Villages of Mt. Hood 2011 Geocoin Challenge and Afternoon Tea at Chariteas

My daughter, Catherine, and I left Vancouver a little after 9:00AM hopeing that the fog would lift and the icy roads would have melted. Well the fog went away but the roads were quite icy. We saw a wreck with fire engine and ambulance and a bit further a white pickup was being pulled up an embankment by a tow truck shortly after leaving Sandy, traveling eastbound on Hwy 26. We found the required caches for the Mt. Hood Geocoin Challenge.

We stopped to have Afternoon Tea at Chariteas, a lovely tea room in Sandy, Oregon. We had scones served with jam and clotted cream, assorted tea sandwiches, homemade dessert (lemon tarts and brownies), and, of course, a pots of tea. I took several photographs at the tea room. It was a lovely drive. Many of the trees still had golden and red autumn leaves, the sky was blue with a white moon, and there was a clear view of the snow-capped Mt. Hood.

We visited Jonsrud Viewpoint. A high bluff provided a spectacular vantage point for viewing the portion of the Sandy River and Devil's Backbone the Oregon Trail pioneers crossed on their route over Mt. Hood along the historic Barlow Road. I read about the early pioneers who settled in the area around Sandy on one of the Interpretive Signs and the other Interpretive Sign pointed out the Sandy River valley and Devil's Backbone. It a an absolutely clear, crisp afternoon. We could see Mt. Hood in the distance, the valley floor, farmlands and Sandy River.