The Gorge Magazine - Fall 2019

FALL 2019 thegorgemagazine.com

LIVING AND EXPLORING IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE

Outdoor Gallery

‘Big Art’ sculptures add beauty and whimsy to Hood River

Cape Horn Trail Fall color found here

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CONTENTS I FEATURES

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52

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

A FRUITFUL ENDEAVOR

For many aging orchard workers in the Hood River Valley, the question of housing once they can no longer work looms large

A trip around the Hood River County Fruit Loop proves why the route is a destination all its own

By Yesenia Castro and David Hanson

By Janet Cook

David Hanson 4

FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

Photo by Darlisa Black

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CONTENTS I DEPARTMENTS

OUR GORGE 12 16 20 24 28 30 32 36 68 74

PERSON OF INTEREST VENTURES BEST OF THE GORGE HOME + GARDEN LOCAVORE CREATE EXPLORE WINE SPOTLIGHT PARTAKE YOUR GORGE

36

16 Left, courtesy of CGWA/GorgeWine.com and right, by Kyle Ramey

OUTSIDE 58 BRILLIANT FOLIAGE FOUND

The Cape Horn Trail is an oasis of fall color in a coniferous Columbia River Gorge

By Ben Mitchell

ARTS + CULTURE 60 OUTDOOR GALLERY

24

Art of Community has changed the face of Hood River with its rotating public exhibit

By Janet Cook

WELLNESS 62 THE VASTNESS OF YOGA

62 6

FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

Top, by John Valls and bottom, courtesy of Crystal Borup

Crystal Borup brings a holistic approach to her new yoga school

By Janet Cook

HOME ++ JEWELRY JEWELRY HOME

SINCE 1994 SINCE 1994

305 OAK STREET 305 OAK STREET DOWNTOWN HOOD RIVER DOWNTOWN HOOD RIVER 54 1-386-6188 54 1-386-6188

EDITOR’S NOTE

I

was working as a feature writer for the Hood River News in 2004 when word came that the federal government had approved the application by the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers Association to make the Columbia Gorge an official American Viticultural Area (AVA). The federal designation meant that wine made with 85 percent of its grapes coming from the appellation could carry the Columbia Gorge label. It also made for a heavyweight marketing tool, ushering in the potential for wider recognition of Gorge wines regionally and beyond.

GORGE FRUIT &

CRAFT FAIR October 19 & 20

I attended a celebration to mark the occasion in August that year at Cathedral Ridge Winery. The owners of 14 wineries — just about as many as were around at the time — were there pouring their wine and toasting the new AVA. The mood was festive and there was an undercurrent of anticipation. Robb Bell, owner of Cathedral Ridge, said to me that as the nascent wine tourism business grew in the Gorge, it would benefit everyone. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.

Fifteen years on, it seems the tide is rising, and lifting. There are now more than 50 wineries in the Gorge wine region. Vineyard acreage has increased from 300 acres in the mid-1990s to 1,300 acres spanning some 90 vineyards, and the Gorge is getting national press as a wine region. Writer Ben Mitchell looks at the history of the Columbia Gorge AVA and the growth of wine tourism in the Gorge, beginning on page 36.

Regular contributor David Hanson teamed up with social justice advocate Yesenia Castro, a Parkdale native, to explore an increasingly widespread dilemma in the Hood River Valley: where long-time orchard workers are to go when they retire and are no longer eligible to live in orchard housing (page 44). There are no easy solutions to the problem, and it’s one that seems sure to continue for the foreseeable future.

Our cover photo this issue is from the Big Art Outdoor Gallery, which has grown since its inception just five years ago to an impressive 28 sculptures and works of public art installed around Hood River (page 60). The beautiful, sometimes whimsical, always thought-provoking pieces have enriched our town, and kudos goes to Art of Community, made up of a dedicated group of volunteer artists and art-lovers who continue to work hard to make this happen.

Other stories in this issue include a trip around the Hood River County Fruit Loop, which makes for a bountiful fall outing (page 52); a look at Hood River Pedicab and its ubiquitous pedaler/owner, Matty Barmann (page 16); and a profile of indie band flor, a foursome from Hood River that has turned their talent, ambition and hard work into success on the national level (page 30). Here’s to a colorful autumn in the Gorge!

FALL 2019 thegorgemagazine.com

—Janet Cook, Editor

LIVING AND EXPLORING IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE

About the Cover Outdoor Gallery

‘Big Art’ sculptures add beauty and whimsy to Hood River

Cape Horn Trail

541-354-2865 hoodriverfair.org

Fall color found here

The cover photo by Michael Peterson shows one of the Big Art Outdoor Gallery’s 28 sculptures in Hood River. It’s called Cosmos: Starry, Starry Night, by artist Catherine Daley. Taking the photos for the Big Art map is one of Peterson’s favorite assignments.

“It gives me a great excuse to slow down and really look at each piece,” he says. This one begged to be photographed from a different perspective, so he shot it from the bottom, looking up. “It was a great day, the sun was just at the right angle, the sky was the right color, and everything just came together,” he says. michaelpetersonphotography.com

When you have read this issue please pass it on to a friend or recycle it.

Together we can make a difference in preserving and conserving our resources.

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

FALL 2019

e Go h t e r e h w

rge gets engaged

EDITOR Janet Cook

CREATIVE DIRECTOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Renata Kosina

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jody Thompson

ADVERTISING SALES Jenna Hallett, Suzette Gehring, Chelsea Marr, Tom Peterson

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ruth Berkowitz, Don Campbell, Yesenia Castro, Peggy Dills Kelter, David Hanson, Cate Hotchkiss, Kacie McMackin, Ben Mitchell

COVER PHOTOGRAPHER

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE thegorgemagazine.com PO Box 390 • 419 State Street Hood River, Oregon 97031 We appreciate your feedback.

Please email comments to: jcook@thegorgemagazine.com The Gorge Magazine is published by Eagle Magazines, Inc., an affiliate of Eagle Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of Eagle Magazines, Inc. Articles and photographs appearing in The Gorge Magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of The Gorge Magazine, Eagle Magazines, Inc., Eagle Newspapers, Inc., or its employees, staff or management. All RIGHTS RESERVED. The Gorge Magazine is printed at Eagle Web Press.

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ourGORGE person of interest 12 ventures 16 best of the gorge 20 home + garden 24 locavore 28 create 30 explore 32 wine spotlight 36

36

Vineyards like this one in Mosier have flourished since the Gorge became a federally-designated wine growing region 15 years ago.

Courtesy of CGWA/GorgeWine.com THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

11

OUR GORGE I PERSON OF INTEREST

Peter Marbach Hood River photographer hopes Columbia River book will spark action story by JANET COOK | photos by PETER MARBACH

M

ore than a decade ago, Hood River photographer Peter Marbach was sitting along the shore of the Columbia River near Viento State Park, contemplating the water and life as he’s done many times along many rivers, and was jolted by a realization. “I suddenly thought, how is it that I’ve never been to the headwaters of the Columbia?” he recalled. An inveterate explorer and photographer of Mount Hood, Marbach has an affinity for probing the creeks and rivers on his beloved mountain. “I love tracing rivers,” he said. “I do it on Mount Hood all the time.”

Once he began thinking about it, he couldn’t let it go. He loaded his camera and camping gear into his truck and headed north in search of where the river begins, bubbling unassumingly from an underground spring near the town of Canal Flats, B.C. “I didn’t find the headwaters on that first trip, “Marbach said.

“But it was like stepping into some magical, raw paradise.” It brought him to tears — and it made him wonder what the rest of the river was like on its journey through Canada, where 40 percent of the Columbia River flows. He returned home but couldn’t get the river off his mind.

That trip turned out to be the first of many, as he returned again and again not only to the headwaters (which he did eventually find) but to discover more of the river’s journey through Canada and into the U.S. His explorations of the river — its initial untamed path and the legacy of its multiple dams as it flows more than 1,200 miles to the Pacific Ocean — led him back to an idea he’d long had of doing a photographic project related to the river and what it means to the indigenous people of the U.S. and Canada.

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

After three decades as a landscape photographer, Marbach has evolved from doing straight photography to preferring to pair his work with a greater cause. “I can’t just do pretty pictures anymore,” he said. Before becoming a professional photographer, Marbach worked in environmental and social justice activism, and he still gravitates to those causes. He has a quote on his refrigerator that reads, “Where the world and your talents converge, therein lies your purpose.”

Marbach began researching his Columbia River idea, knowing there was an important theme — a purpose for him — in it somewhere. He even met with tribal members. “But ultimately I couldn’t figure out how to do it,” he said. He put it on the back burner, but it was never far from his mind.

Fast forward to 2015. That’s when Marbach became aware of the Columbia River Treaty, a 1961

Jeremy Wolf of the Umatilla tribe, opposite top, shares dip net fishing tips with his son, Aidan. Marbach, inset, straddles the headwaters of the Columbia. Randy Friedlander, of the Colville tribe, places salmon remains at Grand Coulee Dam, left. Above, Wallula Gap.

agreement between the U.S. and Canada (implemented in 1964) on the development and operation of dams in the upper Columbia River basin. The two countries were preparing to renegotiate the treaty in order to modernize its key objectives: managing flood risk and ensuring an economical and reliable power supply.

As Marbach learned more about the treaty and the renegotiations, he discovered that no indige-

nous people had been involved in the initial treaty, and once again they’d been excluded from the renegotiations. “That no Canadian or U.S. tribes are present at the table is morally reprehensible,” he said, given that the dams wreaked indelible havoc on indigenous people and their way of life up and down the river.

“I realized that this was the focus I was looking for,” Marbach added. Negotiations began last year with the aim of finalizing a renewed treaty before 2024, when the current one will expire.

Over the past few years, Marbach has spent a cumulative total of many weeks photographing the Columbia River from its headwaters to its mouth. He also sought out tribal leaders whose ancestors relied on the river for their livelihoods and survival, and who are working to preserve the river traditions that have been part of their people for thousands of years — including restoring what was once one of

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

13

the greatest salmon runs in the world before the construction of dams on the Columbia.

The result is a book, The Big River: Salmon Dreams and the Columbia River Treaty, due out in October. Along with Marbach’s stunning photographs, the book includes 10 essays on the theme of why indigenous voices are, as Laurie Arnold of the Colville Confederated Tribes writes in the book’s introduction, “integral for creation and implementation of a new treaty, a 21st century treaty that draws upon and values the knowledge of peoples who have lived in this place for millennia.”

Essayist Pauline Terbasket, executive director of the Okanagan Nation Alliance in Westbank, B.C., writes eloquently of the injustice of being excluded from decisions that have irreversibly impacted her people. “I was born while the Columbia River Treaty was being negotiated,” she writes. “I would have been in grade one when it was signed. Little did I know the impact this international agreement would have on the lives of indigenous people. The agreement between federal governments to the benefit of their countries sold our waters and destroyed diverse ecosystems in our traditional territories …. We lost lands, villages, original foods, burial grounds,

Cape Horn Trail

Alfred Joseph, a Ktunaxa Nation elder, reflects on what the loss of salmon has meant to his people.

cultural ways of life, and sustainable livelihoods up and down the whole river system. We continue to suffer from these losses even to this day.”

Essayists include DR Michel, executive director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes in Spokane, Wash., and Jeremy Wolf, chair of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, among others. All write about the legacy of the river to their people, and the need to have their voices added to the negotiations so that restoring the river’s ecosystem becomes an integral function of the treaty.

Marbach’s hope is to get the book into the hands of government negotiators from both the U.S. and Canada, as well as educate people in the region about the treaty.

“It is my hope that when people read the powerful essays and wonder aloud about the injustices to salmon and people of the river, that some will feel compelled to act,” said Marbach. “We have a once-ina-lifetime chance to right the wrongs of the past.”

A book signing and program is scheduled for Nov. 13 at Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River.

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

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OUR GORGE I VENTURES

People Mover Hood River Pedicab provides a fun, green ride story by JANET COOK | photos by KYLE RAMEY

P

edal power has inspired Matty Barmann since he was a kid growing up in Southern California next to a beach bike path. In college at Humboldt State University, where he studied natural history and ecology, he founded a bicycle maintenance cooperative. During summers, he worked as a bike messenger in San Francisco and also bike toured down the Oregon and California coasts. After college, he joined the Peace Corps and worked as an agricultural volunteer in Mali, West Africa, where his main mode of transportation was a bicycle.

“I’m a utilitarian user of bikes,” he says. “I have been since I was young. I love bikes. They’re a perfect machine.”

Barmann earned a master’s degree in botany from Oregon State University, and worked as a botanist and restoration ecologist for various federal land management agencies — most recently at Yosemite

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

National Park. Looking for a change, he and his family moved to Hood River five years ago when his wife got a job teaching French at Hood River Valley High School.

“I came here hoping to find a job in my field,” Barmann says. After some false starts, he found himself heading into winter a couple of years ago unemployed and wondering what to do. One day, he opened an email from Rad Power Bikes announcing its newest offering, the RadBurro Electric Cargo Trike. Barmann already owned an electric bike from the company. He was an early adopter of the e-bike, having realized soon after moving here that hilly Hood River is the perfect place for a bike with a boost.

“It was like, boing, a light went off,” Barmann says of seeing the RadBurro. He’d been toying with the idea of starting a “green” gardening and landscaping business, using his botany background to help people plant edible landscapes and native plants. The RadBurro can be configured

Photo by Marcus Catlett Imaging

Matty Barmann has been transporting people around Hood River in his pedicab since last summer. Would-be riders can hail him down, or schedule a ride ahead of time. He can carry up to three adult passengers.

with a flat bed and a cargo box, and Barmann envisioned using it to haul landscaping equipment, plants and other supplies.

But the RadBurro also can be a pedicab — configured to carry up to three adult passengers. Barmann had first seen an e-bike pedicab in Corvallis while in grad school, and he’d long been intrigued by it. Barmann contacted the company and put in an order for the RadBurro (two of them, actually).

The first of the trikes wouldn’t be ready for several months, so he had time to decide what to do.

Ultimately, Barmann felt like he needed more time to develop a better understanding of gardening in the Gorge. He cites the wind as one of many factors he’s still learning about when it comes to creating landscapes and growing plants here.

So pedicab it was. Barmann dove into creating a logo, launching a website, and generally learning everything he could about how to run a business. His were the first RadBurros off the line and by June of last year, Hood River Pedicab was up and running — or, more accurately, riding.

“I just started driving around,” Barmann says. “The best advertisement is just being out there.” He spent a lot of time peddling between downtown and the waterfront. He also took business cards to breweries, wineries, restaurants and hotels, spreading the word about Hood River Pedicab.

Barmann didn’t realize it going in, but he started his business at a perfect time, in a perfect place. “I had no idea the hole I stepped into in terms of transportation here,” he says. Taxi service and public transportation in Hood River are limited, and there is no Uber or Lyft. “There are wide open unmet needs. I had no idea what was going on when I started, but I stepped into this wide open market.”

Now finishing his second summer, Barmann has grown his business and has a decided presence in town. His pedicab, with its mini-paper lanterns dangling from the canopy and bright orange trike frame, can be seen tooling around town day and night. He does a brisk business giving rides between downtown and the waterfront as well as providing safe transportation home for bar-goers (on Friday and Saturday nights, he’s available until 2 a.m.). He takes people on tours of the Historic Columbia River Highway, on wine tasting and fruit picking outings, and has transported brides and grooms on their big day.

Often, he will simply get called for a ride from locals who have walked downtown from the Heights and want a lift back up the hill. He also has transported people with injuries to and from medical appointments. “As

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Barmann, known as Matty Green, charges his pedicab battery with electricity generated from solar panels on his house. He plans to expand his business to include landscaping services powered by his electric trike.

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much as I want to be here for tourists, I really want to be here for the locals, too,” he says. “I want to be a people mover in the community.”

Barmann is fully vested in running an environmentally sound business — or what he sometimes calls a “hyper-local business.” He’s installed solar panels on his carport (or, more precisely, his pedicab-port), which generates the electricity for his house — including the charging station for his pedicabs.

“It’s solar energy and my energy moving you around,” he says. The pedicab can go anywhere from 40 to 80 miles on a charge, with Barmann pedaling and using the trike’s electric motor when needed.

Barmann, who is also known as Matty Green, says he’s always tried to make conscious choices to live lighter on the land. “This business aligns with my ethics,” he says. “Being able to live my beliefs feels really good.” The pedicab also gives him an opportunity — a platform — to promote e-bikes and alternative transportation in what he calls a “positive and non-threatening way.”

“We’re having a transportation revolution,” he says, adding that electric motor technology is getting better and better all the time. “It feels good to be the bard touting that and helping to move it forward.”

Barmann plans to run Hood River Pedicab as late into the fall as possible — at least until Thanksgiving, and maybe beyond. He has blankets and can heat the seats; a custom dodger helps keep out the weather. “I’m trying to extend the season as late in the fall as possible and start in early spring,” he says.

Barmann still plans to one day launch a gardening and landscaping business using the RadBurro, and is also exploring doing a food delivery service.

But for now, he’s focused on being a people mover.

“It’s so much fun,” he says. “People hop on board this and they’re giggling and smiling and they’re happy. It’s been really satisfying on a social and emotional level.”

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OUR GORGE I BEST OF THE GORGE

Writer’s Talk

2

The Dalles Art Center hosts an author reading series every third Thursday at 7 p.m. The series brings award-winning Oregon writers to the center to read and discuss their works, followed by an open mic.

The fall line-up includes Robin Cody, author of Ricochet River, Sept. 19; Margaret Chula, who has authored numerous book so poetry, Oct. 17; Ingrid Wendt, author of several books of poetry including her latest, Evensong, Nov. 21; and Rene Denfeld, whose third novel, The Butterfly Girl, will be out this fall, Dec. 19. thedallesartcenter.org

Courtesy of Maryhill Museum

West Coast Woodcut

1

An exhibition entitled, West Coast Woodcut: Contemporary Relief Prints by Regional Artists, is on exhibit through Nov. 15 at Maryhill Museum. The prints showcase the natural splendor of the West Coast, but also address issues such as migrant labor, emigration, Native fisheries, and the environment. Also at the museum through Sept. 25 is Exquisite Gorge, a 60-foot print created by 10 artists, whose prints were joined together to form a continuous image, with the Columbia River running through it. maryhillmuseum.org

Hops Fest

3

The 16th annual Hood River Hops Fest takes place Sept. 21 in downtown Hood River. More than 60 fresh-hop beers will be on tap from dozens of regional breweries, as well as local breweries pFriem Family Brewers, Double Mountain Brewery, Full Sail Brewing and Ferment Brewing Co. A small number of local ciders will also be on tap, along with select wines from Naked Winery. The event features local cuisine, arts and crafts vendors, and live music. Kids are welcome from 12 to 5 p.m.; the event is adults-only from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day of. hoodriver.org Bear Boot Productions

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Historic Highway State Trail

4

Courtesy of ODOT

The newest section of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail is open, a threemile segment from Wyeth to Lindsay Creek. On the west end, the new trail connects to existing trail segments linking Starvation Creek and Viento State Park, creating six miles of car-free trail. The newest trail segment to open means that only five miles remain — between Viento and Hood River — to full reconnection of the original 73 miles of the historic road. Some sections are accessible to cars and cyclists, while others are closed to vehicles. historichighway.org

Best of the Gorge Exhibit

6

The Columbia Center for the Arts hosts a juried exhibition from Oct. 2-27 at the downtown Hood River gallery entitled, “Best of the Gorge.” The exhibit explores the relationship between artists and the spectacular beauty of the Columbia River Gorge, with artists creating work that speaks directly to their connection to place. This exhibit has become an annual event that showcases some of the finest art in the region. columbiaarts.org

Bear Boot Productions

Harvest Fest

5

The Columbia Gorge’s largest harvest celebration takes place Oct. 11-13 with Hood River Harvest Fest. More than 120 farmers, artisan food producers, wineries, cideries and artists gather to celebrate the season at the Hood River Event Site. Activities include a giant pumpkin carving exhibition, live music and pie-eating contests. A kid’s activity area includes a rock climbing wall, bouncy houses and face painting. hoodriver.org

Columbia River National Scenic Area by Cathleen Rehfeld

THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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OUR GORGE I BEST OF THE GORGE

Pet Friendly Hood River

7

A free map of pet friendly businesses in Hood River is available at select locations, including Gorge Dog, Dog River Pet Supply, the Hood River Hotel and Naked Winery. “It’s purely to help people get their dogs out of hot cars and make traveling to Hood River with their dogs easier,” said map creator Nohelani Roche, whose company, Barkpacker, aims to build resources and gather helpful information on how to travel safely and successfully with your dog. barkpacker.com

Columbia Gorge Marathon

8

The Columbia Gorge Marathon & Half Marathon, which takes place Oct. 20, has earned a reputation as one of the country’s most scenic running events. Both races follow the Historic Columbia River Highway, with the half marathon returning from Mosier and the marathon continuing to Rowena Crest before returning to Hood River. You can also participate in the half marathon as a two-person team, as well as running it with your four-legged friend in what’s known as the Dog Leg. columbiagorgemarathon.com

Thanksgiving Wine Weekend

9

Kick off the holiday season with the wineries of the Gorge during Thanksgiving Wine Weekend, Nov. 29 - Dec. 1. Many wineries have special events and tastings during the long holiday weekend, as well as food pairings and donation opportunities benefitting local charities. It’s a great time to buy gift wines for the holidays or sign up for that wine club you’ve been thinking about all year. gorgewine.com

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Cooper Spur Mountain Resort has been hosting Mt. Hood travelers and their families for generations. Nestled on the north side of Mt. Hood, you’ll be sure to fall in love with the charming tavern and rustic log cabins. Escape to the mountain and enjoy cozy accommodations just 40 minutes from Hood River. � Farm to table dining � Historic lodge on beautiful grounds � Just minutes from several Mt. Hood hikes Happy Hour: All Day Monday & Tuesday-Friday 3:00pm-6:00pm

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luckylittleshr THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Sakura Ridge B & B provides a bucolic retreat on a working farm story by PEGGY DILLS KELTER | photos by JOHN VALLS

T

he Sakura Ridge B & B working farm is only 15 minutes from Hood River, but as you ascend from the valley floor, certain clues let you know you’re traveling to a special place. Online directions guide you. “Take York Hill to the end of the pavement and the school bus turn around sign…

Follow the gravel road…The gate with the Sakura Ridge Farm sign is ahead of you. Open the gate if it is closed — rechain the gate after passing through.”

Indeed, as the gate swings shut behind you and you head for the lodge, you’ll swear you’ve found yourself in a magical place. Sweeping views of Mount Hood and the east hills of the Hood River Valley, pastures where flocks of sheep graze contentedly, and the sounds of bees in the orchards and gardens welcome guests. You’ve arrived.

John and Deanna Joyer, long-time residents of the Gorge and owners and operators of Sakura Ridge, weren’t always farmers and innkeepers. In their former lives, they worked in social services helping

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

Courtesy of Sakura Ridge

OUR GORGE I HOME + GARDEN

A Farm Stay With a View

developmentally challenged adults. When their youngest child graduated from high school, they decided it was time for them to realize their dreams of returning to school. They settled on the University of Hawaii at Hilo, a school where John could study agriculture and Deanna could pursue a degree in art. A visit to them in Hawaii

by Deanna’s childhood friend, Deidra Wager, changed their lives.

In eighth grade, Deidra and Deanna had worked at resorts in the Lakes Region of Minnesota, earning 25 cents an hour. John spent many adolescent hours working on his grandparents’ Minnesota dairy farm, and in agriculture in the Sacramento Valley of California. Now Deidra, an executive with Starbucks in both the U.S. and Japan, asked them, “What do you really want to do?”

John’s dream had always been to have a farm, but getting into farming required an inheritance of land, or an investor with money. Deanna, whose mother was also her home economics teacher, had always loved to cook. Deidra said, “I don’t have any kids, and I’m not married. Maybe we could form a partnership.” In 2007 the Joyers found the place on York Hill Drive where they

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The lodge at Sakura Ridge has five rooms available for guests, each with stunning views. Owners John and Deanna Joyer, opposite inset, maintain the bed-and-breakfast as well as the farm, which includes 30 acres of orchards as well as farm animals and a large garden.

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They named their farm Sakura Ridge, “sakura” being the Japanese word for “cherry blossom.” The farm, which had lain fallow for many years (used frequently in the ‘70’s as a “parking spot” for teenagers), had once been one of many cherry orchards farmed by Japanese-Americans who first settled in the Hood River Valley in the 1880s. The Joyers and Wager named their farm to honor those farmers, many of whom were interned during World War II. As the Joyers write on their website, “The sakura blossom epitomizes the fleeting quality of life and the intense beauty of nature.”

John grew organic cherries for a number of years, but found cherry farming to be “massively laborious,” requiring 40 ladders and enough people to harvest the fruit. The cherry trees were removed in 2014; John’s major fruit crops now are organic and organic-in-transition pears and apples.

Their farm is considered small by local standards — 7,000 fruit trees grow on 30 acres of orchard land. Adjacent to the lodge, though, are many more crops that Deanna and John tend. Tidy raised beds are packed with many varieties of berries, greens, tomatoes and more, all waiting for Deanna’s artistry to turn them into breakfast for guests at the lodge. Chickens contribute eggs on a daily basis. The flock of lambs that graze contentedly may soon be packaged for sale at the local farmers market, or become part of Deanna’s homemade sausages. As the lambs graze near the lodge, they appear to be relaxed, happy and unaware of their future fate.

Deanna is dedicated to farm-to-fork cooking, using what she and John grow, or what they can find at the local farmers markets. Her breakfast guests appreciate this; many guests leave notes on the web attesting to her culinary artistry and attention to quality.

The lodge was originally a log home built by former owners Doug and Teri Adams. When the Joyer/Wager partnership purchased it, they quickly realized they needed a larger building and more bathrooms. They hired an architect to help with the remodel. Today, there are five rooms available for booking; each room has its own bathroom. The Joyers live in one end of the building; guests fill the rest of the lodge from April through October, Wednesdays through Sundays, with a two-night minimum.

Breakfast is served from 8:30 to 9 a.m., but many guests linger around

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Slow down and enjoy

the views of the Columbia Gorge from our backdoor •Waterfall viewing, hiking, biking, sailing and more

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the massive dining room table for hours, getting to know fellow visitors or visiting with old friends and family. Common areas of the lodge are inviting places to relax.

Unusual rocking chairs hail from an Amish store in Toppenish, Wash.

A beautiful carved wooden horse with a mane and tail of long blond hair hints at John’s former life as a wood worker. His children and grandchildren all enjoyed playing on the horse he carved; the hair now attached to the wooden animal once grew on John’s head, giving new meaning to the term “pony tail.”

The Joyers, when not working on the farm or in the kitchen, act as the lodge’s information guides, describing places to see and things to do while in the area. Excursions afield are enjoyable, but many guests are happy to hang out all day, strolling on the farm. “Our guests are anxious to be on a working farm,” Deanna says. “One guest said ‘I’ve never seen broccoli in the ground!’” Other guests relax on the wrap-around deck and gaze at the scenery. Views of Mount Hood and the Hood River Valley are hard to beat at Sakura Ridge.

I reluctantly say good-bye to the Joyers and the magical Sakura Ridge, stopping my car to open the gate once again. I laugh as I fumble with the padlock. My way in had been a struggle, with me against the gate. Deanna and John say their most accomplished guests have the most trouble opening and closing the gate as it swings back and forth. Perhaps it’s Sakura Ridge beckoning us to let go and relax, to stay a bit longer at this mesmerizing place.

735 Wanapa St. •Cascade Locks, OR 97014 bwcolumbiariverinn.com • 1-800-595-7108

For more information, go to sakuraridge.com.

Each Best Western ® branded hotel is independently owned and operated.

Peggy Dills Kelter is an artist and writer who lives in Hood River. She’s a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.

Hood River 541.386.1001

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

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OUR GORGE I LOCAVORE

Deep Roots Kiyokawa Family Orchards has evolved to thrive with the times

story by RUTH BERKOWITZ | photos courtesy of KIYOKAWA FAMILY ORCHARDS

T

wenty years ago, actress Meryl Streep testified before the U.S. Senate that she feared eating apples because of alar, a chemical used by a few farmers to increase the longevity of their fruit. The popular television news program “60 Minutes” ran her testimony with an image of a skull and crossbones inside an apple. Equating apples with poison stemmed from the erroneous fear that alar caused cancer. Instead of believing that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” people stopped eating America’s favorite fruit and many family farms closed down.

Parkdale farmer Randy Kiyokawa, who, like most farmers, never used the spray, suffered hard times.

The fruit in his orchard rotted on the trees. In a desperate move, Kiyokawa filled a basket with Red Delicious apples and placed it on the side of the road with a sign, “Apples 5 cents a pound.” Kiyokawa considered it a good day if someone grabbed a few of his apples. After a while, locals began asking to pick his fruit and Kiyokawa sighed with relief and joy watching families pick and munch away.

Thus began one of the largest u-pick farms in the Hood River Valley. Over the years, Kiyokawa created a Disneyland-type experience on his family farm, where people can pick fruit straight from the tree and be wowed not only by the unique and delicious varieties, but also by the double mountain views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams. In 2018, USA Today voted Kiyokawa Family Orchards the top u-pick apple orchard in the country.

Since taking the helm of the orchard from his father, Kiyokawa has planted all kinds of fruit that you wouldn’t see in the grocery store. He grows 120 varieties of apples, 24 different types of Asian pears, 14 varieties of cherries, eight different types of peaches, four varieties of blueberries, and other fruits like kiwi berries and pluerries, a cross between a cherry and a plum.

Recently, I met Kiyokawa during his late-summer crunch time. When I arrived, he was in the driver’s seat of a broken down Sprinter van and half a dozen of his employees were pushing the vehicle onto the ramp of a truck bed so it could be hauled to Portland for repairs. After a few tries, they succeeded.

“That’s life as an orchardist,” Kiyokawa says, “constantly fixing things and problem solving.”

As we walk the orchard, his cell phone beeps with messages concerning a multitude of tasks, from 28

FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

preparing for the 14 farmers markets he sells at to the construction of new employee housing on his land. Currently, 12 families live on his orchard, many of which have been working for him for the past 20 years. “They are the backbone of my operation and some know the farm better than I do,” he says.

“Being a farmer isn’t what it used to be,” adds Kiyokawa, a third-generation orchardist, reflecting on the late 1980s when he returned from college at Oregon State University and spent at least 75 percent of his time on his tractor in the field.

Kiyokawa’s grandfather, Riichi Kiyokawa, left Japan in 1905 when he was 17 to come to America.

When his boat docked in Hawaii, Riichi disembarked and cut sugar cane to pay the rest of his passage to California. The 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco steered him north, first to Sacramento and eventually to Dee, where he worked in the lumberyards and, in 1911, got a small plot of land. Along the way, Riichi married his wife, a picture

For more information, including upcoming events, go to mthoodfruit.com.

Ruth Berkowitz is a lawyer, mediator and writer. She lives with her family in Hood River and Portland and is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.

Aubrie LeGault

bride from Japan, and fathered eight children — five girls and three boys.

Riichi’s life was horribly disrupted in February 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the incarceration of all Japanese families living in the U.S. The Kiyokawa family was forced to move to Tule Lake, Calif. The only benefit of the internment camp was that Kiyokawa’s father, Mamora, had a job as a “G-man” — a garbage man — and while making the rounds, met and fell in love with Michiko, Randy’s mother.

“We were fortunate,” Kiyokawa says, because a neighbor looked after their land. Upon release, they returned home; many Japanese families were not so fortunate, and had their land, homes and businesses confiscated. The Kiyokawas gradually accumulated more land, buying the current location of the Parkdale orchard in 1951, where Kiyokawa and his four older sisters grew up. According to Japanese custom, Kiyokawa, the family’s only male, was destined to inherit the farm.

Kiyokawa has more than doubled his farmland in the past few years to 207 acres. Selling fruit directly to consumers, restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores has increased his markets and shaped him into a savvy businessman.

He spends half his time in Portland and encourages me to meet him early one Saturday morning at Rossi Farms in Northeast Portland to witness the farmers markets in action.

At 5:30 a.m., with the sun sprinkling a red glow over Mount Hood, Kiyokawa happily distributes boxes of cherries to his employees — many of whom have been selling his fruit for 20 years — who then scatter all over Portland to various farmers markets.

We spend the morning checking in with market managers and examining his booths. “Every farmer needs to sell his fruit at a market,” Kiyokawa says, “because you have to stand in front of the customer and tell them how you grew it. It makes us work harder in the field to ensure high quality and good looking fruit.”

Back on the farm at a customer appreciation luncheon, Kiyokawa proudly shows his orchard to visitors. Many, like the chef from the high-end Portland restaurant, Departure, and an employee of the buy local-focused grocery store, Green Zebra, are visiting for the first time.

Just before leaving the farm, I speak with Kiyokawa’s daughter, Catherine, the only one of his three children who currently works full time for the farm.

She jests that longevity runs in their family and that she, responsible for food safety and technology, among other things, will make sure that her father, 58 years young, stays healthy. He certainly will be a tough act to follow.

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Left: Travie Shoot; below: Lauren Damaskinos/@laurendamaskinos

OUR GORGE I CREATE

Living the Dream From humble Hood River roots, indie band flor has flourished story by DON CAMPBELL | photos courtesy of FLOR

L

et’s start at the top.

The hottest indie pop band you’ve never heard of is from Hood River. They released their sophomore recording in early September, and are headed out on their third headlining tour this fall. The band has played the biggest and best festivals, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Firefly and Bottle Rocket. They’re signed with the influential Fueled by Ramen record label (an affiliate of megamusic-conglomerate Warner/Atlantic) with label mates that include Panic at the Disco!, Fun., and Dashboard Confessional. They’ve congealed a creative team of industry professionals, and after what they call a “slow roll,” find themselves at a heady and well-deserved pinnacle in their young careers.

Any guesses?

Some of you may have gone to high school with this quartet — if you attended Hood River Valley High in the mid-Oughts — and watched them grow out of driven adolescent rock ambition into being organized, dedicated, and mature musicians and businessmen in a ridiculously perilous industry. Without fawning, they are, at an average age of 27, a bunch of sensitive, creative musicians with their eyes firmly on the prize.

You may know them by their previous band name — Sunderland — and scores of gigs around Hood River, including First Fridays, River City (with guitarist McKinley Kitts’ dad, Mike, escorting the underage quartet), and anywhere, really. As Kitts puts it, “We took every gig we could get.”

The band soon began working the bigger Portland market, and by age 19, the boys were doing their own national tours, where they learned how to deal with, as Kitts calls it, “the grind,” and as singer and multi-instrumentalist Zach Grace notes, “how to commit to a life of suffering” when art is your chosen field.

After a move to Los Angeles at the urging of band bassist and promising producer Dylan Bauld, the band rededicated its efforts and came on the scene as flor — the Portugese/Spanish word for flower.

The soft, four-letter moniker simply and beautifully captures the band’s dreamy, almost surreal sound, a deft and gentle mix of pop and indie sensibilities grown in the fertile minds and hearts of Grace, Kitts, Bauld and drummer Kyle Hill.

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

It’s easy to at least partially credit their hometown for some of their success. They are humble about their roots, were raised with strong values, have found motivation in sticking together and pursuing their collective dream, and don’t take their talent for granted. “We keep moving forward,” says Grace.

Above and beyond creative talent, each of the band members contributes to some part of the plan — songwriting, production, marketing, and more. And as odd as it may sound, there are no overt egos to trip over.

At the end of high school, the band almost collectively decided that higher education wasn’t in the cards. “By our senior year,” says Kitts, “we wanted to start touring. Other bands decided to go to school.”

It helped to have reasonably supportive parents. Says Grace, “Our parents were grounded enough to know that following a dream is often times a long shot. At the same time, they saw the talent and they saw it made us happy.”

They pooled their musical influences and set their sights on being a pop band. “It’s a mixed bag of influences,” Grace says. “We grew up in a

Lauren Damaskinos/@laurendamaskinos

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Indie band flor is made up of, from left, McKinley Kitts, Dylan Bauld, Zach Grace and Kyle Hill, opposite top. Above, the band chats with fans at an album pre-release party at the YouTube Space in New York City.

pop-rock scene, then the indie influence that I brought to the table — Tegan and Sara, Death Cab for Cutie, Phoenix, even a little Sufjian Stevens and his contemplative stuff.”

Adds Kitts, “And emo roots stuff like Jimmy Eats World, where every song is introspective. They’re always thinking about their feelings.”

For this band, the song is indeed the thing. They blew off guitar-shredder ambitions in favor of melody and lyric. “Songwriting was always a pretty big part of it. We wanted to write popular music,” says Kitts.

“Every single one of us is a writer, everyone has something to say, and is musically inclined enough to bring a song to the table,” adds Grace.

But the world is full of hungry young bands. flor has figured out how to work the machine, but with their own vision as the guiding light. They’ve threaded together ways to use social media to find a fan base and ultimately a record label, and met with some lucky success, to be sure. At their second show as flor in San Diego, they played to a grand total of two people — but one of those was an A&R man from Fueled by Ramen.

Lest you think the road to rock glory is just that easy, know that their path has had plenty of missteps. Says Kitts, “We learn every day and we’ve made a lot of mistakes. We remember them and we learn from them. We’ve always had a sense of what we’ve wanted. We’re pretty lucky. We tell ourselves that regularly. That keeps us all together.”

Grace and Kitts, home for the summer before they fire up the touring and promotion machine this fall, talk frequently about building the band organically, doing things honestly, small town values, dedication, sticking to a dream and doing the hard work. From firsthand experience they can now talk expertly about “the cycle” of album production and touring. “You have a lifetime to put out your first record,” says Kitts, “then 18 months to do your second. A lot of bands get scared.”

It’s big-time stuff which most bands never face, being more content to take an occasional weekend gig. For flor, it’s just more fuel for their fire. But, says Grace, “The small town keeps us humble. You go back to Rosauers and you’re just a small town kid.”

No one in the music industry can guarantee success or even an audience, Kitts concludes, but flor has put in the time and effort to make their dream a reality. “There’s no harm in taking a swing at it,” says Grace. “We’ve proven the songs will work on their own. Now the task is seeing if they’ll reach a wider audience and resonate.”

“Our college,” says Kitts, “was learning how to survive. And things have certainly gotten more comfortable. We don’t sleep in the van anymore.”

But in talking with these two now-seasoned pros, one learns that it’s a vital — if humbling — rite of passage on the road to success.

For more information, go to florsounds.com.

Don Campbell is a writer and musician. He lives in Mosier and Portland and is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.

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OUR GORGE I EXPLORE

A Way of Being Photography has changed the Gorge landscape for this Hood River writer story and photos by CATE HOTCHKISS

P

hotographing the Gorge has altered the way in which I experience it, though that was not my intention when, in January 2018, I invested in my first digital camera. My incentive? To capture better images of my two children, Amelia and John, then 10 and 12 respectively, and our one-year-old Labradoodle, Harper, all of whom were growing up too fast.

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After familiarizing myself with the basics of my new Canon EOS 6D, and snapping photos of friends and family for a few months, I hired Hood River-based photographer/filmmaker David Hanson for some instruction on candid outdoor portraiture. He encouraged me, at the outset, to turn the mode dial from auto to manual, which, he explained, would unlock all kinds of creative possibilities.

He was right, but my newborn confidence was thwarted by my kids’ impatience for this emerging obsession. Viewfinder pressed to my eye, they’d stick out their tongues, contort their faces, or duck out of the frame. I couldn’t blame them. I remember responding identically whenever my mom flashed her Kodak at me. Photographing Harper proved no less challenging as she bounded like a giant rabbit across the Spit, my skills still insufficiently honed to freeze her in flight.

Instead, I began focusing largely on landscapes, slower moving, and which seemed to say, “Relax. Take your time. We’re not going anywhere.”

Equipped with my only lens, a 50-millimeter,

and my husband’s heavy and unwieldy 20-yearold tripod, I started hiking a minimum of twice per week to Gorge-area waterfalls. There, once I figured out how to keep the thundering spray from clouding my lens, I applied the techniques I’d learned from David and eventually replicated that silky water effect I’d admired in others’ work. A small breakthrough, even if, looking back, the compositions felt uninspired, less than original.

Gradually, I discovered that the glints of light along the trails were more intriguing than the destination points. On a hike to Tamanawas Falls in late June, for instance, a shallow stream sluiced over small, smooth rocks that, when the light landed just right, refracted like polished gems. And, while trekking to Falls Creek Falls on a still summer day, a glassy pool reflected a cano- Cate Hotchkiss ventured into photography as a way to capture images of her kids and her dog as they grew. But she also found herself drawn to py of birch leaves so thick and verdant, I felt as the landscapes of the Gorge and their ever-changing weather and light. though I were inside a green globe, squatting in front of my tripod. Had I somehow missed the vibrancy of these colors and textures, layered and transient like time? meter zoom. I was spending a sizeable amount of my writing income on camera gear, and more and By autumn, I owned four additional lenses: a more time outside with Harper, determined to improve my doggie photography. Whenever my schedule Frank Ad_Gorge Mag_FINAL_NEW_PRINT_R1.pdf 1 5/19/17 wide angle,Hope macro, 85-millimeter and — a birth- allowed, we’d drive from 12:20 Hood PM River to Thousand Acres Dog Park in Troutdale where, occasionally, day gift from my father — a pro-quality 200-milli- low-lying fog rolls across the wetlands in waves of magical, prismatic light.

WELCOME TO THE HOOD I came to windsurf in 1992, Smitten by the landscape and community.

For the past 20 years, C

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Y

CM

MY

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CMY

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I balanced my global career life in Europe, Silicon Valley and Asia Pacific, With a Real Life in The Columbia River Gorge.

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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DISCOVER BEAUTIFUL

Hood River

Oregon

marketplace hood river

HOOD RIVER COFFEE ROASTERS Hood River Coffee Roasters sells coffee to the public! Yes, the same flavorful and fresh coffees that we offer to fine restaurants, grocery stores, espresso bars and business offices is available to you, too. We are proud to be the Gorge’s premier roaster since 1990. Open MonThu, 9am-5pm and Fri, 9am-3pm.

1310 Tucker Rd • 541-386-3908 hoodrivercoffeeroasters.com

APLAND JEWELERS Designers, goldsmiths, and craftsmen, we make and repair in our state-of-theart workshop. Ken Apland brings 38 years of experience as a goldsmith and gemologist, so whether you need to have old jewelry redesigned, an heirloom restored, or an entirely new design made we can create it using reclaimed metals and responsibly sourced gems.

216 Oak Street • 541-386-3977 info@aplandjewelers.com

HOOD RIVER JEWELERS We are artists and professional jewelers.

If you are looking for something special, we can custom design it. We work with silver, gold, platinum and more. We can use your stone or work with you to find the perfect stone for your needs. Hood River Jewelers also carries colored gemstones, pearls, diamond jewelry and designer collections.

415 Oak Street • 541-386-6440 hoodriverjewelers.com

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Hotchkiss’s photo of the Mosier Twin Tunnels won honorable mention in the annual 2018 Friends of the Columbia Gorge photo contest.

In early November, feeling more comfortable behind the lens, I instead found myself in front of it, or, more precisely, running toward it. I’d written an essay for The Gorge Magazine’s upcoming issue about winter marathon training — running in frigid, harsh, snowy conditions — and was enlisted to be photographed doing exactly that.

The photographer, Paloma Ayala, sensed and ameliorated my anxiety with a single nod and smile, as if to assure me that the two-hour Mount Hood shoot would transpire smoothly. It did, a job well done, and afterward, we headed to Ground Espresso Bar and Cafe back in Hood River, where we warmed up with lattes and pastries on their wide leather couch.

“I love your magazine photography,” I told her, she who’d shot many people I’d written about for past issues though, oddly, we’d never met in person. “I’m a newbie, an aspiring photographer. I want to improve.”

“Do you have an Instagram account?” she asked.

I nodded, passed her my iPhone, and she scrolled through my feed.

“Okay, how about shooting sunrise with me sometime?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Of course, anytime.”

“You’d have to get up really early.”

“I suffer from chronic insomnia,” I said. “Most mornings I’m awake hours before sunrise.” She laughed, we exchanged phone numbers and, two days later, she pulled into my driveway at 5 a.m.

Fueled with flasks of strong coffee, we headed to Underwood Mountain and, wearing headlamps, set up in the darkness. She shined her beam on my gear and urged me, in her kind and direct manner, to upgrade my tripod, which was now

Hotchkiss photographs her two children, John and Amelia (above), whenever they sit still long enough for it.

missing a part, as well as purchase a remote shutter that would allow me to time-expose my shots beyond the camera’s 30-second limit.

And then, out of nowhere, she said, “Here come the blues!” and snapped her shutter, which would stay open for nearly three minutes — the key, she said, to capturing blue hour, that quiet light right before the sun rises, and after it sets, when hues like iris, azure, and indigo saturate the earth.

Over the past 10 months, we’ve sought out new locations and vantage points in every kind of weather. We’ve shot barefoot and in waders, in knee-deep snow and gale-force winds. We try to predict where the most vivid sunrises and sunsets will be, though oftentimes we miscalculate, as we did while perched atop Horsethief Butte on a crisp spring evening, a clear view down the Columbia, but too far east to pick up the bank of orange and magenta blazing back in Mosier. Long drives, socked-in skies, or freezing fingertips, it’s all part of the buzz. We’re there because it matters, because we don’t know how not to be.

Like writing, photography has become a way of being; of documenting both the light and the dark; of observing and participating. Without my camera, I feel as if a part of me is missing, not unlike when I forget to toss a notepad in my purse.

Essentially, it’s storytelling, whether to myself or to others. With a click, we hold the moment, so that later we can plumb its depths, find its meaning or beauty or simply smile again at that big dog leaping, exuberant and free, across those spaces, ancient yet ever new.

Cate Hotchkiss is a freelance health and lifestyle writer who lives in Hood River with her family.

310 OAK STREET DOWNTOWN HOOD RIVER WWW.CHEMISTRYJEWELRY.COM

G R O U P & C U S T O M T O U R S AVA I L A B L E

Experience the Columbia River Gorge like never before... from the seat of an electric ‘pedal assist’ bicycle

Please visit SOLRIDES.COM or call 503.939.4961 for reservations and tour calendar

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OUR GORGE I WINE SPOTLIGHT

‘A world of wine in 40 miles’ Fifteen years after its federal designation, the Columbia Gorge AVA continues to grow story by BEN MITCHELL | photos courtesy of CGWA/GORGEWINE.COM

T

he Columbia River Gorge is not a secret.

Millions of people come to this incredible place every year. Many visit simply to see the Gorge itself, to hike its hills, to view wildflowers. Some come for the world-class outdoor recreation: windsurfing, kiteboarding, mountain biking, skiing, rafting. Others, to taste the produce of one of the most prolific pear-growing regions in the world, not to mention munching on apples, cherries, and other fruit.

But if there was one element of the Gorge that was slower to catch on, it’s the wine. While the Gorge has been famous for its natural beauty and plentiful fruit for more than a century, and its windsurfing for the better part of four decades, most people weren’t coming here for the wine.

That’s no longer the case. While the Gorge continues to be a draw by itself, more and more people are coming to the Gorge specifically to sample locally produced vintages and see its bucolic vineyards.

The wine industry here continues to grow, and so has outside attention. Last summer, the Los Angeles Times gave a glowing review of the region’s wine in an article titled: “The complex and gorgeous Columbia Gorge produces a wide Wine tasters at COR Cellars in Lyle, Wash., top. A block of pinot noir at Celilo Vineyard in Underwood, Wash., at left. More than 50 varietals grow in the diverse microclimates of the Gorge.

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WA Tasting Room Magazine

Grapes are unloaded from bins during harvest at COR Cellars, one of several wineries located in Lyle, Wash.

range of beautiful wines.” In June, Bloomberg announced that “The Columbia River Gorge is a low-key food and wine paradise,” praising the region’s “experimental winemakers.” Forbes magazine also recently took a tour of the region in 2018, lauding the wines.

Perhaps the Gorge wouldn’t be receiving the level of notice or praise it gets today if it weren’t for receiving a much coveted designation from the federal government that occurred 15 years ago this summer. After a two and a half year effort by the local wine industry, on July 9, 2004, the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) officially named the Columbia Gorge an American Viticultural Area, establishing it as a distinct wine region, and allowing winemakers to label their wines as such, so long as 85 percent of the grapes in a bottle of wine are sourced from the AVA. On the surface, it may not seem like much, but when it comes to building a brand, having an appellation (think of the cachet a name like Napa Valley has, for instance) can be crucial, explained Debby Phaneuf, executive coordinator of the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers Association (CGWA).

“One of the biggest reasons for having an AVA approved by the TTB is that allows you to market your region specifically as a wine growing region … It starts to bring about the concept of terroir, because certain grapes grow better in different areas,” she said. “If there was no such thing as a Columbia Gorge AVA and the wineries still existed here, it would just be called Oregon wine or Washington wine. If you’re sourcing from something that doesn’t have an AVA, you don’t get that uniqueness. It gives you a better understanding of what you’re going to get.”

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Award winning wines, friendly staff, cozy tasting room, picnic & pet friendly! Come see us!

Book your 2019 event with us! We have two beautiful venues to choose from!

welcoming tasting room & patio 5.5 scenic miles south of hood river on hwy 35 541.386.1277 / wyeastvineyards.com Open daily 11-5 through October. Weekends 12-5 in November & December. Closed January.

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While the Columbia Gorge AVA is sandwiched between two older, larger, and arguably more prominent AVAs ( Willamette Valley, 1980; Columbia Valley, a sliver of which extends into the eastern section of the Gorge, 1984), the Gorge is a special place for winemaking, Phaneuf noted.

For one, it spans two states, while most AVAs are contained within the boundaries of one. Another reason: while some AVAs specialize in one or a few varietals (for instance, the Willamette Valley is most known for its pinot noir), the Gorge supports a cornucopia of varietals — more than 50 — due to its equally large number of microclimates, with significant differences in elevation, temperature, and precipitation.

In fact, the CGWA’s tagline for the Gorge is “a world of wine in 40 miles.” The same Gorge soil and wind that supports the region’s well-known orchards and wind sports, respectively, is also ideal for grape-growing, with the wind helping toughen the grape skins and control mildew and rot. Also unique: the Columbia Gorge AVA consists almost entirely of “boutique” wineries — those which produce 5,000 cases of wine or fewer each year.

With all those prime conditions, it’s somewhat surprising that the Gorge’s viticultural prowess wasn’t recognized sooner. According to the original AVA application filed by local vintner Mark Wharry, grape vines were first planted in the Gorge in the 1880s by the Jewetts, a prominent pioneer family in White Salmon. But apples and pears ultimately proved more popular as the region’s fruit growing industry exploded.

In the latter half of the 20th century, a small number of new wine pioneers again experimented with grape growing in the Gorge. Dr. Walter Clore, known as the father of Washington wine, planted some experimental plots around White Salmon in the 1960s. That same decade, Charles Henderson, on the advice of Clore, planted a vineyard that would later become known as Mont Elise, and the two also collaborated on Atavus Vineyards, both located on the Washington side.

Celilo Vineyard in Underwood, Wash., is aflame with color during the fall. Celilo is one of the oldest vineyards in the Columbia Gorge, originally planted during the 1970s.

Organically Grown Estate Wines from the Columbia Gorge AVA

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In Oregon, Cliff and Eileen Blanchette planted vines on the west side of Hood River in the 1970s, which would later become the basis for Hood River Vineyards and Winery.

More vineyards and wineries cropped up throughout the 1980s, but the Gorge still wasn’t really on the map when it came to wine, says Rich Cushman, a longtime Gorge winemaker who planted riesling vines on the west side of Hood River in 1981 that are still producing grapes for his Viento label to this day.

“It was really quiet. Nobody from the Willamette Valley knew about it.

Nobody from anywhere else knew about it,” he recalled. “Celilo Vineyard (in Underwood) had been planted (in the 70s) and that had good recognition from some Washington wineries at the time, but the only legal appellation they could put on it at the time was ‘Washington wine.’”

As the number of vineyards and wineries grew throughout the 1990s, Gorge winemakers got organized. In 2000, the CGWA was founded to promote the region’s wine and forge relationships between local wineries and vineyards. The push for the appellation soon followed. When the AVA application was approved in 2004, there was a party to celebrate, and attendees were excited about the future.

“It’s an appellation, but it’s also a movement. You can feel it,” said Linda Wright in a 2004 Hood River News article. Wright is co-owner of The Pines winery with her husband, Lonnie. “We’re standing in history.”

While the boundaries haven’t changed, the Columbia Gorge AVA has continued to grow in both number of wineries and esteem since 2004. Phaneuf estimates that before the AVA designation, there were roughly 15 wineries in the Gorge and 300 vineyard acres planted. Now, in the Gorge wine region (including that sliver of the Columbia Valley AVA), there are more than 50 wineries, 90 vineyards, and 1,300 vineyard acres planted.

The accolades are piling up, with Cushman noting that “if you look at medal counts, I think the Gorge wines show beautifully.” But while the Columbia Gorge AVA gets more established, winemakers still aren’t afraid to take risks and experiment with all the Gorge has to offer — a veritable “playground” for winemakers, Phaneuf said.

“There is a great pioneering spirit in the Gorge,” she said, “and I think that’s alive today.”

For more information, go to gorgewine.com.

Ben Mitchell is a writer and filmmaker who lives in Hood River. He is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.

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Visit our

Tasting Room

Viento wines are locally grown and created by Rich Cushman, winemaker for over 35 years and native of Hood River. Home of the oldest Riesling vines in the Gorge.

Experienced winemaking gives wines of balance, softness and wonderful flavors.

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301 Country Club Road 541-386-3026 • vientowines.com

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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WINE TASTING LOVERS

Wine Tasting Tips

CHOOSE FROM 26 AWARD-WINNING WINES 4200 Post Canyon Drive, Hood River

OPEN year round • Daily11am big, bold reds • limited-edition reserves Barrel Tastings • library tastings

cathedralridgewinery.com / 541.386.2882

CONFIRM HOURS Gorge wineries and tasting rooms vary in their hours and days of operation.

Call ahead or check websites to make sure the tasting rooms you want to visit are open. It’s also a good idea to call ahead if you’re planning to visit with a large group.

DRESS FOR THE WEATHER Dress appropriately, especially if you plan a vineyard picnic or tour. In the Gorge, in summer, that usually means sun and wind. But it can also include light rain, and temperatures can vary depending on where you are in the Gorge.

DON’T WEAR FRAGRANCES Perfume and cologne can interfere with the subtle aromas in wine.

ASK ABOUT FEES Some wineries charge a fee for tastings. Some will waive fees with a purchase, so ask if this is an option.

TASTING TIPS Generally, white wines are tasted first, followed by red wines and then dessert wines. It’s okay to skip any of the wines on a tasting list by politely declining. If you’re genuinely interested in purchasing a particular wine, it’s okay to ask for a second taste.

WHAT TO DO Swirling the wine in your glass helps aerate the wine’s many aromas. When tasting, hold the glass by the stem rather than the bowl as holding it by the bowl can disturb the temperature of the wine. Inhale before taking a sip to appreciate the wine’s aromas. Likewise, swirl the wine around in your mouth once you sip to coat all the surfaces.

HIP TO SPIT You don’t have to drink all the wine in your glass. Toss the unwanted wine into the dump bucket provided for this purpose. You can also spit all or a portion of your tastings into a spittoon or cup.

PACE YOURSELF Don’t try to visit too many wineries in one day. Keep in mind that tasting room samples are usually one-ounce pours, and a typical glass of wine is 4-6 ounces. Know your limit and stop when you reach it.

ASK QUESTIONS Tasting room servers (who are sometimes the winery owners themselves) love to share their knowledge about their wine and the stories of their wineries.

HAVE A DESIGNATED DRIVER This will ensure your wine tasting adventure is fun and safe for you and others.

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NO PLACE LIKE HOME Story by Yesenia Castro and David Hanson Photography by David Hanson

For many aging orchard workers in the Hood River Valley, the question of housing once they can no longer work looms large.

A

urelio Aguilera had worked at a Hood River Valley orchard for 25 years when he took the second biggest risk of his life. At age 43, he bought a house in Odell.

The HOPE Program, funded by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, was offering agricultural workers the opportunity to own a home. Aguilera and his wife, like the other new homeowner applicants, would have to invest 1,000 hours of sweat equity into the home’s construction in order to qualify for the mortgage. Aurelio and his wife worked nights and weekends on the house and weekdays at their orchard jobs. They moved into their new home in a quiet Odell neighborhood in 2004.

I found Aguilera there on a hot July afternoon. His wife was frying tortillas in the kitchen and his grandkids were running in and out of a baby pool in the grassy backyard.

His youngest daughter, Isabel, a college student at Oregon State University, joined us to help translate. Aguilera is something of a rarity in the orchard worker profession, where the vast majority of Hood River Valley’s orchard labor force resides in houses and cabins as part of their work arrangement. Aguilera made it out and I wanted to know how.

Home ownership is a rite of passage to the American Dream. Despite the debt most of us incur to buy a home, the promise of paying off a mortgage and accruing equity is a pathway to a financially secure future. For many orchard workers in the Hood River Valley, home ownership remains elusive. A generation of orchard labor is at or nearing retirement age and most of them have worked, in part, for free housing that they cannot own. With housing prices soaring and farm wages attached to commodity prices and trade wars, there aren’t many options for workers who’ve spent their entire careers as the backbone of Hood River agriculture. And for orchard owners seeking creative ways

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JesĂşs Huerta in the small garden behind the orchard housing where he and his wife, Ramona, have lived semi-permanently for more than 40 years.

THE GORGE MAGAZINE II SUMMER 2019

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Aurelio Aguilera bought and helped build his Odell home in 2004, thanks to a federal program aimed at assisting agricultural workers seeking to own homes. He and his family remain in the home today.

to help their long-time staff, solutions are fraught with regulations that can seem both whimsical and stubborn. A government incentive program helped Aurelio buy his home, but those programs are limited.

“I’m proud that I took the chance to buy a home,” Aguilera says from the living room couch of his four-bedroom, two-bath house. “Building the house and working so hard wasn’t a meaningless effort. I didn’t spend a lot of money and later regret it. It’s better for the family in the long run.”

Cash jobs in the fruit industry brought Aurelio to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico, at age 16, the biggest risk he ever took. For more than a century, men and women have come to the Hood River Valley to pick fruit, hoping to one day own a piece of land. It’s rarely been easy.

The Hood River Valley has a Johnny Appleseed, of sorts. Nathaniel and Mary Coe came from rural New York to the Hood River Valley in 1855 bearing apple seeds. A few decades later, E.L. Smith planted the first commercial orchard and other fruit growing operations took root. By the early 1900s, Japanese immigrants began arriving to the valley, along with Midwestern and northern Plains families lured by a gaudy 1910 Commercial Club publication touting the fruit-filled paradise of Hood River.

One of those pamphlets, delivered via railroad, got into the hands of Maija Annala’s grandparents

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in North Dakota. They quickly abandoned the harsh plains for the promise of apples, plentiful water and ideal weather. Immigrants from Finland, Annala’s grandparents settled in west Hood River alongside an influx of Japanese immigrants who found work as farm laborers and slowly bought patches of rocky hillsides and bottomlands.

The new faces scared some of Hood River’s white population enough that they formed the Anti Asian Association in 1919 with a pledge not to sell or lease land to Japanese. In 1923, Oregon codified the fear with the Alien Land Law, officially prohibiting Japanese from owning land.

The law, in addition to an anti-miscegenation law

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Andrews has been a staple in the Gorge since 1991. The reason?

Great pizza! House-made crust, stretched and tossed to order. Our signature sauce made with Italian herbs and just a touch of heat.

A perfect blend of three cheeses. A wide array of toppings, including house-made sausage with herbs and fennel, roasted red peppers, and caramelized onions, just to name a few. Come in and enjoy our casual atmosphere and try our other offerings — including fresh salads, calzones, stromboli, and crispy baked chicken wings. We also have beer on tap and a large selection of wine.

107 Oak Street, Hood River | AndrewsPizza.Com | 541-386-1448 ON-LINE ORDERING | EAT IN | TAKE OUT | DELIVERY

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Stay & Play in The Dalles Free SuperStart® breakfast

Guadalupe “Lupe” and Nicolasa Valderrama outside an orchard home in Odell where they stay during seasonal working stints.

prohibiting Japanese from marrying non-Japanese, foreshadowed the 1942 decision to intern Japanese during World War II. Annala, born on her family’s Oak Grove orchard in 1950, two years before Japanese were allowed to become citizens, eventually married Philip “Flip” Yasui, taking his surname. Yasui’s father, Ray Yasui, upon being freed from internment in 1945, slowly reclaimed his orchard and home, having to purchase some of the acreage from neighbors who took possession of the farm while he was in internment camps. He was able to establish a productive orchard over the next 20 years. His sons took over the farm in 1970 and continued expanding their orchard, now farming 210 acres around the Odell area.

I met Maija Yasui at Bette’s Place in Hood River on a busy Saturday afternoon. My friend Yesenia Castro and her fiancé, Akira, joined us. Castro grew up on a Parkdale orchard where her dad continues to work and live with their family in orchard housing. Her father recently had a health scare, shining a stark light on their situation: What to do if her dad can’t work and her parents and younger siblings have to leave the orchard housing?

“In the sixties and seventies, Mexican laborers started coming to the valley through the Bracero guest worker program,” Yasui tells us. “Most of the families would come seasonally, save money, then return home to plant corn and tend to their homes in Mexico.” When the U.S. passed the 1986 “Amnesty Bill” (Immigration Reform and Control Act), many of the men brought their wives up and, if they could, their children. “That generation has ties to Mexico and here. You should talk to Guadalupe Valderrama.

He’s been working with us since 1973.”

Valderrama, age 79, sits in a folding chair outside a faded salmon-colored clapboard house shaded by pear trees. He’s relaxing on a warm evening beside his nephew, Hector Fries, who, along with his wife, live in the house year-round as full-time orchard staff. Valderrama and his wife, Nicolasa, have always straddled the Mexican-American dual existence. They raised kids in Mexico, coming north for seasonal work but maintaining roots south. Some of their kids were able to immigrate to the U.S., while a few remain in Mexico.

“I’m retired,” Valderrama tells me with a wry smile. “I work a little bit, making sure the younger pickers are choosing the right fruit. In the winters we go back to Mexico and spend time with our daughter there and we spend springs with our son in California.”

Valderrama says he never considered buying land or a house in Hood River. This was never really home. It was a place to come and work, always returning home to Mexico. But now his son lives in his former house in Mexico, so Valderrama and his wife live in permanent limbo. Not that Valderrama seems bothered. He says he’ll enjoy being retired, moving from house to house, until God tells him it’s time to make the final move.

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Hector Fries has worked the orchards for more than 30 years. He and his family live in orchard housing full-time; he doesn’t know what they’ll do when he can’t work anymore.

Fries, age 47, is from a different generation. He didn’t start his family in Mexico. He moved to the U.S. to pick fruit and find a future at age 16, moving here permanently when he was 27. Fries has been in this orchard house since 2005, a full-time employee at Maija and Flip Yasui’s orchard.

“When I think about retiring or not being able to work here anymore,” he says, “I get worried. It’s $800 to rent an apartment around here. How are you going to eat paying that much? Most of the orchard workers I know who are my age have the same situation. In Mexico, I can pay rent and have enough to eat. Who knows. In 10 to 15 years I might feel differently. Maybe I’ll go stay with my kids or something. I tell my kids not to spend their money on cars. Save it for a house. I don’t think they listen to me.”

Maija Yasui has sought ways to support her workers who want to invest in housing or remain on the farm after they can no longer work. But it’s not easy.

“We understand the predicament many older farm workers are in when they no longer can work on the farm,” she says. “There are so many regulations around housing. I am dizzy trying to deal with it. The housing cannot be sold to a farmworker given the provisions on land use issues. We have looked at tiny house provisions, but they don’t meet the square footage requirement. We have looked at large recreational vehicles that folks could take with them. If the farm purchases a manufactured home for farm workers, it cannot be transferred to them. New farmworker housing requires removal of hundreds of trees to meet the 100-foot perimeter. And when you remove the trees, you lose irrigation rights. The regulations are for good reasons, but they make it hard for us to find ways to house our workers after retirement.”

The challenges have shifted over the last century. Outright discrimination kept Japanese from buying land back when the land was cheaper and more plentiful. Now anyone can buy land but there’s not much of it (less than 50 percent of Hood River County is available for private ownership).

And the demand is soaring, making it almost impossible to afford a down payment and mortgage on an hourly orchard salary.

Two years after buying his house, Aurelio Aguilera asked for a raise at the orchard where he’d worked for a quarter of a century.

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MARYHILL MUSEUM OF ART Photo by Jeanne Morgan

Jesús and Ramona Huerta have worked on a Parkdale orchard since the 1970s. They always planned to return to live their final days in Mexico.

“The owner felt bad,” says Aguilera, “but he could not afford to give me a raise. He understood that I had to leave for better work. I found a job at the lumber mill where the pay was slightly better.”

Over 12 years his salary increased only $2 an hour, but he was able to pay his bills and save a little. Now he works for a drone manufacturer and enjoys the work and the higher pay. Does he feel like he’s an example of the American Dream? He laughs.

“Achieving the American Dream is having it all paid off,” he says. “I’m mid-dream now, but I’m happy. I want people to know there’s a lot more than just coming here to work in the orchards.

There’s opportunity to prosper.”

Aguilera laughs again and looks at Isabel.

“When I die, I’ll be cremated and Isabel is going to spread some of my ashes up high on Mount Hood. I love Mount Hood. Then she’s going to spread the rest in a Parkdale orchard. I have a lot of memories from the orchards. They’re a part of me. They’re how I made it here.”

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THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Experience Skamania County, Washington!

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SKAMANIA COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: 167 NW Second Avenue, Stevenson, WA 98648 • 800-989-9178 • skamania.org

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

A Fruitful Endeavor Story by Janet Cook Photos by Renata Kosina

A trip around the Hood River County Fruit Loop proves why the route is a destination all its own.

Sometimes when you live in a place, you forget to appreciate what’s in your own backyard. I was reminded of this recently when some visitors asked for recommendations on local activities. I suggested some hikes, offered advice on renting paddleboards and e-bikes, and sent them to some of my favorite eateries. I also picked up a map of the Hood River County Fruit Loop to give to them. As I glanced through it before handing it off, I realized that, although I hit up certain places on the route frequently, it’s been years since I’ve actually driven the whole 35-mile Fruit Loop and poked around at some of the stops along the way.

The Fruit Loop was organized in 1992, when a handful of farmers and farm store owners around the valley came together to promote their fruit and produce, u-pick orchards and other farm activities. The Fruit Loop is now a collection of more than two dozen farms, orchards, vineyards, wineries and value-added agricultural businesses. The 35-mile route takes participants around the Hood River Valley on one of the most scenic drives in the region. It’s been written up in publications far and wide, including food and travel magazines and The New York Times.

I decided to set out for a day on the Loop, poking around at some of the stops along the way and playing tourist in my own town. It did not disappoint, and by the end of the day, I understood full well why the Fruit Loop draws visitors from near and far.

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A FRUITFUL ENDEAVOR Pearl’s Place

every state in the U.S. to many countries in Europe, Chile, China, New Zealand and the Galapagos Islands. “We meet a lot of new people,” Bibian says.

Must-have: Sisters Fruit Company cinnamon apple chips

The Gorge White House

I started my trip at the first stop on the Fruit Loop tour map, Pearl’s Place. Three miles south of Hood River on Highway 35, Pearl’s Place has been around for some three decades. Elizabeth Bibian, who has worked at the stand for 10 years, says some visitors tell her they’ve been coming every year for decades. “For some, it’s become a family tradition,” she said, with multiple generations of a family visiting together.

The fruit stand sits smack in the middle of an apple orchard, and offers more than a dozen varieties of apples as well as pears, plums, nectarines, peaches and cherries. A map on the wall shows where visitors have come from during the season. Pins are literally placed all over the map, from nearly

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This iconic farm was my next stop. I was hungry and craved a flatbread at the White House Café, a food cart at the farm run by Jack Kennedy, a member of the fourth-generation farming family that has operated the Gorge White House since 2012. Kennedy, who studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France, uses the farm’s abundant fruit and produce to create delectable soups, sandwiches, salads and burgers. All of these menu items always sound so good, but I have a hard time straying from the flatbreads, whose toppings include cherries, blueberries, pears and caramelized onion.

The Gorge White House feels like farm utopia (and I get that I can feel that way because I don’t do any of the work involved). There’s u-pick fruit, as well as fresh fruit that’s already picked and available in the fruit stand onsite. There’s also extensive u-pick flower fields featuring dozens of varieties of flowers, many of which bloom until late October. The farm’s former workshop has been converted into a tasting room, where house-made wines as well as others from area wineries are available. The Kennedys also make an impressive array of hard ciders, hand-crafted from their orchard fruit.

Must-have: A tasting tray of the farm’s nine hard ciders

Smiley’s Red Barn

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A couple of miles farther south on Highway 35, I pulled into Smiley’s Red Barn. Along with all the great fruit at this stand, there’s a lot of history to poke around in, ranging from old farm equipment to historic license plates

Autumn HArvest

experience beautiful fall foliage and the bounty of the orchards... all along the Fruit Loop.

and old wooden fruit packing boxes. There are dozens of historic packing house labels to browse through, as well as old postcards depicting the early orchard days in the Hood River Valley. This stop on the Fruit Loop is a twofor-one, with Fox-Tail Cider & Distillery located right next door.

Must-have: Grandma Paasch’s peach mango salsa

y

RiveR Coun od t o H

Hood River Lavender Farms

Guide to Local Farm Stands

2019

fruit stands orchards

berry farms Vineyards wineries

laVender fields

seasonal actiVities (Plan your triP)

Less than one Hour from Portland!

hoodriverfruitloop.com

I turned off Highway 35 at Odell and headed to Hood River Lavender Farms. Owner Jill House is consolidating the farm’s former two locations to one, on Fletcher Drive, which eventually will feature nearly five acres of u-pick lavender as well as wildflowers. Picnic tables and benches are scattered among the lavender fields, making for a great place to sit and enjoy the farm’s lavender ice cream or lavender lemonade. The farm offers u-pick lavender through October and the farm stand, housed in a cozy, newlyconstructed building, has lots of great gift items made from lavender — from soaps and creams to teas and jellies. Nearly all of the lavender products are made onsite. When you’ve had your fill of all things lavender, head next door to Stave & Stone Winery.

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stops to visit on the Loop. Maps available at local Chamber of Commerce and other businesses around town. hoodriverfruitloop.com

Must-have: Lavender essential oils made onsite in the copper still

Packer Orchards Bakery

I drove back to Highway 35 and headed south to Packer Orchards Bakery, a staple on the Fruit Loop for 25 years. The nearly century-old Packer Orchards is a fourth-generation family farm, with fruit from the orchards used in a huge variety of baked goods, jams, jellies and pie-fillings at the bakery. The juice from orchard fresh pears is used in many of the products, reducing the need for added sugar. Packer Orchards has a second location called the Farm Place, where fruit and produce are grown, and which also has a huge u-pick pumpkin patch and corn maze every fall.

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A FRUITFUL ENDEAVOR The bakery is well known for its cookies, but there’s so much more here. There are seemingly dozens of kinds of jams and jellies, plus lots of pickled vegetables, salsas and barbecue sauces. Don’t miss the fruit empanadas. And this is a great place to pre-order fresh pies for the holidays, or get your pie filling.

rently make more than a dozen fruit ciders plus a couple of traditional dry ciders. The farm also offers grass-fed lamb and goat as well as cow cheese.

Must-have: Non-pasteurized apple or pear cider

Aubert Fruit Company

Must-have: Pear sweetened marionberry jam

Draper Girls Country Farm & U-Pick Orchards

Draper Girls was my next stop on the Loop. This third generation family farm has been operating since 1962. Its dwarf apple and peach trees make the u-pick kid-friendly. (Due to its higher elevation, peaches are still available into September). The farm also has a large u-cut dahlia garden.

A couple of years ago, Theresa Draper and her three daughters launched Draper Girls Cider Company, where they grow, press and ferment the fruit for their smallbatch hard ciders onsite. They cur-

Back on Highway 35, I continued south to Aubert Fruit Company. The fourth-generation family farm grows apples, pears, peaches, cherries and several types of berries, but it’s the shiny-coated cattle grazing in the fields surrounding the fruit stand that offer a clue to the prize here. The company’s USDA certified beef can be found in multiple cuts ranging from sirloin

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

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NEWLY R and flank steak to ground beef (and even pre-made patties) in the fruit stand’s coolers. The fruit stand also has unique gift items made by local artisans.

Must-have: Grass-fed beef

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I headed around the Fruit Loop’s “horn” at the south end of the valley and then drove north on Highway 281, ending up at The Old Trunk. This antique store has an eclectic collection of old stuff, ranging from books, records and vintage clothing to kitchenware and furnishings. Owner Karin Platt ventures out two or three times a week — sometimes traveling more than 200 miles — to find treasures for the store. The shop also has a soda fountain, featuring old-fashioned sodas flavored with housemade syrups and soft serve ice cream made-to-order with Tillamook ice cream and local fruit. (Dairyfree ice cream is also available.)

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Must-have: Huckleberry soft serve ice cream

Apple Valley Country Store & Bakery

My final stop on the Loop was at Apple Valley Country Store, whose old building with its false front and ancient wood floors always makes me feel like I’m stepping back in time. Apple Valley is a great place for picking up locally-made gifts, ranging from jams and sauces to muffin and pancake mixes to soaps and hand towels. You can also get pie and cobbler filling, and made-from-scratch u-bake frozen pies in nearly every fruit and fruit combination you can think of. Inevitably, there’s something coming out of the ovens in the back for sale at the front counter — think hand pies and cinnamon buns — which are nearly impossible to resist.

Must-have: Peach habanero pepper jelly

For more information, including special events along the Fruit Loop and a digital map, go to hoodriverfruitloop.com.

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OUTSIDE

Brilliant Foliage Found The Cape Horn Trail is an oasis of fall color in a coniferous Columbia River Gorge story and photos by BEN MITCHELL

T

he Columbia River Gorge has nearly everything you could want in terms of natural beauty. Rainforests. Rivers. Waterfalls. Mountains. Deserts. Lakes. Wildflowers.

Nearly 10 years ago, I moved away from the Syracuse area in Upstate New York and came to the Gorge for AmeriCorps, leaving behind humidity, brutal winters, and a bad labor market. Like so many others, local or not, I was and still am enamored with the landscape of the Gorge, and spend as much time in it as I can.

But there’s one (and only one) time of year that I pine for the Northeast, the rare instance where the Northwest doesn’t quite measure up, and that’s the fall. Yes, autumn in the Gorge, just like any other season here, is gorgeous, but the very same coniferous trees that keep the Pacific Northwest famously evergreen also don’t allow for very impressive displays of fall colors. The oak trees in the eastern half of the Gorge turn a dull brown in the fall. Elsewhere, mostly some pockets of yellow.

There are a couple of places I go in the Gorge every fall when I’m jonesing for some leaf peeping during my fleeting feelings of nostalgia for New York, but none more satisfying than Cape Horn.

Located on the Washington side of the Columbia River just 10 miles east of Washougal, Cape Horn is a rare treat in the Gorge due to its unusual abundance of deciduous trees that turn lovely shades of yellow, orange, and even red (the hardest color to find here) in the fall. Autumn is the absolute best time to visit Cape Horn, not only because of the foliage, but also because the entire trail is open. From February 1 to July 15, the lower elevation section of the Cape Horn Trail is closed to protect nesting areas for peregrine falcons.

Although Cape Horn is my favorite autumn hike, you really can’t go wrong whatever time of year you visit it — I’ve never hiked it in the spring, but the Cape Horn Conservancy (CHC), one of the groups that help maintain the trail, notes on its website that the wildflowers that time of year are “stunning.”

Over its roughly 7.5 miles and 1,300 feet of elevation change, the Cape Horn loop winds through

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some stunning sections of forest, encountering waterfalls, talus slopes, and sheer basalt cliffs, all while offering views of the Columbia River that rival those of any other hike in the Gorge.

It’s also one of the newest trails in the Gorge, and only exists due to some dogged conservation efforts. According to the CHC website, the area that is now Cape Horn was originally slated for a subdivision in the 1980s. However, in 1983, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) was able to buy the majority of the lots, essentially shutting down the development, thanks to Friends of the Columbia Gorge founder Nancy Russell and her husband, Bruce, who made an interest-free loan to the TPL to purchase the properties. The TPL then sold the land to the U.S. Forest Service, and over the past few decades, the USFS and the Friends Land Trust bought up neighboring properties to help

The 7.5-mile trail traverses some 1,300 feet of elevation change, with stunning views of the Gorge.

fill in the gaps. The USFS officially recognized the trail in 2010, and over the past decade, CHC and other partners have made a number of trail improvements, including bridges, pedestrian underpasses, and scenic overlooks.

Both getting to and getting around Cape Horn are pretty simple. The Cape Horn trailhead is located just off Washington State Route 14 (it’s well signed, but turn onto Salmon Falls Road, then almost immediately onto Canyon Creek Road for the trailhead). The parking lot is fairly sizable for a Gorge trailhead, with room for 30 or so cars. However, even though the trail is technically only a decade old, it has quickly become popular, especially after the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire put many Gorge trails on the Oregon side of the Columbia out of commission. The parking lot will almost certainly fill on weekends (and sometimes on weekdays too), so get there early, or better yet, take public transportation if you can (the parking lot for Cape Horn is also the location of the Salmon Falls Park and Ride; go to gorgetranslink.com for more info). Thankfully, the length of the hike means the trail doesn’t feel particularly crowded, even if the lot is full.

The trail is well marked and easy to follow, with a map and information kiosk at the trailhead. The Cape Horn Trail is also visible on Google Maps, and the CHC has an easy-to-follow map on its website (capehornconservancy.org) if you want to be extra prepared.

Although the trail is long, it is relatively easy, in my opinion, especially if you start at the Salmon Falls Park and Ride and head west on the upper section first. That being said, Friends notes that it is not a dog friendly trail due to its proximity to some precarious cliff edges, and advises

hikers to leave their pets at home. The terrain also does get steep during the transition between the upper and lower trails, and if you’re a fan of trekking poles, they’re helpful in this section.

The only real downside to the hike is that most of the last mile or so runs along Cape Horn Road, passing by houses and farms, taking you out of the forest. But this is a minor complaint. The Cape Horn Trail still remains one of my favorite hikes in the Gorge, regardless of the season, and is well worth the effort.

Ben Mitchell is a writer and filmmaker who lives in Hood River. He is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.

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ARTS + CULTURE

Outdoor Gallery Art of Community has changed the face of Hood River with its rotating public exhibit story by JANET COOK | photos by MICHAEL PETERSON

F

ive years ago, metal sculptor CJ Rench had a vision: to transform the face of Hood River through public art. After installing his own sculptures in towns across the U.S., he wanted to bring more public art to his hometown. He enlisted the help of Kristen Godkin, long involved in the area’s arts community, and the two set out to make the vision a reality.

By any standards, they have succeeded. The project, known as the Big Art Outdoor Gallery, has evolved from its initial goal of creating eight sites in Hood River with a sculpture or some piece of artwork, to a current total of 28. The project is on its fourth rotation, and its latest national call to artists netted 65 submissions.

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FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

“From the beginning, it was a gift to the local community,” says Godkin, “and also for the artists. They’re such an important part of our fabric.”

The project works through sponsorships.

Each site requires a $1,000 sponsorship, which gets a piece of public art placed on it for a twoyear cycle. Businesses and other entities can offer to be a sponsor and provide a site for the artwork on their property (individuals can also be sponsors). Unless otherwise indicated, the sculptures are available for purchase at the end of their cycle.

The city, chamber and port supported the project enthusiastically from the get-go, according to Godkin. Support from local businesses and individual community members has continued to grow. “The sponsors really make it happen,” Godkin says.

The Big Art Outdoor Gallery features sculptures at the marina and along the waterfront, in downtown Hood River and in the Heights. A bilingual map available online and in print shows how to take

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a walking tour of the exhibit. “It really ties together the downtown, the waterfront and the Heights,” Godkin says. “It’s nice to have that thread.”

Last year, Hood River was named one of the top 40 most vibrant arts communities in the country by SMU DataArts, which compiles and analyzes data on arts organizations and their communities nationwide. The Big Art Outdoor Gallery was cited as a contributing factor for being included on the list.

Art of Community, the entity that oversees the Big Art project, has seven board members and is, as board secretary Jan Meyer says, “super grassroots.”

Board members tend to wear a lot of hats; Rench and fellow sculptor and board member MacRae Wylde, for example, do many of the sculpture installations pro-bono. “It’s all volunteer-based,” Meyer says. “There’s no payment going out.”

The nonprofit organization hopes other communities will be inspired by what’s happened in Hood River. “Throughout our five or six years, we’ve been trying to create a transparent process so we can share it with other cities,” Godkin says.

One outcome of the project is that the artwork at each site becomes a visual anchor for that place: the Native fishing platform by the boat basin, for example, or the CAT bus stop by the flower. “It creates that sense of place,” Godkin says, “that we all love about Hood River.”

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WELLNESS

The Vastness of Yoga Crystal Borup brings a holistic approach to her new yoga school story by JANET COOK | photos by KELLY TURSO

C

rystal Borup came to yoga unexpectedly in the most unexpected of places: Las Vegas. Before she started going to a yoga class at her gym, she’d had only one experience with it, as a college student when she and a friend took a yoga class as an elective. “We couldn’t stop laughing,” she says. “Even by the end of the semester, we still couldn’t take it seriously.” She chuckles as she thinks of her younger self, and it seems likely that one of her appeals as a yoga teacher is that she doesn’t take herself too seriously.

Borup grew up in White Salmon and Stevenson, Wash., graduating from high school in 1998. “I couldn’t wait to get out,” she says. She drifted around Portland and Vancouver, did a stint in college, moved to San Jose, Calif., and back again. “I was a lost soul trying to figure it out,” she says.

By age 25, she was managing a restaurant in Portland and felt the weight of too much responsibility. A friend was moving to Las Vegas, and Borup decided on a whim to go with her.

She took a job as a bartender and worked out at a local gym, where she began taking notice of the yoga classes. She decided to try one and soon became a regular, discovering that she was drawn to the instructors — depending on their style — as much as to the actual class. “I was drawn to the teachers who were really loving,” she says.

After five years in Las Vegas, Borup returned to the Gorge — 12 years after she’d left.

Crystal Borup, top and bottom center, is set to launch a yoga school and become director of Yoga Samadhi. Other teachers include Kaitlin Iversen, at left, bottom, and Chantel Alcaraz.

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She wanted to continue doing yoga and found a teacher in Vancouver who she connected with. “It was here that I started to understand that yoga was more than a physical practice,” she says. Her teacher “embodied yoga,” she adds, and became an inspiration and role model for Borup.

Six years ago, Borup decided to become a yoga teacher herself and went through an intensive, three-month training in Portland. But even after becoming a certified instructor, she felt intimidated by teaching at most studios in the Gorge. Eventually, Kathy Kacena, who owns Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon, encouraged her to teach at the studio. “I came here and fumbled my way through,” she says. “I started building a following and finding my own voice.”

That was the beginning of what has become a life-changing path for Borup. After teaching at Yoga Samadhi for a couple of years, she began helping Kacena with projects at the studio, ranging from graphic design to helping create the schedule. Borup also was the inspiration behind a recent remodel of the studio. This year, Borup became co-director of Yoga Samadhi, and Kacena plans to turn studio operations over to her when she retires early next year (Kacena will stay on as a teacher and mentor).

“It was just this really nice progression,” Borup says. Along the way, she decided she wanted to create a school to help train yoga teachers.

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“I didn’t just want to launch another westernized yoga teacher training,” Borup says. “I wanted to create a school with authentic yoga teachings and practices, and tools for conflict resolution that allow students to really embody yoga.” A trip to India several years ago, where she studied in Rishikesh — considered the birthplace of yoga — influenced her practice. “It helped me understand the vastness of yoga,” she says.

Borup hopes to impart some of that to students in her Peaceful Living School of Yoga, set to launch early next year. “I want it to be as authentic an experience as possible, even though we don’t live in India,” she says. “I really want to teach some of the traditional practices, and help people understand the different paths and lineages of yoga. The stretches and poses are really a small aspect of it.”

Borup will serve as lead instructor of the school. Chantel Alcaraz, who has been teaching yoga for more than 12 years — the past seven while living in India — will be a core instructor. Other instructors, including Kathy Kacena, will teach modules in their area of expertise.

The goal is to bring a holistic approach to yoga teacher training. Borup notes that the training is for yoga students who want to become teachers as well as those who just want to study and understand more about yoga.

The school also welcomes current teachers who want to deepen their yoga knowledge and practice.

“I want to help people find their own voice,” Borup says. “I’ve been to so many trainings where the teacher expects students to come out teaching just like them.” The school will be based at Yoga Samadhi, with some trainings and retreats held at the Trout Lake Abbey in Trout Lake, Wash., and the Society Hotel in Bingen.

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541-386-9500 • 1010 10TH ST HOOD RIVER, OR 97031 3601 KLINDT DR SUITE 200 THE DALLES OR 97058 6542 SE LAKE RD SUITE 100 MILWAUKIE OR 97222

541-386-1700 // www.icfec.com // find us on Facebook 1700 12th Street, Suite A // Hood River, Oregon

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Call 509.773.4017 THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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Courtesy of Crystal Borup

Crystal Borup has introduced kids and teens yoga classes to the schedule at Yoga Samadhi, and she held kids yoga and nature camps over the summer.

Borup is excited about the upcoming launch of her school, as well as transitioning to the helm of Yoga Samadhi. As co-director, she’s already put her stamp on the studio with the introduction of teen and kids yoga classes as well as kids yoga and nature camps held this past summer.

For Borup, it’s about giving back. “Yoga has been so powerful to me in my own life,” she says. “There’s so much healing that needs to happen.

Creating teachers that understand that — that’s a big goal. I want to inspire teachers who can go out and teach from the heart.”

For more information, go to columbiagorgeyoga.com.

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Nichols Landing Gorge Mag 8.75x11.25 Aug 2019.qxp_Layout 1 8/5/19 10:40 AM Page 1

MCMC Specialty Clinics Now Accepting New Patients!

MCMC OUTPATIENT THERAPY AT NICHOLS LANDING, formerly hood river therapy, has relocated to Nichols landing. our rehabilitation programs are specially designed by our experienced physical, occupational and speech therapists and tailored to fit your needs. our newly constructed space offers a large performance gym, with upgraded exercise equipment, overlooking the beautiful hood river waterfront. Call 541.386.2441 to make an appointment.

GORGE UROLOGY has relocated to Nichols landing

from its previous hood river location. For the past 33 years, gorge Urology has provided patient-centered, personalized care for men and women with medical conditions affecting the urinary tract and reproductive systems. the entire urology team continues to provide the highest quality urology care for the gorge community.

Call 541.386.6988 to make an appointment.

MCMC PODIATRY for foot and ankle care. dr. kathryn Jenewein, our experienced podiatrist, has devoted her career to helping people get back on their feet after illness or injury. dr. Jenewein completed her podiatric residency at legacy health system and kaiser Permanente in Portland. For the past year she’s been helping gorge residents manage and recover from arthritis, bunions, ingrown toenails, ligament and tendon disorders, and other health conditions. Call 541.308.1015 to make an appointment.

Nichols Landing overlooks the Columbia River and is right off of I-84 (exit 63) next to the Hampton Inn in Hood River.

Nichols laNdiNg

|

MCMC ORTHOPEDICS AND SPORTS MEDICINE

offering comprehensive orthopedic care, sports injury treatment and prevention. whether you want to recover from injury, improve your athletic performance or lift your grandchildren without pain, our team of certified athletic trainers, physical therapists and physicians are here for you every step of the way. Call 541.308.1015 to make an appointment.

MCMC CARDIOLOGY delivers compassionate heart care. cardiology patients can expect open, honest communication with specialists who work alongside patients to educate them about their condition and treatment options. currently offering echocardiograms (echos) and treadmill stress tests. Call 541.308.1025 to make an appointment.

NL at

ichols anding

3 3 N i c h o l s Pa r k way, h o o d r i v e r

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mcmc.Net

PARTAKE I COOK WITH US

Jerk Spice Steak

with Mango Slaw, Wild Rice and Grilled Pineapple Recipe and photos by KACIE MCMACKIN

Ingredients • 4 New York Steaks • Busha Browne’s Traditional Jerk Seasoning • 1 pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick • 2 cups wild rice • 1/2 small head Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced • 4 radishes, very thinly sliced • 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped • 1 carrot, peeled and julienned • 1 ripe mango, thinly sliced • canola oil • kosher salt • freshly ground pepper

Dressing • 1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice • 1 Tbsp honey • 1/4 tsp kosher salt • freshly ground black pepper

This recipe was inspired by one of our family’s favorite Seattle restaurants that’s been closed now for nearly 20 years — yet it’s Jerk Spice Steaks still call to our cravings. The former owner (and family friend) gave me her secret tip: Busha Browne’s Traditional Jerk Seasoning (available at The Farm Stand or online). The seasoning makes for a spicy, flavorful steak that is perfectly paired with earthy wild rice, a cooling slaw, and sweet, smoky pineapple. I prefer to get my steaks from the butcher at Rosauers where they cut them really thick — it gives a chance for the outside to get nice color and the inside to stay pink.

Directions Season each steak with salt, rub on all sides with the jerk seasoning (1 to 2 tsp per pound of meat) and a bit of oil. Cover and let marinate for four hours or overnight.

Preheat your grill to high. In a medium saucepan, cook the wild rice according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Set dressing aside. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, radishes, cilantro, and carrot. Toss together. Top with sliced mango.

PAIR WITH: 2017 Cor Cellars Malbec 2015 Analemma Gewürztraminer 2017 Mylan Wines Cabernet Franc 68

FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

Cook the steaks on the hot grill to medium rare (or desired done-ness), transfer to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes. Rub the sliced pineapple with a bit of canola oil, and with the grill now about medium high, cook for about 1 minute on both sides, until grill marks form.

Dress the slaw and toss very gently, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Kacie McMackin is a food blogger, writer and photographer at gorgeinthegorge.com. She is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.

THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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PARTAKE I EAT & DRINK

BRIDGESIDE

THE ANDREW’S EXPERIENCE

BACKWOODS BREWING COMPANY 509-427-3412 • backwoodsbrewingcompany.com 1162 Wind River Hwy • Carson

541-374-8477 • bridgesidedining.com Exit 44 off I-84, Cascade Locks

Pizzeria • drafthouse theater • arcade It’s the pizza -over 25 years of authentic East Coast thin-crust pizza

Backwoods Brewing is family owned and located in Carson, WA. Established in 2012, we offer delicious beers, hand-made pizzas, outdoor seating, and welcome all ages.

Stunning views next to the Bridge of the Gods – Bridgeside (formerly Charburger) still serves tasty char-broiled burgers plus an extensive menu of breakfast items, chowders, fish & chips, fresh salad bar, sandwiches, and desserts. New name, new management, but historic charm and western artifacts remain. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

541-386-1448 • AndrewsPizza.com 107 Oak Street • Hood River

On-line ordering • Eat in • Take out • Delivery

Open daily: 11:30am-9pm

BRODER ØST

541-436-3444 • brodereast.com 102 Oak St. Suite 100 • Hood River Offering Nordic inspired breakfast and lunch to the gorge. Something new and exciting for the whole family to enjoy. Come try traditional recipes such as aebleskiver (danish pancakes), swedish meatballs, norwegian lefse (potato crepes) and lots more!

We look forward to serving you! #broderost

CASA EL MIRADOR FAMILY MEXICAN RESTAURANT 541-298-7388 • casaelmirador.com 1424 West 2nd Street • The Dalles

Quality Mexican food prepared with the freshest and finest ingredients. Warm, friendly service and a lively atmosphere. Indulge in generous portions of flavorful sizzling fajitas, fish tacos, savory enchilada dishes and daily specials.

Drink specials & Happy Hour menu from 4-7pm, Mon-Fri. Full service bar, take-out menu, gift certificates and catering services. Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.

Gift shop • Special event room & terrace

CELILO RESTAURANT & BAR 541-386-5710 • celilorestaurant.com 16 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River

Celilo began with a desire to honor the bounty of this region and a commitment to a healthy and sustainable future. Our ever-changing menu reflects the seasonal highlights of the region’s growers and foragers. We offer the most innovative in fresh, local cuisine as well as an award-winning wine list, full bar, small plate menu, and happy hour daily from 5-6pm.

Dinner daily from 5pm • Lunch Fri-Sun 11:30-3pm

541-352-6692 • cooperspur.com 10755 Cooper Spur Road • Mt Hood/Parkdale

541-386-4502 • dogrivercoffee.net 411 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River

DOG RIVER COFFEE

EL PUERTO DE ANGELES III

A scratch-made Northwest kitchen hidden up in the woods at the historic Cooper Spur Mountain Resort. Sourcing local and bringing freshness to the table, from the handmade burgers with house baked buns to the hand-cut steaks. Open for lunch & dinner 7 days a week with daily specials. Happy Hour Monday thru Friday 3-6pm.

Named one of ‘America’s top 10 coffeehouses’ by USA Today

Authentic Jalisco Cuisine. We provide a great dining experience and freshly prepared platters delivered to your table with Mexican hospitality by our friendly staff. Enjoy good food, good folks and good times. Offering daily lunch and dinner specials served all day. Happy Hour Mon-Fri 2-5pm.

Enjoy our outdoor patio (open weather permitting).

CROOKED TREE TAVERN & GRILL

Full service espresso bar featuring Stumptown coffee Breakfast burritos, pastries and more Caffeinating your adventures since 2004 Open: Mon-Fri, 6am-6pm & Sat-Sun, 7am-6pm

541-308-0005 1306 12th Street • Hood River, on the Heights

Sun-Thu 10am-9pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm

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PARTAKE I EAT & DRINK

EVERYBODY’S BREWING

FERMENT BREWING COMPANY

A brand new patio, expanded menu, and award-winning beers make Everybody’s Brewing a must-see destination when coming to the Columbia Gorge. Don’t miss the live music and wing specials every Monday night!

Ferment is a modern brewery that fuses traditional farmhouse techniques with a forward-thinking scientific approach. Born out of an appreciation for the art of fermentation, Ferment offers a unique family of beers and kombuchas that tap the wild terrain of the Columbia River Gorge for inspiration and foraged ingredients.

Authentic Chinese cousine in the Gorge! 41 years of famous flavor prepared with a free scoop of friendly.

Family friendly food•Growler fills•Open 11am daily

Closed on Mondays.

INDIAN CREEK GOLF COURSE & DIVOTS CLUBHOUSE RESTAURANT

IXTAPA FAMILY MEXICAN RESTAURANT

509.637.2774 • everybodysbrewing.com 177 E. Jewett Boulevard • White Salmon

Open 11:30am to close 7 days a week.

GROUND ESPRESSO BAR & CAFE 541-386-4442 • groundhoodriver.com 12 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River

541-436-3499 • fermentbrewing.com 403 Portway Avenue • Hood River Waterfront

541-308-0304 • indiancreekgolf.com 3605 Brookside Drive • Hood River

GRACE SU’S CHINA GORGE RESTAURANT & TIGER LOUNGE 541-386-5331 • chinagorge.com 2680 Old Columbia River Drive • Hood River (Located off I-84 and the base of Hwy 35)

Tiger Lounge Sports Bar Happy Hours: 3-6pm Tuesday-Friday & Sunday Buffet: 11:30am-2pm

810 Cherry Heights • The Dalles 2920 W. Cascade Avenue Suite 104 • Hood River 541-386-1168

Get your daily fuel for your Gorge sports and activities here!

A long time locals favorite coffee house and eatery, Ground features fresh in-house roasted coffee, house made pastries and cookies with lots of gluten free options. We make our soups from scratch every day and source mostly local and organic ingredients.

Nitro cold brew on tap.

Located in the heart of the Hood River Valley just minutes from downtown. Breathtaking views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams from our covered patio. Full service bar and fabulous northwest cuisine at a reasonable price.

Your everyday vacation spot! Open to the public.

Authentic, fresh, Mexican food and full bar. Proudly serving the Gorge for over 18 years! Daily lunch and dinner specials. Mexican specialties including fresh seafood and vegetarian entries. Take out and catering available.

Open Daily for Lunch & Dinner. Happy Hour 3-6pm.

Open daily. Coming Soon! New Restaurant. New Location.

KICKSTAND COFFEE & KITCHEN

McMENAMINS EDGEFIELD

PFRIEM FAMILY BREWERS

541-436-0016 • kickstandcoffee.net 1235 State Street • Hood River

503-669-8610 • mcmenamins.com 2126 SW Halsey Street • Troutdale (off Exit 16)

541-321-0490 • pfriembeer.com 707 Portway Avenue, Suite 101 • Hood River Waterfront

Fusion cuisine made from locally sourced ingredients.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Donuts made fresh daily.

House-roasted coffee. Local beer, wine & house-infused cocktails at “The Handlebar”.

With fall comes the fall harvest. The Black Rabbit Restaurant kitchen uses seasonal ingredients from Edgefield’s own gardens, grown using organic methods – herbs, vegetables, fruits and flowers that flourish throughout the property’s 74 acres. Stop by for a fresh taste.

pFriem artisanal beers are symphonies of flavor and balance, influenced by the great brewers of Europe, but unmistakably true to our homegrown roots in the Pacific Northwest. Although they are served humbly, each glass is overflowing with pride and a relentless aspiration to brew the best beer in the world. We’ll let you decide.

Open daily 7am-10pm. Outdoor Patio. Fire Pit. SMORES. Kid Friendly.

Fundraisers & Special events.

Ales, wines and spirits are crafted onsite.

Open Daily: 11:30am - 9pm

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PARTAKE I EAT & DRINK

541-386-1606 • pietrosrestaurants.com 107 2nd Street • Hood River

541-716-4020 • remedyjuice-cafe.com 112 Third Street • Downtown Hood River

REMEDY CAFÉ

RIVERSIDE & CEBU LOUNGE

Pietro’s is proud to serve the same famous original thin pizza crust and pizza sauce that has made us a Northwest favorite over the years. We use only the freshest and finest cheese and toppings. Proud to be locally owned and operated with four locations: Hood River, Milwaukie, Beaverton and Salem. Dine in, take out, online or delivery.

Recharge at Remedy Café with organic and satisfying breakfast or lunch bowls, burritos, curry, smoothies, juices, or hot drinks. Vegan and paleo options, created from scratch from the best quality organic and local ingredients.

Kombucha on tap. Locally roasted, organic espresso.

Free WiFi. Open Mon-Fri 7am-5pm Sat & Sun 8am-5pm.

Dine-in or take out. Call in to order ahead!

Diners seek out newly remodeled Riverside for some of the best food and views in the Gorge, and Cebu for great bar food and drinks. Fresh menus change seasonally—plus an award-winning wine list. Enjoy indoors, on the deck, or in our popular Cebu Lounge.

PIETRO’S PIZZA

Open Daily 11am-10pm

SOLSTICE WOOD FIRE PIZZA

Cebu Lounge Happy Hours: Mon-Fri 4-6pm

541-436-0800 • solsticewoodfirecafe.com 501 Portway Avenue • Hood River Waterfront

541-386-7423 • sushiokalani@gorge.net 109 First Street • Downtown Hood River

SUSHI OKALANI

TAD’S CHICKEN ‘N DUMPLINS

Family-owned & loved by locals!

One of a kind specialty pizzas, housemade fresh pastas, seasonal small plates & salads, & sublime s’mores.

Inspired cocktails, craft beers, wine, & ciders on tap.

Family dining & kids play area. Vegan & gluten-free options.

Come find us in the basement of the Yasui Building, the local’s favorite spot for fresh fish, Pan-Asian Cuisine, and a rockin’ atmosphere! Lots of rotating specials, creative rolls, and a large sake selection means you’re always trying something new! Private rooms are available for groups up to 20 people. Take-out menu available online. Open for dinner nightly at 5:00, closing hours change seasonally.

We are nestled on the banks of the Sandy River in Troutdale, OR–the gateway to the Columbia River Gorge. We are located halfway between Portland and Multnomah Falls.

Serving exquisite American cuisine since the 1930s. The menu includes: Seafood specialties as well as traditional steak, chicken, and pasta dishes; a full bar, and our famous home-style chicken ‘n dumplins. Open every night for dinner.

Heated patio seating & riverfront views!

Wood-fired & Gorge-inspired!

gorge in the gorge

A local guide to the best food, drinks, farms, and markets! gorgeinthegorge.com

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541-386-4410 • riversidehoodriver.com Exit 64 off I-84 • Waterfront Hood River

FALL 2019 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE

503-666-5337 • tadschicdump.com 1325 East Historic Columbia River Hwy • Troutdale

PARTAKE I EAT & DRINK

ADVERTISE in the

HEALTH & WELLNESS GUIDE

THUNDER ISLAND BREWING CO 971-231-4599 • thunderislandbrewing.com 515 NW Portage Road • Cascade Locks

Thunder Island Brewing Co is an adventure-based brewery that is handcrafting creative and innovative beers in the Pacific Northwest since 2013. Thunder Island Brewing makes crushable beers inspired by a love of outdoor adventures, with a nod to local history and with a respect for all that the scenic Columbia River Gorge has to offer.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of The Gorge Magazine’s HEALTH AND WELLNESS GUIDE, a special advertising section in the magazine’s winter issue

REACH NEW CUSTOMERS WITH: CAFÉ & GRILL WET PLANET CAFÉ & GRILL 509-493-8989 • wetplanetwhitewater.com 860 Highway 141 • White Salmon (Husum)

Off the beaten track, outside and delicious. From a perfect espresso in the morning with a fresh pastry, to one of the best burgers in the Gorge! Farm-to-Table menu, including freshly caught Salmon. Enjoy great food paired with local brews, cider and wines on our outdoor patio, while watching the rafters and kayakers have fun on the White Salmon River.

An ad • An advertorial • Listing in the Wellness Index Our guide helps people find you and learn how your business and expertise can help them improve their health.

Please contact our advertising reps for more information: JODY THOMPSON jthompson@thegorgemagazine.com

Open daily 11:30am-6:30pm, May through September

The area’s premier lifestyle publication

425-308-9582

JENNA HALLETT jhallett@thegorgemagazine.com 503-341-3671

Reserve Ad Space Now for Winter 2019-20!

On Stands December 6th

For advertising, contact Jody Thompson: 425-308-9582

jthompson@thegorgemagazine.com Jenna Hallett: 503-341-3671 jhallett@thegorgemagazine.com For more information, contact Janet Cook jcook@thegorgemagazine.com or 541-399-6333

Be a part of the Gorge community!

Support The Gorge Magazine by advertising and subscribing.

SUBSCRIBE $19.99 FOR ONE YEAR $29.99 FOR TWO YEARS (4 issues per year mailed to your home)

Order online at thegorgemagazine.com or call 541-399-6333

THE GORGE MAGAZINE II FALL 2019

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OUR GORGE I YOUR GORGE

On July 23, 2019, Cate Hotchkiss set her alarm for 3:30 a.m. to drive with her good friend and professional photographer, Paloma Ayala, from Hood River to the Women’s Forum in the western Gorge, an ideal vantage point for sunrise. When they arrived, the sky hung like a heavy blind, except not all the way to the sill. “We really didn’t expect much,” Hotchkiss said, “until that narrow window started to glow and take shape. That’s when I snapped my shutter.” She left it open for 98 seconds, a long exposure to capture, in a single frame, the changing hues, the ethereal light washing over rocks and water.

The Photographer Cate Hotchkiss is a freelance writer who, over the past two years, has fallen in love with photography.

“Like writing, it’s both an art and a craft that I practice each day, usually while hiking around the Gorge with my dog,” she said. “I still feel as if I’m an amateur, but comfortable nonetheless with learning on the go, improving one click at time, always breaking new ground.” Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Hotchkiss has lived in Hood River for seven years with her husband, two children, and their Labradoodle. To see more of her work, go to catehotchkiss.smugmug.com or @catehotchkiss on Instagram.

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CUSTOM ARCHITECTURAL STEEL

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