Electricity Adventure - Timberline Lodge, OR

Well, it’s been a little over a week living on the road. No time at all, in the grand scheme of things, but enough to start feeling a little more settled.

I haven’t made it too far in that time. From my (no longer existing) apartment in Seattle, WA, a few hours south to Portland, OR, and then the last couple days here in the Mt Hood National Forest.

I do wish to start exploring more as soon as I can, but considering how fast all of this came together I need to get some things in order. I spent a good couple days just enjoying camping and trying to organize the van, and now have been spending the last few days trying to get some things in order. I have spent significant time camping in this area, so it felt right to use it as a home base while I figure out my next steps. I know where to get free water, electricity, showers, etc. Most of those things, although available in other parts of the area, are readily available at my favorite place to utilize; the base lodge at Timberline.

Today I spent a good amount of time just charging up devices and applying for jobs. I also did some other steps such as health insurance nonsense and update my Rover location in hopes I get lucky and can get a roof over my head for a bit in exchange for looking after some furry friends. And, taking a much needed break from aDuLt stuff, I took on a very unproductive and silly undertaking- watching The Shining in the Timberline Lodge.

Timberline loves to boast about the Lodge’s involvement in the film- all 40-odd seconds of it. See, despite another hotel some hundreds of miles away being the actual inspiration for the story, the exterior shots were of the hotel up here at the base of the volcano. And the business doesn’t want anyone to forget it.

I’m not throwing shade. It is, after all, a very imposing sequence of shots that burns an unforgettable image into the viewer’s brain. So much so that I was shocked to learn how little of it was actually used in the film; the Lodge and the setting of the movie have long since been intertwined in my head. A few years ago I worked here for a summer, and I remember during orientation there was a trivia question which itself seemed to be mocking this correlation. The question was how much of the lodge was actually used in the movie. I don’t remember the exact number, and a quick google search turned up nothing, but I remember it being under a minute.

Regardless, this place is absolutely gorgeous. It’s funny to me that it is known for the exterior, considering(in my opinion) the real beauty lies within the interior. I love The Shining and I have a strange attraction to watching films or reading books in the settings that are directly related to them, so it was fun to take a break today and re-watch the movie for the 100th time.

Anyways, I just figured I would share these pictures of this incredible piece of architecture with you all. It’s much more staggering in person, but I think this gives a little insight. I have never stayed here, but I can still (somehow) highly recommend it to anyone traveling through the area. The views alone are spectacular, and the lodge is something else.

I am driving my silly little van down the mountain soon and finding a random spot to camp for the night. I hope to share some more gems from this area with you all soon! Unless I end up somewhere else- we shall see! Much love peeps