Barlow Butte

We had a great day today. We headed to the other side of Mt. Hood for a hike up Barlow Butte. There wasn't a lot to photograph on the way up, but once we got the top, we were rewarded with beautiful views of the Cascade mountains. We would have had fantastic views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson, had they not be covered in clouds.





We stretched out for a rest, sunshine and lunch on the summit. Yes, the girls are dressed alike - it was their idea, not mine.






I told the girls that I think they look like they have pink elephant trunks when they drink from this bottle!


Here is a not-so-cheerful picture of me. I think I was perplexed, wondering when Kevin was going to take the picture. Mt. Hood is right behind me (behind the clouds).



We saw this beautiful moth (and several others) flying around in the sunshine.





There were quite a few different varieties of succulent plants at the summit.










A short part of the trail was the original Oregon Trail where the wagons came through. Here was the sign marking the trail, and here is Sydney on the trail.


After our hike, we drove to Hood River - one of our favorite towns in this area. There are many fruit farms and orchards in this area and we were hoping to find a place to pick berries, but we didn't. So we walked around Hood River, tasted some wine (lots of wineries, too) and then headed back home.