Yikes — this pool gives a great view of the street below.
No, we don’t have a pool at the Hood River Hotel. We have a soaking spa. With a bottom in it.
Nothing quite like the otherworldly quality of this Holiday Inn swimming pool in Shanghai, China, as reported by CNNGo. The pool starts indoors, with a bottom, but swimmers pass through a wall and suddenly find themselves looking through a glass bottom at the world below. Spooky.
Gorge Bike Commute Month is coming up.
If you live in Hood River, this message is for you. If you’re a visitor, don’t worry — we won’t take your car keys at the entrance to town.
The Gorge Owned Business Network is preparing to launch its second annual Gorge Bike Commute Month during September. You register online, log your miles, try to stick to it through the generally balmy (but occasionally damp) weather of September, and feel good about all the gas you didn’t burn (and buy), and all the greenhouse gases you didn’t contribute, and all the exercise you got, and all fresh air you consumed, and …
It’s just about time to take a break from this summer thing, relax a bit, try some new wines and prepare for the coming cooler months.
Funny how the master holiday planners did such a great job by scheduling Labor Day just when we’re all a little tired of … work?
To help us all celebrate, the members of the Columbia Gorge Wine Growers Association are whooping it up over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3. It’s their Open House Weekend, and what that means is, they’re open — and so are their bottles.
The Columbia Gorge Winegrowing Region (AVA) is just one hour east of the Portland/Vancouver area. If you’ve been, you know that it straddles the Columbia River, and sports some of the most spectacular scenery in the Pacific Northwest.
The region supports conditions for a wide variety of grapes, ranging from Albarino to Zinfandel. Traffic-free roads meander through vineyards and provide frequent views of Mt. Adams in Washington and Mt. Hood in Oregon.
The explosion of new wineries over the last decade means things are still smallish, more intimate and personal. You’ll likely find the winemaker or a family member behind the counter, pouring wine they know from having handled every facet of its production.
There’s nothing quite like hearing the story behind a wine to appreciate it all the more. Wherever you turn in the Columbia Gorge AVA, you can taste the difference.
Sign says “no,” but hot weather says that sign is … all wet. What could a dip in Overlook Park falls hurt, if you didn’t drink the water?
Hate the heat? Why might that be? Remember December, when you were craving a bit of warmth? Well, here it is. Quit your griping, and get your arms around the joy of basting. Here’s our Top 10 ways to engage hot weather — with a little joie de sizzle.
1. What SUP, Doc? Uh, renting a standup paddleboard from Big Winds or Windance, Hood River’s two biggest gear shops. Big Winds offers rates ranging from $20 for an hour, to $69 for the entire day. Windance just does daily rentals, at $40.
2. Cool your nether regions by standing over the fountain in the courtyard at Doppio.
3. Get an iced coffee while you’re at Doppio. Or at Dog River. Or at Ground. Although you might want to do decaf, because, in our humble opinion, there’s something weird about drinking a cold beverage designed to boost your energy and activity, which on a hot day can only make you hotter, not cooler, and get you thinking about drinking an … iced coffee?
4. Uh-uh. Beer. In the shade. Outside. Let the heat wash over you, while you wash down a cold sudsy one. It can get a little busy on the sidewalk out front of Double Mountain (now selling beer in bottles, too), so don’t forget the decks at Full Sail Brewing, Everybody’s Brewing in White Salmon. Our favorite alternative sipping scene is up at Volcanic Bottle Shoppe. Sample the guest taps, and sit outside on its quiet patio, away from traffic.
Aerial view of Waterfront Park with the Halyard Building in the background. The Halyard is home to the new Pfriem Family Brewers tasting room.
5. Hood River Waterfront Park. Take Second Street (Exit 63 from I-84) north toward the Columbia River. When Second T’s into Portway, turn left. Go about 200 yards and look for the park on your right. Great playground equipment for the kids. But in the heat, you’ll want to head down to the sandy-bottomed, protected swimming lagoon. The water temp in the Columbia is currently 71 degrees at Bonnville Dam, about 23 miles west of Hood River.
6. Go to the pool. Seriously. In our outdoor-nutty city, the Hood River Aquatic Center is still cool. Great people watching. Perfect for kids. Staffed with lifeguards. Deep and shallow. It’s all here, and cooler than air temp.
7. Mike’s Ice Cream. A summer institution in Hood River, Mike’s features frozen treats from Prince Puckler’s Gourmet Ice Cream of Eugene.
8. Did someone say Eugene? Home of the Oregon Ducks? This part of North America’s favorite football team? And how (ahem) cool it will be when they finally win a national championship? The dream is chilling us out.
9. Grab a blanket and find a shady spot on the lawn of Jackson Park. It’s a cool zone in the heart of the city. Do it mid-day. Don’t go on Thursday night, unless you’re fine with crowds and music and food vendors and lots of activity. The park is just part of the city’s weekly Families in the Park event, now paired up with the Gorge Grown Farmer’s Market in a street fair.
10. Get your wet T-shirt on by sitting in the waterfall at Overlook Park, where Second Street T’s into State Street one block south of Oak in downtown. And think about how cool it will be on Friday, Dec. 7, when the city lights its Christmas tree.
Sure, maybe you’re waiting for tomatoes.
Or you got your jollies when the first corn appeared.
Or maybe your fantasy food life revolves around grape harvest, crush, fermented juice in a bottle.
All well and good, we say, but nothing, nada, zilch compared to the late-summer arrival of Gravenstein apples.
Ask a pie cook about Gravensteins. Try to convince them that, oh (just to be absurd), red delicious would be a better choice (for anything, let alone baking a good apple pie).
Nope. Won’t work. Gravensteins rock, and the Hood River Valley Fruit Loop farmers are celebratin Gravensteins this weekend, Aug. 18-19.
At various stops along the “Loop” drive, visitors can enjoy apples, apple treats, wine tasting, and country fun.
Gravensteins are flavorful “eating” apples, too. But whatever your preferred mode of consumption, the thing to remember is that Gravenstein harvest season arrives early. And, duh, ends early, too.
Show up late, you could be left holding the bag (of red delicious apples, that is).
Gravensteins are as heirloom as it gets. They trace their history back at least to 1670 in Denmark.
Most farms and attractions along the Fruit Loop are open from at least 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (wineries open at 11 a.m.). For complete information about the Gravenstein Apple Celebration, for a listing of Fruit Loop farms, attractions and individual operating hours, and for an easy-to-follow map, visit the Fruit Loop website.
Printed copies are available at the Hood River County Visitors Center (Hood River exit 64 off Interstate 84), at area restaurants and lodging facilities, and at Fruit Loop locations. Have additional questions? Call the Fruit Loop information number at 541-386-7697.
Sad, reading the news after last weekend. Seven people drowned in the Pacific Northwest. Why?
It was hot. People wanted to cool off. Beyond that, there were as many stories as bodies.
People get careless.
People can’t swim.
People get tired and slip under the surface.
People slip blithely into calm water on an inflatable raft, and the next thing you know, they’re tumbling through rocks and whitewater.
All the reports involved people 15 years old and older. It’s hard to tell a teenager or young adult what to do. We’ve all been there — full of ourselves, cocky, sure about our place in the world.
“Nobody’s gonna tell me how to live to 23.”
Then, in a second, gone.
So, what’s our point? We at the Hood River Hotel live at the center of a water sports town. Windsurfing. Kiteboarding. SUPs and kayaks and rafts and swimmers and anglers.
Be careful? Duh.
Given the recent losses, we’d like to speak to parents about preparing your kids for time in and on the water. Help them become smarter, more cautious young adults.
And old adults.
If you’re a parent, take extra care to make sure your kids are safe. DO NOT take your eyes off the little buggers. It only takes a second to aspirate some water, and go under.
There’s much more to preparedness than this. You owe it to yourself and your babies to get smart.
It’s never too early to register for the annual Roy Webster Cross-Channel Swim — of the Columbia River, that is. The annual event — weather permitting — splashes down early on the morning of Sept. 3, the highlight of Labor Day Weekend in Hood River. Get the details and register.
Sorry, we wish we could offer you a room for the Sunday night leading into that Monday morning swim, but we’re booked solid. Now, if you’d like to stick around, relax and recuperate on Monday night, we can cover you.
The mother ship of Hood River’s craft brewing scene, Full Sail Brewing has earned a spot — 55th spot, actually – on Outside magazine’s list of the 100 Best Places to Work. Brewers from Full Sail have moved on to start a bunch of smaller (but thriving) craft breweries in Hood River and nearby communities. Matt Swihart helped found Double Mountain Brewing. Doug Ellenberger founded Everybody’s Brewing. And Josh Pfriem has recently opened Pfriem Family Brewers. Some reports suggest that Hood River has more breweries per capita (add in Big Horse Brew Pub) than any city in the country. We’ll sip to that.
Ready to go hot around Aug. 4, the new charging station installed by AeroVironment is situated in the city of Hood River’s public parking lot at 7th and Columbia streets.
You’re going to get a charge out of this. Or, to be more precise, your electric vehicle will get a charge.
If you have a Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf or other EV, that is.
Thanks to funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (OK, the “stimulus bill”), Oregon and Washington transportation departments are coordinating installation of 21 AeroVironment fast-charging stations along major freeways this year.
And that means one of the stations has landed in downtown Hood River, at the west end of the city parking lot near the corner of 7th and Columbia streets.
It’s all part of the Northwest states’ contribution to a six-state effort to provide battery-charging stations along the so-called West Coast Green Highway.
Those charging stations will supplement hundreds of charging stations being installed as part of the Blink Network by ECOtality in both states.
Bob Francis, city manager for Hood River, said the city was glad to contribute space in its lot for the station. Two vehicles can use the station at one time. It includes a DC fast-charge station and and a Level 2 (extended) charge station.
As of this writing, it was awaiting only the installation of an electric meter before going live. Francis estimated it would be available for public use around Aug. 4.
The Oregon Department of Transportation will be installing signs along I-84 (and I-5, for that matter) informing drivers of electric vehicles where they can top the tank — including in Hood River.
