnel on Iron Mountain Road beautifully frames Mount Rushmore.
The other end of this final tunnel on Iron Mountain Road frames Mount Rushmore.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Portland Waterfront

Michael Rappa

Photos from my walk along the Portland waterfront, as well as my ride on the Portland Aerial Tram, which carries passengers between the waterfront district and Marquam Hill. I also included a few photos of Portland viewed from high up in my apartment. It’s such a lovely city.

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Pedestrian bridge.
Pedestrian bridge.
Pedestrian bridge.
Portland Aerial Tram (carries passengers between the waterfront district and Marquam Hill.
View from Marquam Hill (Oregon Health & Science University).
Cable car approaching Marquam Hill.
View from Marquam Hill (Oregon Health & Science University).
Looking toward the mountain range to the north of the city, including Mount St. Helens to the right, as viewed from my apartment.
Portland at night, viewed from my apartment.
Closeup of the hills in the distance. Somewhere up in that area is the Japanese Garden I hiked to.
Portland at twilight, viewed from my apartment.
Portland at sunset, viewed from my apartment.
Portland at night, viewed from my apartment.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Old Trail Town

Michael Rappa

During my long drive across the entire state of Wyoming I stopped in Cody for a visit to Old Trail Town, a recreation of an old west town using authentic buildings collected from around Wyoming and Montana. The buildings were disassembled, moved and reassembled at Old Trail Town. Among the buildings here are original cabins used by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a saloon frequented by Cassidy’s “Hole-in-the-Wall Gang,” and the home of the Crow Indian scout who led Custer to Little Big Horn. There are also tons of historic Old West artifacts and grave sites of several notable Western figures.

It’s a nice little diversion on the way to or from Yellowstone for fans of the old west; I think the entry fee was $10. There weren’t many people there so I pretty much had the run of the place and was able to get some nice shots. I chose high-contrast processing for a lot of the photos to give them a more vintage feel. I considered going all out and converting them to black-and-white/sepia but decided it would be too much work. Perhaps I’ll convert a few of them at a later date.

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Hole in the Wall cabin used by Butch and Sundance’s gang.
More graves.
Grave of Buffalo Bill’s grandson.
Saloon frequented by Butch and Sundance.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Needles Highway

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my drive along Needles Highway, a scenic, sometimes treacherous road winding through granite “needle” rock formations in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The road has a number of one-lane tunnels cut through the rock, wherein you have to be careful and make sure nobody is coming from the other direction before driving through them.

Needles Highway was the first leg of a grand loop scenic drive I took through Custer State Park that also included the Wildlife Loop and Iron Mountain Road before ending at Mount Rushmore. If you’re planning a trip to Rushmore, I highly recommend taking this loop if you have the time as the landscape is often spectacular.

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Needles Eye Rock
Looks like some sort of beast sitting at the top.
The final tunnel of the route when traveling north to south (single lane like the others).
Needles Eye Tunnel. All of the tunnels on this route are single lane, so you have to be careful when driving through.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Multnomah Falls

Michael Rappa

On my way from Portland to Mount Hood I decided to take a detour to view the majestic Multnomah Falls. It was well worth the trip, though I narrowly avoided a situation that could have left me stranded there all day. As one of the photos below shows, a pair of RVs got themselves stuck together on the narrow road leading to the main parking lot, creating a massive traffic backup in both directions. Had I arrived earlier, I might have been stuck on the wrong side of that jam. Luckily, the RV crunch happened before I arrived, so I parked further away near a smaller waterfall and hiked to the main falls. I didn’t have time to hike up to the bridge but I got a few nice shots from below.

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These two RVs got themselves stuck together on the narrow road leading to the main parking lot, creating a massive traffic backup in both directions. If I had arrived earlier I might have been stuck there all day, but luckily I parked further away near a smaller waterfall and hiked to the main falls. It was still a chore getting back out because traffic was backed up past my car when I returned and I had to wait for someone to let me out, but it would have been so much worse if I had been stuck on the other side of those RVs.

The RVs were still stuck together when I left, causing traffic to back up past my car, so I had to wait for someone to let me out before I could turn the car around and leave, but it could have been much worse. I felt sorry for everyone who was stranded there because it did not appear that those RVs were getting unstuck anytime soon, but I made it back to the highway and was soon on my way up to Mount Hood.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Mount Hood Magic Mile

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my ride on Timberline Lodge’s “Magic Mile” ski lift toward the summit of Mount Hood, a trip for which I was woefully under-dressed with just a windbreaker to protect me from the frigid winds. At the top I had a spectacular view of Mount Jefferson peeking above the clouds, as well as great looks at Timberline Lodge in the mist below. It’s definitely worth the ride if you’re visiting the lodge, or you can choose to hike up to the top. Had I had more time, I would have at least hiked back down from the top, but I needed to get back to Portland to catch my plane to Montana, so I rode both ways.

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This photo captures Timberline Lodge beneath a blanket of clouds with Mount Jefferson peeking through the top of the cloud cover.
I wonder if anyone was at the summit of Mount Jefferson looking across at us and enjoying a similar view of Mount Hood peeking above the clouds.
Like a beach meeting an ocean of clouds.
In this photo you can see skiers in the snow above the house.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Mount Hood

Michael Rappa

One great aspect of Portland is its proximity to both mountains and beaches, either of which are just a day trip away. Although I didn’t have time to visit the Oregon coast on this trip, I did make the 90-minute drive up to Mount Hood, where I spent my final night in Oregon at Timberline Lodge near its summit. The lodge was made famous by The Shining (more on that in a later post). These photos are from my drive up to Mount Hood and my hikes around it.

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