Day 21 (4th of July) and Day 22--fun adventures at Mt. Hood.

 

Day 22–Sunday—7/5:  Ski Bowl:  Alpine Slide, rock climbing wall, bungee trampoline, Mountain biking, chairlift/scenic overlook of Mt. Hood in clouds

We went to SkiBowl, Mt. Hood today for some adventure.  We first did the fun Alpine Slide a few times.  You go so fast flying down the hill with Mt. Hood towering over the course.  Unfortunately, Ryan was going too fast and leaned and caused his sled to tip over.  He got 3 really bad fiberglass burns on his ankle, knee, and elbow.  We took him to first-aid and got his wounds all cleaned and bandaged.  Now Ryan and Sam had matching gauze bandages on their elbows, and each also had bandages on a hand, knee, or ankle.  Then Ryan went straight to the rock wall and started climbing!!!!  That a boy—way to be tough and get back out there immediately!  We all had fun climbing the rock wall and then doing the bungee trampoline.  After that, Andrea and Sarah took the chairlift up and did some mountain biking on a single track while Sam and Ryan went back to the Alpine slide.  We rode the slide together one time and then Ryan was back in the saddle riding all on his own (albeit much slower and more cautiously).  Then Sam mountain biked while Andrea, Sarah, and Ryan went up two chairlifts to a beautiful scenic overlook and for a very short hike.  

After Ski Bowl, we drove about 20 miles to a Walgreens and bought better bandages, gauze, and tape for the boys’ wounds.  We had dinner in town and then headed back to our campsite for our last of 10 nights in Oregon.   We really had fun in this state and found a way to stay cool most of the days during the heat wave. 

Day 21–Saturday—7/4 (Happy 4^th of July!!!):  Mountain biking, hiking through the forest to the river, Sarah decorating her bike for the 4th.

Today we took our time in the morning, cooking eggs and bacon outside in our beautiful, forested campsite.   We then loaded our 4 bikes onto the bike rack and headed out into the Mt. Hood National Forest to some beginner single track mountain bike trails.  It was so fun.  The kids did great on the berms and bumps and the few climbs and downhills on the single-track trail.  Andrea and I were really proud of the kids.  Especially Ryan because he still has a single gear bike that is really hard to pedal uphill (Sarah has a mountain bike and also did great).   Ryan didn’t want to leave but Mom and Sarah wanted to go back and get lunch and explore elsewhere and Sam had to go back to clean up his new souvenir from today—some pretty bad scrapes on his elbow and his hand from a bike fall.  The hazards of mountain biking!

In the late afternoon, our campground, Mt. Hood Village Resort, had a bike decorating contest for the 4^th of July.  There were around 50 kids that decorated their bikes, helmets, and themselves in red white and blue, and prizes were given out for the most patriotic in a few age groups.  Sarah had fun joining in on the fun and seeing all the other kids get into the spirit too.  Ryan decided to sit this one out and just watch the small procession they had during the judging.  Since we’re in a wooded area there are no fireworks, so it was nice to have a way to celebrate Independence Day.

Patriotic girl and bike on Independence Day!

Sarah up almost 30 feet showing off her rock climbing skills.

Wild-boy Ryan repelling WAY away from the rock wall.  Crazy boy!

Sam doing backflip on bungee trampoline. 

Ryan flying on the Alpine Slide with Mt. Hood towering overhead.

The boys with battle-wounds (3 for Ryan, 2 for Sam)

The girls heading to ski lift for mountain biking.

Andrea riding down the mountain.

Sam's turn for some downhill.

Family on scenic hike at SkiBowl, OR.