Banana Slugs

It was an amazing weekend.  Unexpectedly we were childless...so we had to fill our time doing things that our little darling boy just doesn't appreciate at the same level we do - like hiking :)
We decided to explore Mirror Lake on Mt. Hood.  When we got to the lake it was pretty much a white out because of the low clouds....

So we hiked higher to a peak called Tom, Dick and Harry and then we sat there for 30 min before the clouds parted to reveal an impressive view.  But the clouds would blow right back in so we could only catch glimpses of the mountain which was kinda cool.

When we came down from Tom, Dick and Harry Mirror Lake looked like this! Amazing what a difference some clouds can make!

Then we ventured over to Timberline Lodge.  Mt. Hood really is a beautiful mountain any time of the year...
I tried to climb this mountain once...lets just say it was a VERY humbling experience which did not end with me summiting...I still hold a bit of a grudge about that...

Mt. Jefferson and then the Sisters way back there.  Our oldest boy is somewhere between those mountains.

My husband threw a snowball at me!

While we were hiking up to Tom, Dick and Harry we met some people on the narrow trail.  I noticed as one passed me that he almost stepped on a banana slug...he also noticed that he had almost stepped on "something" and was peering down trying to figure out what it was...
I said "did that slug almost get you?" (cause I'm funny that way) and he said "oh, is that what that is?" I said yep its a banana slug, which got his entire group interested - which of course led me to the conclusion that they just weren't from around here...when I asked they said they were from Chicago.  I then felt the need to let them know that you do not have to be in the middle of the Mt. Hood national forest to spot a banana slug...I didn't want them bragging to their Chicago neighbors that they had spotted the rare and decidedly ugly banana slug...I informed them the banana slug can also be found on my front porch at home...to which they seemed mildly impressed...

Yep..the NW is pretty fantastic slugs and all!


Frychik