Sunday, May 11, 2008

Planning a Family Reunion at Mt Hood this Summer

Mt Hood Vacation Rentals are the ideal accommodations for family reunions. There is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy a variety of activities, plus a full kitchen for meal prep and a backyard and deck with gas grill for afternoon gatherings. If your group is large enough to require 2 or more homes, you'll have a variety of locations for your meals and events.


And there's lots to do around Mt Hood in the summer:
  • Ski or Snowboard (yes-you can hit the slopes all summer long at Timberline!!)
  • Flyfish in the Sandy or Salmon Rivers (for more info visit FlyfishUSA.com)
  • Ride a Mountain Bike on one of our forest trails or backroads (for more info visit Mt Hood Nat'l Forest Trails page)
  • Go for a Hike in the National Forest or at Wildwood Park
  • Tour Cascade Streamwatch, an interpretive, handicap-accessible 1-mile trail inside Wildwood Park
  • Golf 27 holes at one of the most beautiful golf courses in the Northwest at The Resort at the Mountain
  • Have an awesome time at Mt Hood Adventure Park boasting over 25 rides & attractions including bungee jumping and a 40-mile mountain bike park
  • Enjoy an exquisite meal at one of our more than 35 restaurants
  • Find a special gift or souvenir at one of dozens of specialty shops
We came across a really good article with great tips for planning a family reunion. The info is in an E-Newsletter from Upscale Consignment, a used and surplus furniture store in Gladstone, Oregon. (P.S. We have found some great bargains on good quality furniture and home decor at this shop.) Here is a reprint of their advice:

Planning the Perfect Family Reunion

As the summer is quickly approaching, do not delay on planning the perfect family reunion. In addition to being a lot of fun, family reunions provide a great way to catch up with relatives and strengthen family bonds. However, family reunions can be difficult to plan and organizing a successful reunion does take some work. Nevertheless, if you are willing to take the time and are interested in planning a successful reunion, here are a few steps that you may find quite helpful.

First, you will need to decide which family members you are going to invite to the reunion. You may only choose to invite direct family members, such as parents, grandparents, brothers, and sisters. On the other hand, you may choose to expand the reunion to include 2nd and 3rd cousins. Remember, before you get carried away inviting every relative that exists, the bigger the reunion, the more difficult it is going to be to plan.

Second, you may find it helpful to form a small committee. Creating a committee will make organizing the reunion drastically easier for you. With a reliable committee, you will be able to pass some assignments to others and not have to worry about doing all the work by yourself. Then, think about which of the tasks below can be assigned to the different committee members.

Third, it is beneficial to do a quick survey and find out when the best time for the reunion is going to be for the majority of your family. There are likely going to be conflicting schedules with some people, so send out an email with a few dates, asking each family member to list which dates they would be available for the reunion. That way you can plan for a time that works best for everyone.

Fourth, you will need to pick a location. If everybody lives close, just pick a convenient location for you to all meet. If your family is spread out, try to pick a central location so that traveling will not be too much of a burden.

Fifth, you need to find how much you need to budget for the reunion. How much are you and everybody else willing to spend? This will ultimately determine where you go, how long you will be there, the activities you will do, and the food you will eat.

Sixth, you will likely have to reserve a site ahead of time. You might want to reserve rooms in a hotel, a park pavilion, or even a swimming pool.

Finally, once you know the amount of people that will be coming and the budget that everybody is willing to spend, make sure to plan a large variety of activities for everyone. Remember that you will need activities for children as well as adults so that everybody that comes will have an enjoyable time and want to participate in the reunion next year!

Plan to have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you on Mt Hood!!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Spring Ski Specials in Mt Hood Vacation Rentals

Holy Cow!! Look outside and you wouldn't know that it is April. Oregon Dept of Transportation is telling us to take our studded tires off today, but we have snow on the ground and on the roads in Welches today. The good news is that the skiing and riding is still fantastic. Mt Hood Meadows and Timberline are both reporting a foot of new snow with temps in the low 20's at 8AM. Government Camp is reporting 27 degrees.

The snow levels are expected to stay low for the next 5 or 6 days, then the sun will shine and bring us the more classic spring conditions of bluebird days by next weekend.

And if you stay in a Mt Hood Vacation Rental Home now through June 12, you get great discounts on your lodging rate PLUS the 3rd night is 1/2 price and the 4th night is FREE!!

And your lift tickets are discounted when you stay with us by $10-15 per person per day.
2008 is presenting one of the best spring ski seasons in years. Take advantage of fun in the snow while it lasts which should be for at least another month.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Mt Hood Snowpack 148% of Average-almost breaking records!!

The snowpack on Mt Hood at 5370 feet is at 216 feet, 148% of normal for this time of year and just 48 inches from the record high snow level according to John Lea, state meteorologist. The good news is that the ski and snowboard season is far from over. And next week is forecast to offer up classic spring conditions, sunny and dry, staying cold enough at night to firm up the snow, warming up just enough during the day to soften the snow into perfect corn conditions.

The even better news is that you can stay in a Mt Hood Vacation Rental in April at drastically reduced rates plus your 3rd night is 1/2 price and your 4th night is free. Lift ticket prices go down, too. You can buy a Spring Pass for Mt Hood Meadows for $119 and for Timberline for $99. Mt Hood SkiBowl's Spring Pass is only $88.

If you are a weather nut and want to see what the snow depth's are around the state, visit the Natural Resources Conservation Center's Oregon Snotel Sites Map
For current weather and snow depths on Mt Hood, check out these links: