East Lolo Pass Road

I doubt very highly that you'll ever see a blog / travel channel host do a bit on Lolo Pass Road - East or West, Welches, OR.  And so I will.  This post is a good example of why Becky and I enjoy watching the grass grow for a while in the various locations we visit.  We came to the Welches, OR,  area, just as the majority of pre-snow visitors do,  to view THEE main attraction - Mt. Hood.  But unlike many who rush in, snap a thousand pictures of Hood, spend a night in a local lodge, and then speed off to the next wonder in this great country of ours, we have plenty of time to avoid the potholes just around the corner near the Dairy Queen.  And so we discovered East Lolo Pass Road.

We pass these fellas all the time - today we decided to stop for a couple shots.  Sasquach has a $3500 price tag.

So off we go and about a mile into the ride we came around a corner to this view - Mt Hood.  Let me back up a minute.  Uncharacteristically I spent some time researching the name of the mountain that the Lolo Pass Road traverses.  I was sure that the name would be Lolo as is obvious but didn't see it in print.  And here's a benefit of authoring a blog - ya get to make shit up... so herein, all these pictures were taken on LOLO MOUNTAIN!

In the close up ... stop the presses.... I was watching CNN's post-debate coverage just now and heard that the Secret Service has given Cain the code word "Cornbread" which is the name he chose for himself.  I mean come-on!  

Oh yeah, the close up, the "slide area" to the left is actually Oregon Glacier and the slide to the right is Zig Zag Glacier.  Yes, Zig Zag faces a town just off US-26, Zig Zag.  I'll be back to Hood directly but in the mean time, Lolo Pass parallels the Sandy River seen here about 100 feet below the road.  Most all the rivers in this area are home to one species of Salmon or another, Brook, Brown and Rainbow Trout, and winter run Steelhead.  Right now there seems to be a lull between runs.

The fall colors here in Oregon just East of Portland are spotty at best.  We simply haven't had overnight lows, low enough to give the trees the push they need.  Still pretty,  and with Hood in the background, well, you know the "worth a thousand words" saying.

Here's a better look at Oregon Glacier - and the tops of these 100' tall Lodge Pole Pines.  Magnificent!

Another great thing about these blogs is... if you get tired of reading or looking at pictures (which by the way, really don't do nature justice) you can just click and away ya go.  But don't miss the next picture.

The first few  miles of Lolo Pass Road are "maintained year round by the city / state.  Above that the road, although paved another 10 miles is not.  The BPA (Bonneville Power Authority) has this major right of way for its power transmission.  We spent some time "glassing" the ROW but didn't see any animals.  Matter of fact, we have seen very, very few animals this whole summer up here in the NW.

Same day, same road, same mountains and valley, just slightly different atmospherics at play - my favorite picture and a good way to end this thing.

Well, I guess one more thing.  We will be moving over and down the coast to Bandon by the Sea, OR for the winter.  Bandon is on the coast and in the "Banana Belt".  Where there are the occasional overnight lows in the 30's, it seldom gets much colder than that - but it does rain, A LOT.  So we're going to give it a shot for the winter.  Bandon is noted for basically two things, its Golf Courses and is the nation's Storm Watching Capital.  Can't wait to snap some GRAY pictures!