Heavenly Bed�

So while in Portland we stayed in the Westin, which was nice and the Heavenly Bed� and Heavenly Shower� certainly came in handy. But the highlight was staying in the Timberline Lodge, the exterior of which Kubrick used for the Overlook Hotel in his movie of The Shining.

But he could have used the interior as well, which is all creepy and weird. Hand-carved animals lurk in odd corners, and the main lodge room has this fucking enormous chimney that’s straight out of Beowulf; Odin himself could kick back here, put his tremendous feet up, and still be dwarfed.

The day we drove there sucked mightily because a Pacific Storm was coming in — yes it is true, every time I’ve been to the Pacific Northwest it has indeed rained like crazy. But that night the rain turned to snow — the first of the season — and 18 inches of it just dumped right on our hotel.

Looking outside the windows that night, watching the huge conifers get buried by the thick flurries and listening to the wind howl and the windows rattle was splendidly scary and worth every penny.

Next day starting the rented car was a chore and removing the layer of frozen rainwater in our California clothing was a test of endurance. But with the snow still coming down, the Lodge looked magnificent… I only hope some of the photos come out better than my Burning Man attempts during the sandstorms there.

In our several days in Portland we never did get to see Mt Hood. And then, even though we were staying several thousand feet up on the mountain itself, we still didn’t get to see any of it. It remained discreetly wreathed in concealing clouds. Perhaps it’s a myth Oregonians like to spin to tourists?