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We went camping this weekend. Bear and I have to head south for the long weekend, so we wanted to sneak in a trip just in case it turns out to be the last one of the summer. For anyone who stumbles on this looking for tips on Mt. Hood campgrounds, we camped at Still Creek. It's next to Trillium Lake and a great spot when Trillium fills up (make sure you get a site on the creek side, they're a little bigger and more private). The weather was sunny and mild, the perfect camping weather. And there is definitely a feeling that fall is coming sooner than later this year. I spent the whole of Saturday at Trillium. Fished all day long and finally caught three within the last fifteen minutes.

The fishing was fun, but the best part of the day was simply watching Mt. Hood. The picture above is Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake (in the approximate spot I was fishing from), but this one was taken in June of this year. Right now there is hardly any snow left. You can make out the snowfields at Timberline, but that's it. Even the lake and Still Creek were running pretty low. I don't remember seeing such a small amount of snow on the mountain...I guess we're hoping for an early winter here.

Sunday morning we woke up to rain which is really peaceful and refreshing until you realize that you didn't put any of your camping stuff away the night before...all in all, another fun camping trip. I hope we get another one in before the rain starts.

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Bear and I have been experimenting with recipes lately. Not so much the exotic or new, but just classic recipes. You know, the stuff you grew up on but have never made for yourself as an adult. Really, when was the last time you just whipped up a meatloaf or some salisbury steak? In our latest adventure in Americana, we decided to venture out and make hotdish. For some people, that may not sound exotic (i.e., people who know what hotdish is). For those who aren't in the know, hotdish is pretty much just a Minnesota term for casserole (interestingly enough, our friends from Iowa referred to it as a bake). Having grown up in the western states, the term was completely foreign to me- and my mother cooked dinner every night so it's like I was orphaned or a feral child or anything.

The one defining difference seems to be that you don't just make a casserole. From the recipes I've seen, a true hotdish has to include stuff from cans. I guess if you live in Minnesota, you probably rely a bit more on your pantry during the winter. From there, the main ingredient is usually ground beef, some sort of canned liquid such as a spaghetti sauce or cream of something soup, and the topping. The topping seems to define the hotdish and from what I've read, you can pretty much mix anything together (tater tot hotdish, macaroni hotdish, etc.).

We decided to prepare the popular tater tot hotdish last night and I must say it isn't half bad. It consists of tater tots, ground beef, and cream of chicken soup...we got a little wild and added some onion and cheese to the mix, but it is convenient warm and filling. A little bit of americana in a pan.

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We had a great weekend camping at Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge. We camped at Herman Creek a while back which is just up the road, but Bear kept telling me that Eagle Creek was her favorite campground in Oregon, so we decided to check it out. The campground itself is one of the oldest federal campgrounds in the country and it is a hot spot for hikers who want to follow the Eagle Creek trail. We hiked part of the trail with Gertie on Saturday and even though the creek itself was a bit dry, the trail is beautiful. It winds its way through a chasm that's full of waterfalls and a lot of great scenic spots. Next time, I think we're going to make it a point to go a bit further up to see all of the various falls.

There's also a small fish hatchery at the foot of the trail where they raise Coho salmon to release into the Columbia River. The hatchery was full of these tanks that were crammed full of tiny salmon.

We also took a nice walk around the area on Sunday to check it out. The whole area is teeming with trails that seem to go on indefinitely. I was really interested in following this little path up to see where it went.

Gertie also kept a careful eye on our food...I always feel safer with a beagle around.

I'm definitely looking forward to our next outing and highly recommend stopping at Eagle Creek for camping or even a good day hike.

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It's only August 9th. The rest of the country is burning with record highs. The rest of the country is still in the middle of summer. Not here. Not so much. I know, blogging about the weather...but it's the principle. We put up with 9 straight months of drizzle each and every year, so the summer is important. The goal is to spend as much time as humanly possible outdoors during July and August to absorb enough sun for the rest of the year. One day next month it is going to start raining and it isn't going to stop raining until sometime in March. Someone needs to be held accountable for this.

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In case you're wondering, yes we caught trout. They were tasty and I felt like a true provider having killed something that we got to eat. I'll post more about that in a bit. But for right now, it's August 1st. That's right, you're probably thinking what I'm thinking: only 91 days left until Halloween. Or maybe you were singing 99 Red Balloons, I don't know. Of course, you only have to wait until September for the start of this year's Halloween Extravaganza. It's going to be bigger, better, and totally uncut. We have the technology.

Until then, you can satiate your Halloween desires by going to the Holidays Section and reading reviews of holidays now forgotten.

More about that trout in a bit...