If you love armchair travel — after you park yourself in the comforting arms of the Hood River Hotel, of course — you need to scope out the entertainment agenda at Columbia Arts.
For example, the epicenter of the Hood River arts scene on Wednesday, Feb. 29, will host noted National Geographic photographer Erik Boomer, who also happens to be the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2012.
Boomer will speak and show slides about his 1,485-mile circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island in Canada with fellow adventurer Jon Turk.
For those not inclined to do-it-themselves, just imagine:
- The world’s 10th largest island
- Lots of dangerous ice (compared, say, to the stuff in a cocktail glass).
- Days spent dragging a 220-pound, 13.5-foot kayak across the ice.
- 800 miles of dragging later, the ice begins to break up — and you have to jump (like they did) over cracks and between unstable ice floes.
- Until you can begin to paddle through slivers of open water.
After hearing about all that, you’ll probably need a restroom break. Phew. Hard work.
You can experience all this, warm and indoors, for a mere $10. A reception at 7 p.m. leads up to the show at 7:30 p.m.
Columbia Center for the Arts is just two blocks from the Hood River Hotel, at 215 Cascade Ave. Visit the website for more information.
