Mt. Hood Railroad Excursion
Saturday, I spent the day with Orange Boy, celebrating his 11th birthday. I had taken Tall Dude on a train ride when he was 2 yrs old and decided that I would continue this tradition with any future boys. Well, I'm way behind, but it was worth the wait.
We went on the Mt. Hood Railroad in Hood River, Oregon, about 1-1/2 hour's drive from home. I didn't tell Orange Boy where we were going, just got him up early Saturday morning, packed a sack lunch, and took off. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, he figured it out - or at least the train part of it. What I didn't tell him was that this particular train ride would be a Western Train Robbery excursion. After receiving the tickets, the clerk handed me some extra money "just in case":
We waited in the station until 10AM when the door opened and the conductor yelled out, "All Aboard!"
Conductor
On the ride, we were given a history of the railroad, local attractions, and quite a bit about the most popular business in the area of Hood River, the fruit (apples, pears, peaches, cherries, etc). This area has probably some of the best fruit produced in the US. We saw numerous orchards and trees heavy-laden with fruit.
Notice the fruit on these trees.
Our first glimpse of fall foliage. Peak is probably still another couple weeks away.
We rode over about an hour or so to O'Dell Station where we got off for a layover in a podunk town with only 2 gas stations, one grocery store, and a couple small restaurants. I think that was it! Snapped a few more shots in front of the train:
On the way back, however, the excitement began. Over the intercom, we were told there was some sort of commotion in another car and asked if there was a doctor in the house. Then we were asked if their was a preacher on board - lol. Next thing we knew, 3 armed bandits came onto our car demanding we raise our hands and money up in the air over our heads.
Orange Boy was . . . amused.
As we pulled into the station, the bad guys were surrounded by good guys and the good guys won.
On our way back home, we stopped by Multnomah Falls to eat our picnic lunch. Orange Boy climbed up to the bridge and I told him to take a picture of me from the bridge while I took a picture of him from down below so we could compare the distances.
Orange Boy took this picture and he had the camera zoomed in.
If you click on this picture, you can see Orange Boy waving at me - he's left of the center of the bridge. I did not zoom in on this picture.
And this was a rare treat - normally Multnomah Falls is packed with visitors. How cool it was to get this shot with no people on the bridge.
Orange Boy and MeThis was a great day with my sweet boy!
Awww, what a great day you two had! Happy Birthday to your son!
Looks like a wonderful adventure. You brought back memories of my trip up there too. We went to those falls!