FALL 2014 thegorgemagazine.com
MOSIER’S CENTENNIAL Celebrating 100 years
CRAG RATS Real-Time Rescues
Wildcraft studio Sowing Creativity
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 3
contents features 47
54
59
Mosier
beautiful barns A photo essay by Nicholas Bielemeier
crag rats In the Backcountry with Hood River’s Mountain Rescue Team
Celebrating 100 years of an American Idyll by don campbell
photo essay, p. 54 4 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
by christopher van tilburg
305 Oak Street • Hood River (541) 386-6188 • twiggs@gorge.net
UN IQ U E J EWEL RY ◉ HOME A CCEN TS ◉ CUS TOM GI FTS ◉ SI NCE 1994
contents departments 68
28
16
34
OUr gorge 12
Person of Interest
14
Business Highlight
16
Best of the gorge
20
home+garden
24
locavore
28
style+design
32
roadtrip
34
wine spotlight
76
Partake
82
epilogue
OUtside 64 hiking the gorge Three classic trails offer autumn fun for all by adam lapierre
arts+culture 68 creativity grows here Art, craft and nature merge at Wildcraft Studio School by kacie mcmackin
wellness 72 shifting paradigms Laura Mayo treats the whole family at her acupuncture and herbal medicine clinic by janet cook
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fall 2014 Janet Cook Editor Rachel Hallett Creative Director/Graphic Designer Micki Chapman Advertising Director kris goodwillie Account Executive Jenna Hallett Account Executive Adam Lapierre Contributing Editor Robin Allen Wardrobe Stylist Contributing Writers Robin Allen, Ruth Berkowitz, Don Campbell, Adam Lapierre, Ashley Marti, Kacie McMackin, Todd Murray, Christopher Van Tilburg, Amy Zahm cover photographer Michael Peterson Contributing Photographers Jennifer Alyse, Paloma Ayala, David Lloyd, Silvia Flores, Blaine Franger, Sarah Jo Galbraith, Cheryl Juetten, Adam Lapierre, Ashley Marti, Kacie McMackin, Michael Peterson, Shelly Peterson
Advertising Inquiries mchapman@thegorgemagazine.com Social Media facebook.com/thegorgemagazine twitter.com/TheGorgeMagazin Subscribe online thegorgemagazine.com 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
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Fifteen years ago this summer, my husband and I got married in Mosier. We were living in Hood River, but chose to celebrate this special occasion at a farm in the Mosier Valley because it just seemed the perfect place. And it was the perfect place. The snapshots in my mind from that day click from the tall grasses and wildflowers waving in the breeze to the sun setting over the orchards and hills of Mosier to the view of the Syncline across the river. The setting provided a stunning backdrop to our festivities and a happy vibe permeated everything. All these years later, I still feel enchanted by Mosier. As we’ve come to know the Gorge over the years, we’ve learned that residents of this unique town have a similar passion for the place. Many of them love their town so much that they’ve come together and spent months preparing to celebrate Mosier’s centennial in September. A beautification campaign has spruced up downtown in preparation for a weekend-long celebration Sept. 13-14, which includes a parade, live music, kids’ activities, an art walk, history talks and re-enactments, museum displays and more. Writer Don Campbell explores the history, people and places that make Mosier what it is, beginning on page 47. Also in this issue you’ll find a captivating story about what it’s like to be a member of the Crag Rats, Hood River’s volunteer mountain rescue team. The Crag Rats are the oldest mountain search and rescue organization in the country, founded in 1926. Writer Christopher Van Tilburg, a Crag Rats member, gives a first-person account of some of the grueling rescues he’s helped with, starting on page 59. And in celebration of beautiful autumn in the Gorge, we feature highlights from the Gorge wine region— including a story about Viento Wines—beginning on page 34; a photo essay on barns (page 54); and some classic Gorge hikes for all abilities (page 64). There’s also a story about Blue Bus Cultured Foods in Bingen (page 24), Hood River Family Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine clinic (page 72), and Wildcraft Studio School, located in the hills above White Salmon (page 68). And there’s more in here. Take it in, then head out and enjoy fall’s bounty in the Gorge. Janet Cook, editor
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8 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
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. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
FALL 2014 thegorgemagazine.com
MOSIER’S CENTENNIAL Celebrating 100 years
CRAG RATS Real-Time Rescues
WILdCRAfT STudIO Sowing Creativity
about the cover Steven Thompson and Kris Fade, owners of Analemma Wines, stroll through their vineyard overlooking the Mosier Valley. Geologic study has shown that the six-acre vineyard was the site of a large eddy during the time of the Missoula Floods, which left a depository of glacial stones and granite rocks that had been swept downriver from Canada and Montana. Thompson and Fade grow mostly Syrah, Granache and Tempranillo in the vineyard, as well as a grape originating in Spain called Mencia. Photo by Michael Peterson, michaelpetersonphotography.com
The Gorge Magazine is being produced by an environmentally conscientious group. Our publication is printed with text paper that is produced by a local mill located in West Linn, Oregon. West Linn paper mill and Journal Graphics, our publication printer, both follow FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) practices in the manufacturing and the printing of our product. This publication is also produced with soy based inks. 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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FOR MORE OF THE TOP
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ATTRACTIONS
person of interest, Best of the Gorge, Business Highlight, Home+Garden, locavore, style+design, roadtrip, wine spotlight
wine spotlight p. 34 the gorge magazine // fall 2014 11
our gorge
person of interest
Buzz Ramsey The lure of landing the Big One By don campbell / photos courtesy of buzz ramsey
B
uzz Ramsey says you only need two tools in your tackle box to catch fish: Persistence and a really sharp hook. Ramsey has had an abundance of both in his near 40-year fishing career. A self-made fishing expert, he’s spent most of his life on Northwest waters learning the intricacies of pulling salmon and steelhead out of our rich fisheries. What began as a boyhood fascination with the finned and slippery denizens of our deep waters he turned into a career that over the decades has involved the study of fish and water behavior (and the nearly infallible ability to get them on a hook), the design and manufacture of all manner of innovative fishing tackle and gear, sales, promotion, brand-building and fisheries activism. In his trademark cowboy hat and riverboat-gambler goatee, Ramsey is both legend and good-ol’-boy in these parts. He worked early on for the now-defunct G.I. Joe’s, where he learned the retail side of the industry, before spending many years at Hood River’s popular Luhr Jensen company. He’s promoted the sport on televi-
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sion and radio, and written for Salmon Trout Steelheader, Northwest Sportsman and Alaska Sporting Journal. He has his own line of Air IM-8 graphite fishing rods at Berkley and has been lionized by the Association of Northwest Steelheaders and the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. Ramsey, who lives with his wife and kids up past the town of Klickitat on the Klickitat River, is celebrating his five-year anniversary at Yakima Bait Co., where he continues to have an influence on how we fish in the Northwest. “Right now,” says Ramsey, “fishing is growing. At least recent sport fishing statistics say it’s growing. Overall, though, fishing hasn’t kept up with other industries. There is a growth curve, and that’s good. In the Northwest, though, participation ebbs and flows as fish runs ebb and flow. Salmon and steelhead are cyclical. On the Columbia fish are coming back. There’s a lot of participation.” The sport has come a long way since Ramsey tossed his first Spin-n-Glo lure into the Columbia near the Interstate Bridge in Portland. He spends a good deal of his time these days helping design, test and market lures that attract big fish. Where you might not think there’s too much new to innovate in fishing tackle, Ramsey says the sport is all about technique. “It’s interesting,” he says. “There are some basics to fishing—non-weighted salmon spinners, weighted casting spinners—it’s all part of the fabric of fishing. And once in a while there’s a little new twist. Lures have to work. In a lot of cases, they all work. But at Yakima Bait, we have the challenge on the plug side to get them to work the best they can out of package.” And that’s the trick. Many lures, Ramsey says, require tuning before they
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behave the way they’re supposed to, mimicking a fish’s natural movement in the water. But with manufacturing improvements in things like injection molding, he says, “They’ve really enabled manufacturers to make products that swim better than ever, with lively action and improved catch.” Ramsey talks at length about Yakima’s Mag Lip line of lures and the critical tests he’s done to help develop them. While it may seem like Ramsey has every angler’s dream job, it’s a ton of work. He handles a boatload of company duties: serving on Yakima Bait’s management team, marketing, sales and, of course, product development. “Believe me, I wish it was all fishing,” he says. “I love to fish. I lose myself in it. But there’s a lot of hard work in development. If I’m out with a $1,200 prototype, I don’t want to lose it. My head is really into the business end of it. New product development, steering the product line—I have a lot of passion for it. If I spend an extra day getting a lure just right, it’s not only me that’ll catch more fish, but my fellow anglers.” For Ramsey it’s as much about education as tackle sales. Yakima Bait, he says, offers its Know-How reports, to help anglers of all levels figure out where the lunkers live and how to get them in your boat. “They’re road maps for success,” he offers. “We’re really trying to show anglers the way. For many people when they walk into a fishing shop, it’s intimidating. People just want to know how. We’re anchored into that.” If you really want success, Ramsey says, “You have to go and figure it out. Put some thought into it and watch other people. Everybody is invited to the party!” Don Campbell is a freelance writer who lives in Portland and Mosier. He's a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 13
our gorge
business highlight
It's All in the Powder Columbia Phytotechnology is bringing fruits and veggies to a teaspoon near you
By don campbell / Photos by Adam Lapierre
C
olumbia Phytotechnology’s chief science officer, Kerry Ringer, a Ph.D. and former professor of food services at Washington State University, puts down a small container of deep purple powder—tiny crystalline flecks—in front of me. I dip my finger and put it to my tongue. Blueberry! Pure blueberry, not sugar-sweetened blueberry flavoring. Real blueberry. The implications of this simple powder would grow on me over the next hour. We’re sitting in a conference room in a nondescript 60,000-squarefoot commercial warehouse across the street from the behemoth that is Google, in the Port of The Dalles industrial district, just off I-84 near the Columbia River. Other powders appear and work the same magic: powder that is the full essence of the famed Sriracha pepper sauce, in all its blazing glory; sweet strawberry; Brazil’s reputedly restorative acai berry; watermelon; bright orange pumpkin; coconut water (there are, in fact, several scoops of irony in the idea of powdered water); and kale. Yup, kale. Ringer and business partner/CEO Mark Sevarese have hit upon a patented, proprietary process—and closely guarded secret—they call Infidri™ that removes the water content from fruits and vegetables using light (infrared light to be exact) and leaves everything else. And by everything else we mean the 100-percent pure essentials of the fruit or vegetable matter at hand. We’re talking active enzymes, antiox-
14 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
idants, phytonutrients and flavor. Everything a body needs. They can be used in beverages, nutritional supplements, and even sprinkled on favorite dishes to add a boost of flavor and extra helpings of that of which we don’t get enough. Forget what you know about freeze-drying, food powders, artificial flavorings and cheap substitutes often found in processed food. What Columbia Phytotechnology—under the trademarked product name of PowderPure, which presently employees some 60 people in The Dalles—has done is revolutionize the way fruits and vegetables can be processed and used as living nutrition. “One of the reasons we started the company was that there wasn’t a lot of high quality dried powders
in the food and nutritional supplement market,” says Ringer, who grew up in agriculturally rich Eastern Washington. Ten grams, or about a teaspoon, she says, “equals about a half cup of fruit.” Now consider that a ridiculous amount of all fresh produce—something near 50 percent—ends up in what Ringer calls the “waste stream”: from transportation damage or not arriving at market in time, spoilage, or from simply not being marketable for some reason (think fruit that’s too small or discolored). “I’m sure you’ve experienced that with your own refrigerator,” says Ringer. Or in my case the black bananas that won’t even make it to banana bread. PowderPure products can help alleviate that problem, as the company is able to turn produce
COLUMBIA GORGE REAL ESTATE columbiagorge-realestate.com into a powder state quickly with a process that takes minutes, compared to hours or days with freeze-drying or other processes. The reductions are certifiably shelf-stable significantly longer than other preservation methods, and they retain much more of their nutritional value, which PowderPure has gone to great lengths to study, measure and prove, not to mention getting endorsements from the USDA, the FDA, Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), plus certifications for organic, halal and kosher. And the Gorge, says Ringer, is “the perfect spot for us.” Though the company got its inauspicious start in Pullman, Wash., around 1999, and later gained a foothold in Dallesport, just across the Columbia from The Dalles, it has found a strong and efficient home in its present location. The Yakima, Columbia and Hood River valleys, and really the greater West Coast, provide all manner of produce, from fresh and frozen to juices and purees, all of which can be transported in a timely manner. The Gorge also provides not only raw produce, but affordable power and a welcoming business community. The privately funded company got its start “more on the nutritional side,” says Sevarese, a food-packaging engineer. “It was a very different form in ‘99.” He and Ringer were involved with intensive lab work toward developing bio-assays to determine if nutritional-supplement products were doing what they claimed, including antioxidant testing, a first in the field. Some of their early findings were picked up by a major pharmaceu-
tical company that launched an immune-system stimulant using agricultural medicinal plants produced by Columbia Phytotechnology, boosting the company off the ground. That initial hit, with products found in Wal-Mart and other retailers, didn’t last long for a variety of marketing reasons, but the duo discovered other opportunities. By hook and crook—maxed out credit cards, long hours, determined testing and what Sevarese calls a “pilot plant,” which was little more than a garage—they hit upon their gentle-drying process using little more than infrared light focused to a particular wavelength, which removed the water but left the good stuff. Their extract process began to show promise. “The technology we developed did a really good job with fruits and vegetables,” says Ringer. Growth has been steady and the list of clients continues to mushroom (though for non-disclosure reasons, we can’t tell you who they are). Two machines are online now, waltzing through upward of 150 tons of fruit a month. More will be built and installed (and likely licensed). The possibilities are endless, including applying the process to fish. There’s hardly anything more pure and wholesome than organic fruits and vegetables. Nutrition experts agree that we need several servings a day to maintain good health, and truth be told, most of us don’t get enough. Columbia Phytotechnology and its PowderPure could prove to be better than living in a constantly ripe orchard or truck farm. “The future,” says Sevarese, “looks bright.” And the proof is in the powder.
Don Campbell is a freelance writer who lives in Portland and Mosier. He's a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 15
our gorge
best of the gorge
A few of our favorite things this season
Mt. Hood Railroad
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With the trees changing to brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow and the orchards in various stages of harvest, fall is a spectacular time to ride the railroad’s signature Parkdale Excursion Train. The four-hour round-trip excursion takes passengers from the Hood River depot up the Hood River Valley to Parkdale. Here, the train makes a short stop so passengers can get out and wander around this historic Upper Valley town before re-boarding and heading back down to Hood River. Or, for something different, check out the Mt. Hood Railroad’s Murder Mystery Dinner Train on Saturdays and its Western Train Robbery/Brunch Train on Sundays, throughout September and October. (mthoodrr.com)
16 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
Harvest Fest
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The annual Hood River Valley Harvest Fest is a seasonal rite of passage each fall for locals and visitors alike. This year, the 32nd annual Harvest Fest takes place Oct. 17-19 on the Hood River Waterfront. The threeday event features local produce, food products, kids activities, food booths, a rotating line-up of live music, and more than 100 artists offering an array of arts and crafts—including glass, wood sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewelry, fiber art and more. There are also wine, cider and beer tastings. New this year is an expanded kid’s zone, featuring a bouncy house, face painting and henna tattoos. (hoodriver.org )
U-Pick Fruit
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One way to appreciate the season and its bounty is by picking your own apples and pears right from the tree. Kiyokawa Orchards in Parkdale grows more than 100 varieties of apples and over two-dozen varieties of Asian and European pears. Draper Girls, Mt. View Orchards and The Gorge White House also have U-pick apples and pears during the fall—along with a lot of other reasons to visit, like hayrides and fresh-pressed apple cider. (hoodriverfruitloop.com)
Alpaca Farms
Fall Foliage Excursions
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As if the Gorge wasn’t already a feast for the eyes, autumn comes. Fodor’s Travel named the Columbia River Gorge one of the Top 10 Fall Foliage Trips in the U.S. last year. And in true Gorge style, there’s any number of ways to take in the color. We recommend a bike ride on the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, which you can take all the way from Cascade Locks to Troutdale. (The section from Hood River to Mosier is also optimal for fall color.) If you’d rather drive, head out on Oregon Highway 35 south from Hood River to Mount Hood, or Washington Highway 141 north from White Salmon to Trout Lake. Of course, there are dozens of hikes and mountain bike rides amid canopies of color up and down the Gorge. Or how about a fall foliage tour on your SUP? (Go to rideoregonride. com and gorgefriends.org for biking and hiking information.)
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Bring the kids and your knitting habit and head to Cascade Alpacas up the valley south of Hood River. You can pet and feed the wide variety of adult and baby alpacas on this scenic farm, plus learn about how the animals are raised. Then head inside the adjacent shop, Foothills Yarn & Fiber, and browse the huge selection of alpaca yarn as well as equipment for knitting, crocheting, weaving and spinning. If you’re not a knitter, you can find a wide array of already-finished gifts, including alpaca socks, hats, scarves and blankets. (cascadealpacas.com, or foothillsyarn.com)
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 17
our gorge
Fruit& Crafts
7 Farm-to-Fork Dinners
The Gorge Fruit & Craft Fair is yet another celebration of the harvest season. Held at the Hood River County Fairgrounds on Oct. 18-19, the fair features arts and crafts, gourmet food products, fresh fruit and produce, wine, flowers and more—all grown or crafted in the four counties of the Columbia Gorge (Hood River, Wasco, Skamania and Klickitat). Don’t miss the Odell Garden Club’s annual autumn flower show and sale, a highlight of the fair. Parking and admission are free. (hoodriverfair.org)
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The Gorge might just be the perfect place for farm-to-fork dinners. And truly, feasting on the season’s bounty, prepared by a professional chef, while sitting in the middle of an orchard with friends is a truly unforgettable experience. On Sept. 7, chef Kathy Watson of Nora’s Table serves a seasonal four-course meal at Sakura Ridge Farm & Lodge (tickets at gorgegrown.com). On Sept. 21, chef Ben Stenn of Celilo Restaurant teams up with Cor Cellars, Hood Valley Cider, Double Mountain Brewery and Hood River Organic to host a four-course dinner served amid the orchard trees at Hood River Organic Farm (tickets at septemberfarmdinner.brownpapertickets.com). And Wildcraft Studio hosts WildSupper Autumn on Oct. 11, with a four-course dinner by chef Sara Mains of SaltRose Kitchen (wildcraftstudioschool.com).
Hood River Hops Fest
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This annual celebration of fresh-hopped beer has become one of the most anticipated parties of the season in the Gorge. Featuring more than three dozen craft brewers from around the Northwest—including from the Gorge—pouring more than 60 beers, the Hood River Hops Fest attracts beer lovers from near and far. This year’s party is Sept. 27 in downtown Hood River, between 5th and 7th streets and Cascade and Columbia. The family-friendly event (those under 20 get in for free and are welcome until 5 p.m.) features local food vendors, arts and crafts booths and a day-long lineup of live music. (hoodriver.org)
Pear Party
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Hood River Valley is known throughout the nation for its delectable pears, so it seems only fair that the fruit should have its very own party. On Sept. 20-21, the Hood River County Fruit Loop Pear Celebration fêtes the fruit all weekend long at fruit stands, wineries, orchards and U-pick farms around the valley. Try the pear-gorgonzola pizza from the food cart at The Gorge White House, the pear dumplings at Apple Valley Country Store and the Comice pear wine at Mt. Hood Winery. Cody Orchards and Fruit Stand serves up pear pies, and pear sodas will be on tap at the Old Trunk, Treats & ‘Tiques. Also, there will be plenty of just plain pears available, fresh off the tree. (hoodriverfruitloop.com)
Rasmussen Farms
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A visit to Rasmussen Farms should be on your “must do” list for fall. From Oct. 1 to Nov. 11, the farm hosts Pumpkin Funland, where a greenhouse is transformed into a world of well-known characters made from pumpkins, squash, gourds and other items from the fall garden. There’s also a corn maze, pumpkin bowling and one of the largest pumpkin patches anywhere. The barn overflows with fresh apples, pears and other produce. Rasmussen’s has been named “one of the best Halloween displays in the U.S.” by nickjr.com. (rasmussenfarms.com)
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 19
our gorge
home+garden
A hillside on Hood River’s eastside.
If A Tree Falls…
Bark beetles are taking their toll on Gorge pines By todd murray / Photos by adam lapierre
T
he complaints started in 2010 when residents of Underwood, Wash., noticed that seemingly healthy ponderosa pine trees were dying. The timing was not surprising as the Underwood Bluff Fire of 2008 had stressed a lot of pine trees in the area. It’s not unusual to have bark beetle populations flare up after a fire, when they can feed easily on broken branches and the tops of stressed-out trees. The surprise came when the bark beetles were identified as the California fivespined ips. It was the first time the beetle had been found in Washington state. In the four years since then, one outbreak after another of the California fivespined ips has killed pine trees in ever-increasing numbers in urban neighborhoods and woodland communities throughout
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the central and eastern Gorge, most dramatically in White Salmon, Hood River and Mosier. Previously, the beetle had been seen only as far north as Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Since the recent outbreaks of the beetle in the Gorge, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources has found the ips beetle as far north as Joint Base Lewis-McChord, just south of Tacoma, Wash. Mature trees overwhelmed by the beetles are easily identified by their red tops. The beetles tend to infest the tops of trees where branches are more likely to be broken by wind and where bark is thinner. An infestation turns the needles pale green, then orange and finally reddish brown. Other signs of infestation include numerous exit holes in the bark and accumulations of reddish brown bark dust. The beetles favor the green, freshly broken branches of many species
of pine including ponderosa, sugar, western white and lodgepole. The cause of the current outbreak comes from many factors. Trees that are stressed by drought, fire and storm damage are susceptible to insects and diseases. A healthy pine tree can pitch out a bark beetle, while one that is thirsty has a much harder time doing it. But even healthy pines can become overwhelmed during an outbreak because bark beetles are so sophisticated that they can coordinate their attacks on trees. Bark beetles are experts at using pheromones— airborne chemicals produced to communicate information. When an adult bark beetle male attacks a tree, he chews out a nuptial chamber where he emits a pheromone to attract females to mate with. In the case of the California fivespined ips, he usually gets three females to respond to his call. Other males are also attracted to this pheromone, bringing more and more beetles to the tree. Mated
Tip Top Tree Care works to remove a beetle-killed pine tree in Hood River
females chew an egg gallery, creating an arm from the nuptial chamber. Evidence of the California fivespined ips can be seen in the ‘Y’ shaped gallery visible when you peel back the bark. When the tree is full of beetles, another pheromone is emitted to repel flying males and signal them to move on to another tree—an effective “no vacancy” sign. To add insult to injury, a fungus carried by the beetle is believed to help kill the trees. Blue stain fungus is carried by the beetles in specialized pits
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 21
our gorge
What You Can Do:
behind their heads and infects a tree when the beetle chews into it. It is believed that the fungus helps clog water movement in the tree, which suppresses the tree from pitching the beetles. The fungus leaves the telltale sign of blue stained wood. Is there a good side to having California fivespined ips bark beetle outbreaks? Bark beetles are actually an important contributor to overall forest health. They are the first ones to start the process of making soil and breaking down woody debris in addition to removing unfit or unhealthy trees. It is still unknown
why the California fivespined ips has expanded its range this far north, but it’s possible that this was a historic range for the beetle. The beetles prefer older age classes of trees, which could indicate that more, older pine trees are proliferating in the Gorge. How bad is it going to get? The combination of tree stress, storm and fire damage has kept the beetle populations at high levels. In California, outbreaks usually last one or two years. In the Gorge, we are entering year five. The bark beetle outbreak is unlikely to get as bad as the mountain pine beetle outbreak in Colorado, which has left vast swaths of forests dead in some areas over the past decade. California fivespined ips outbreaks are patchy and have not typically wiped out entire forests. But that’s little consolation for anyone looking at the ever-growing number of red pine trees in the Gorge. Todd Murray is an extension educator and entomologist with Washington State University, based at the WSU Skamania County Extension in Stevenson. He has been working on issues related to the California fivespined ips in the Gorge since 2010.
Did You Know? While the pine tree deaths are dominating the landscape, there is also currently an outbreak of the Douglas fir bark beetle. This comes on the heals of a powerful ice storm in January 2012, which downed many trees. The Douglas fir bark beetle loves to breed on large downed trees, so populations built up during the summer of 2012. Large numbers of these beetles emerged and attacked standing trees last year, and those trees are now beginning to turn red. Douglas fir bark beetle outbreaks usually last for a couple of years but can last longer if conditions remain droughty.
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Landowners are encouraged not to do any tree pruning or thinning until October, and get their work done by January. Any pruning wounds made to the trees in early spring may attract emerging beetles. Slash piles should be removed or otherwise treated through chipping or burning during the winter months before beetles emerge and breed in the spring. Grant funds may be available to landowners in the Gorge to help them thin forests into good health. State foresters can also help landowners develop longterm forest health plans. Some funds also are available to help with hazard tree removal. In the upcoming months, look for workshops offering these opportunities. For more information, contact the Washington State University Skamania County Extension office at (509) 4273931 (skamania.wsu.edu) or the Hood River County office of the Oregon State University Extension Service at (541) 386-3343 (extension.oregonstate.edu/ hoodriver).
Carol@DonNunamaker.com RealEstateinTheGorge.com HoodRiverProperties.com
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 23
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Nectarine and Thyme Kombucha Cocktail
locavore
by ashley marti
Ingredients • 3 Parts Columbia Blossom Nectarine Kombucha from Blue Bus Cultured Foods • 1 Part Camp 1805 vodka • ½ Lemon, juiced • Splash of thyme simple syrup • Sprig of thyme for garnish
Kristin and Colin Franger
The Food of Life
Blue Bus Cultured Foods brings the fermented food trend to the Gorge by ruth berkowitz / Photos by blaine franger
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K
raut-chi isn’t a new martial art, but a fermented food, a hybrid of the spicy Korean kimchi and the tangy German sauerkraut. This trendy culinary food is being made in the Gorge, by a new company called Blue Bus Cultured Foods. A stop at the Blue Bus commercial kitchen in Bingen, Wash., reveals dozens of ceramic crock-pots bubbling away. Owners Colin and Kristin Franger have filled the containers with chopped cabbage, ginger, chili, carrots, onions, garlic, beets and other vegetables. They also have kombucha, a popular fermented tea that originated in China, brewing in the corner. Using a digital pH thermometer, Colin tests the acidic content of the salty brine in one of the containers prepared a few days ago. The pH reads 4.8, which, Colin says, isn’t enough acidity. We sample the mixture: crunchy but bland. It needs more time to gather flavor and allow the good bacteria to grow. Time, Colin tells me, magically transforms the raw vegetable mix into a fermented food. In about three weeks, the natural bacteria breaks down the components of the vegetables into a zesty and pungent product, one that is easier to digest and more nutritious than the raw vegetables themselves.
Thyme Simple Syrup • ½ Cup water • ½ Cup sugar • 3 Thyme sprigs In a small sauce pan combine water, sugar and thyme sprigs over medium heat. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a simmer until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Remove thyme sprigs and store in a glass jar and refrigerate. Directions Pour the vodka, lemon juice and a splash of thyme simple syrup into the glass. Give it a quick stir and add ice. Top off with kombucha and a sprig of thyme for garnish.
w w w.loca lh av en.net
food writer and stylist with a focus on simple recipes with big flavor that highlight seasonal and local produce
The Frangers started fermenting vegetables six years ago when they lived in Bend—which is where they met. Kristin had moved there from Waterbury, Vt., to work as a wilderness therapist, and Colin, a Hood River native, was there for school. (Instead of living in the dorms, Colin lived in his 1973 blue Volkswagen van. He parked it near where Kristin was living, and the rest is history.) Colin had already experimented with fermentation as a home brewer. In Bend, the couple began creating all sorts of fermented variations of kimchi. In 2009, the couple sold the blue bus for $3,000 to fund a sailboat adventure from Oregon to Mexico. But they kept thinking about fermented food, which coincidentally was historically popular amongst the ancient seafarers. South Pacific explorer Captain James Cook filled his boats with tubs of sauerkraut, not knowing that this food actually saved his crew from scurvy, the disease
caused by a severe lack of Vitamin C. The couple eventually made it to La Ventana, Mexico, where they learned to kiteboard. But when the windy season ended, Colin felt it was time to return home to the Gorge, to be close to family and make a living. Colin learned more about fermentation working as a brewer for Double Mountain. He says there’s a similarity between making beer and fermenting
Did You Know? Kombucha is all the rage these days. But long before you could overpay for a fancy bottle of it at Whole Foods, kombucha was being home-brewed in kitchens around the world as a health elixir. A fermented drink that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago, kombucha is made by adding a culture of bacteria and yeast—sometimes called a “mushroom”— to tea and sugar. After fermenting for a week or longer, the effervescent, slightly sour, earthy tea can be consumed as is, or sweetened with juice. The live cultures, vitamins and antioxidants in kombucha are touted for their health benefits. During the fermenting of a batch of kombucha, the original culture—“the mother”—will produce a new starter culture, or “baby.” The mother can be reused to make subsequent batches of kombucha, and the baby can start its own line of kombucha.
WHiskey, Rum, Vodka Hand-CRaFted on site tasting Room and Bottle sales www.camp1805.com / Follow us @Camp1805 Visit us on the Hood River Waterfront
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 25
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vegetables. Both start with simple ingredients that after time change in form, taste and complexity. On this morning at Blue Bus, we’re making two batches of sauerkraut. My task is to chop the cabbage, the main ingredient. Most of the vegetables are grown locally and come from the Franger’s own garden in White Salmon or from the garden of their friend, Ben Zimmerman, who lives in Snowden. I grate the heads into a huge plastic bin and intermittently mix in salt, which brings out the flavor and the liquid. As I use my hands to mix the salt into the cabbage, I reminisce about my childhood in San Francisco,
where I played frequently at the home of my Korean neighbor, Hongsoo Chang. She ate everything with kimchi and the sharp, not-so-pleasant odor permeated her home. Her family’s kimchi was always spicy— so spicy that her older sisters would laugh at my difficulty eating it. This kraut-chi we are making today isn’t nearly as spicy. Fermented food is increasing in popularity, and there’s good reason for it. Along with naturally preserving the food, fermentation boosts the nutritional value of the vegetables because the natural bacteria feeds on the sugar and starch and creates lactic acid, beneficial enzymes, B-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids
A local resource guide for the discerning foodie
Reviews & recipies: gorgeinthegorge.com
26 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
Celilo Restaurant and Bar Pacific Northwest cuisine with an emphasis on locally grown products, extensive wine list, and full bar.
and various strains of probiotics. In other words, the natural fermentation breaks the food into a highly nutritious and easily digestible form. For some people the health benefits are dramatic. In 1991 at the age of 30, Sandor Katz, the guru of fermentation and the man who invented the term kraut-chi, tested positive for HIV/AIDS. He moved from Manhattan to an off-the-grid rural community in Tennessee, where he started farming and experimenting with fermented foods. He felt better eating yogurt, sauerkraut and sourdough bread. Katz writes in his authoritative book, The Art of Fermentation, that live culture foods “can potentially improve almost anyone’s health.” “We didn’t start making kraut-chi because of the health benefits,” Kristin says. “We just really love the taste and how it makes us feel. Fermented foods make me feel alive. When I eat a bowl of ice cream I feel heavy and lethargic. When I eat krautchi I feel energized.” One of her favorite ways to consume kraut-chi is sprinkled on a salad. Colin likes it best on a locally made La Cascada tortilla, which he tops with black beans, an egg and their homemade ginger kraut-chi. To fuel Blue Bus, last May the Frangers hosted a successful kraut-funding party, which enabled
them to officially start their commercial endeavor. After just six months, they are producing three main fermented food products and various types of kombuchas. Colin and Kristin are constantly experimenting with seasonal vegetables. Their newest ferments are kohlrabi kraut and a root relish. If you’re like me, once you try kraut-chi, you’ll wonder how you lived without it. For more information, go to bluebusfoods.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.
You can find Blue Bus products at a number of retailers, including Rosauers, Mother’s Marketplace and The Farm Stand in Hood River; Feast in White Salmon; Dickey Farms in Bingen; and Food Front, Alberta Co-op Grocery and Otto’s Sausage Kitchen in Portland. Although Blue Bus kombucha isn’t individually bottled, it’s available on tap at the Gorge Grown Farmer’s Market and at River Daze Cafe in downtown Hood River.
Open Daily: 541-386-5710 16 Oak Street, Hood River, OR www.celilorestaurant.com Lunch 11:30-3, Dinner from 5
Celilo Catering: 541-490-0275 Weddings • Private parties • On/Offsite
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 27
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style+design
The Perfect Pairing A well-balanced blend of style and taste
Styled By robin allen / Photos by jennifer alyse
T
he leaves are turning, the air is delightfully crisp and the Columbia Gorge countryside has become the perfect backdrop for autumn wine tasting. From casual to more formal wine tasting venues and events, the question of what is appropriate to wear often arises. Shot on location at Wy’East Vineyards tasting room and property, one of our favorite local couples, Rob McCready (partner at Blue Collar Interactive) and Stephanie Harte (product designer at Pistil Designs), model examples of perfectly paired style to go with a variety of wine tasting experiences. Salud!
Love is in the Air Stephanie: dress, necklace (Doug’s Sports), shawl (The Ruddy Duck), burgundy suede flats (Plenty) Rob: shirt, tie (The Ruddy Duck), pants, jacket (Doug’s Sports) Paired with: Cascade Cliffs 2012 Barbera Blood Red, cascadecliffs.com
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Local Loungers Stephanie: sweater (Doug’s Sports) Rob: sweater and Pendleton t-shirt (The Ruddy Duck) Paired with: Wy’East Vineyard 2012 Reserve Pinot Noir, wyeastvineyards.com
Live Music Minglers Stephanie: top, leggings, necklace (The Ruddy Duck), bracelet (Doug’s Sports), macro knit easy blazer, Frye booties (Plenty) Rob: Pendleton shirt, dark denim jeans (The Ruddy Duck), hat (Doug’s Sports) Paired with: Cathedral Ridge 2010 Rock Star or 2011 Reserve Rusty Red, cathedralridgewinery.com
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Day Trip Sippers Stephanie: knit top, shorts, sandals, purse (Doug’s Sports) Rob: over shirt, shorts, hat (Doug’s Sports), Pendleton t-shirt (The Ruddy Duck) Wine Pairing: Maryhill Winery 2012 Pinot Gris, maryhillwinery.com
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Wedding Guest Getaway Stephanie: dress (Doug’s Sports), Jeffrey Campbell booties (Plenty) Rob: shirt, pants, hat (Doug’s Sports) Paired with: Phelps Creek Vineyards 2013 Fleur de Roy Rosé of Pinot Noir, phelpscreekvineyards.com
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 31
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Resource Guide
roadtrip
Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce wallowacountychamber.com Joseph Chamber of Commerce josephoregon.com where to stay Bronze Antler B & B 309 South Main Street, Joseph (541) 432-0230 Barking Mad Farm B & B 65165 Powers Road, Enterprise (541) 886-0171 Flying Arrow Resort 59782 Wallowa Lake Hwy, Joseph wallowalakecabinrentals.com
Wallowa County
1910 Historic Enterprise House B & B 508 First South Street, Enterprise (541) 426-4238
An autumn escape to this northeast Oregon gem provides stunning scenery and epicurean delights By amy zahm
H
eading east through the Gorge on Interstate 84 the landscape changes quickly, revealing Oregon’s incredible diversity. After driving through arid, grassy plains and climbing to the crest of the beautiful Blue Mountains, the road descends to LaGrande and exit 261. From here, Oregon Highway 82 winds through fields of mint, hay, and grains before meandering into the Minam Canyon, where herds of elk dot the hillsides and steelhead surge upriver from the Grande Ronde to the Wallowa in the last stages of their journey. The canyon opens into the lush valleys of Wallowa County, an agricultural treasure surrounded by the ancient peaks of the Wallowa Mountain Range. Crowded with tourists from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Wallowa County offers a peaceful fall escape. Snow dusts mountains sparkling with golden larch, accented by sumac and aspen. Cool, crisp mornings give way to brilliant sunny afternoons—perfect for hiking, fishing and relaxing. While many journey to Wallowa County to hike in the wilderness area or camp near the glacial waters of the mile-long Wallowa Lake and its geologically
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unique moraines, most are surprised to find a thriving epicurean culture in this rural community. As you arrive, be sure to stop in Lostine, population 208. The recently restored Lostine Tavern, Northeast Oregon’s first farm-to-table bar and pub, features a menu full of locally raised products, including grass-
Wallowa Lake Resort 84681 Ponderosa Lane, Joseph wallowalakeresort.com Dining and Drinking Embers Brewhouse 204 N. Main Street, Joseph embersbrewhouse.com Mutiny Brewing 600 N. Main Street, Joseph mutinybrewing.com Coco’s Grill 507 N. Main Street, Joseph (541) 432-2626 Terminal Gravity Brewing 803 E. 4th Street, Enterprise terminalgravitybrewing.com The Lostine Tavern 125 Oregon 82, Lostine lostine-tavern.com
Getting There
Red Horse Coffee Traders 306 N. Main Street, Joseph (541) 432-3784
Wallowa County is located in northeast Oregon. From Hood River, take I-84 east to LaGrande. Take the OR-82 exit, Exit 261, toward LaGrande/Elgin. Stay on OR-82 to Lostine, Enterprise and Joseph.
Arrowhead Chocolates 100 N. Main Street, Joseph arrowheadchocolates.com
Roundtrip: 268 miles, Driving Time: 5 hours
COLUMBIA GORGE 2015
guided steelhead fishing, stop for a beer at Mutiny Brewing or Ember’s Brewhouse. Come morning, stroll past bronze sculptures depicting horses, cougars and Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce to have coffee and breakfast at Red Horse Coffee Traders. Welcoming service, homebaked goods, and fresh roasted coffee make this small shop one of the most popular in town. For the ultimate in local, artisan deliciousness, Opposite page: Downtown Joseph (top left). Terminal Gravity Brewing in Enterprise (above), Wallowa Lake (below), Wallowa Mountain gondola (below), Bronze sculpture in Downtown Joseph (right).
fed beef, produce, local beer, wines from the nearby Walla Walla Valley and gourmet cocktails. A little farther up the road, in Enterprise, sit under golden aspens and enjoy a pint at Terminal Gravity Brewing, home of their famous IPA. Terminal Gravity has a full lunch and dinner menu and also features live music on many weekend evenings. Nestled at the foot of Mount Joseph and Mount Howard, the town of Joseph offers mountain trails, spectacular views, art galleries, shopping, and more artisan dining. After a day of hiking or
PETER MARBACH “Peter Marbach’s exquisite imagery. . . reminds us of the simple joy of connecting with the land and the importance of preserving precious sites for generations to come.” — President Jimmy Carter
P
eter Marbach is an acclaimed landscape photographer proud to call the Columbia River Gorge home. He has produced several regional books and has numerous national publication credits. He finds great satisfaction in sharing his time and talent with conservation groups in Oregon and with the Mountain Leadership Institute’s humanitarian work in Nepal.
Printed in Hood River, OR, U.S.A. Published by
419 State Street, Hood River, OR 97031 541.386.1234 • sales@columbiagorgepress.com
Local photos. Local printing. Call 541.386.1234 to order your 2015 Columbia Gorge Calendar!
Columbia Gorge Press 419 STATE STREET • HOOD RIVER, OREGON 97031
be sure to stop into Arrowhead Chocolates. This family-run shop makes its chocolates in small batches by hand, often using organic, local ingredients. Enjoy a sample with a cup of tea or coffee, while watching the chocolatier at work. Wallowa County offers a unique combination of outdoor adventure, spectacular scenery, friendly small-town service, and extraordinary food and drink—well worthy of a weekend roadtrip. Amy Zahm grew up in Wallowa County and was fortunate enough to move back several years ago to open an acupuncture practice. In her free time she writes, teaches yoga, and rides horses in the beautiful Wallowa Mountains.
Relax&Recreate IN SCENIC HOOD RIVER www.comfortsuiteshoodriver.com
Just minutes to the Columbia River, Outdoor fun, Waterfront Park, and Hood River’s many retail stores, dining, breweries, as well as world-class wine tasting. complimentary hot breakfast indoor salt water pool & spa high-speed wireless internet in-room microwave & refrigerator fitness room & guest laundry CONVIENTLY LOCATED OFF I-84 2625 Cascade Avenue • Hood River, OR (541) 308-1000 • www.choicehotels.com
the gorge magazine // FALL 2014 33
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wine spotlight
Rich Cushman in his Riesling vineyard
Viento Wines
Rich Cushman combines expertise and passion in his winemaking endeavors By janet cook
R
ich Cushman has to be one of the busiest guys in town this fall. As owner and winemaker at Hood River’s Viento Wines, Cushman will have his hands in every facet of producing 2,500 cases of wine, including at least eight different reds and whites. His brand new, long-anticipated tasting room opened over summer, and the vineyard which the tasting room overlooks—and which he planted with great foresight in Riesling in 1981, making it the oldest Riesling vineyard in the Gorge—is in the middle of a years-long transition to becoming certified organic. That would be enough to keep most people busy, but it’s the tip of the iceberg for Cushman. He also is winemaker for Mt. Hood Winery, The Gorge White House and Heart Catcher. He’s a founding partner of HR Ciderworks, which, in its second year, can hardly keep up with demand, according to Cushman. And through his consulting company, Cushman Consulting Group, which he runs with his two sons, he works with a half-dozen wineries around the state—mostly helping them make their wine.
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Viento wines are created by Rich Cushman, winemaker for over 30 years and native of Hood River. The results are wines of balance, softness and wonderful flavors… tHe tasting Room is offiCially open Open Daily 11am-5pm • 301 Country Club Road (541) 386-3026 • www.vientowines.com
“I love the winemaking,” he says. “It’s a very creative outlet. It’s much more than just a business for me.” The road he took to get to this place actually started right here. Much to his delight, it’s circled back. Cushman was born and raised in Hood River, where his father was a judge and his mom a realtor and long-time school board member. He went on to Oregon State University, where he studied agricultural sciences, then headed to graduate school at Indiana University to study history and philosophy of science. But he disliked the Midwest winters, and longed to return to the West Coast. At OSU, Cushman had taken a wine tasting class. “It was a blast,” he recalls. So while still at Indiana, he applied and was accepted to the U.C. Davis viticulture and enology master’s program. After finishing in 1980 he went to Germany to work at Weingut Dr. Burklin-Wolf, the largest family-owned winery in the Pfalz region of Germany. “It was a terrible vintage,” Cushman says, “but a really good experience.” He returned to Oregon in 1981 and that year planted Riesling on land his family owned on the western edge of Hood River. Then he headed to the Willamette Valley, where the wine scene was heating up.
C athedral r idge W inery Award Winning Wines // Amazing Mountain Views
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The Viento tasting room
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 35
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Cushman spent the next 26 years in McMinnville where he and his wife, Robin, raised two sons and Cushman helped raise the profile of many now well-respected winemakers while perfecting his own winemaking skills. The list of wineries Cushman helped launch, or grow, reads like a “who’s who” of the Willamette Valley wine industry: Chateau Benoit, Laurel Ridge, Cooper Mountain Vineyards, Abacela, Edgefield, Benton-Lane, Firesteed, and others. Cushman started his own label, Viento, in 1986,
was making wine for Mt. Hood Winery, Phelps Creek Vineyards and Dry Hollow Vineyards. The more time he spent in the Gorge, the stronger became the pull to return and in 2007, Cushman and his wife moved to Hood River. His sons, Peter and Joe, eventually followed and both of them are also involved in the wine business; Peter works alongside his dad as associate winemaker for Viento, and is also the winemaker at Wy’East Vineyards, while Joe works in vineyard management. After his return, Cushman began making wine for The Gorge White House as well as Heart Catcher Wines, bringing the number of wineries he’s helped establish to 21. “I just really enjoy mentoring,” he says. “Much of my consulting is helping to translate a vision into finished wine.” He says he’s not shy about telling a client if something about their vision is not going to work. “All the wineries I’ve worked with are still in business.” Since returning to the Gorge, Cushman also has
making Riesling from his Hood River vineyard, as well as a few other varietals, in between his work for other wineries. He stopped making wine under the Viento label in 1993 to concentrate on family and his other endeavors, but brought it back in 1999. As the wine scene in the Gorge took root, winemakers sought out Cushman for his expertise. While still living in McMinnville, Cushman commuted to Hood River to help Pheasant Valley Winery launch in 2003, and worked as its first winemaker. Soon he
“wine on our scale is an intimate encounter– a snapshot of a grape, a place, and a season, transmuted by human influence” –Grower and Winemaker, Brian McCormick
Memaloose 34 State Street (hwy 14) Lyle, WA 98635
36 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
•
360-635-2887
•
WinesoftheGorge.com
increased production of his Viento wines to about 2,500 cases annually, led by Pinot Noir and Riesling, followed by Sangiovese and several other varietals. Cushman buys grapes for his wines from a variety of vineyards, all within a 35-mile radius of his tasting room. Over the years, he’s also planted more Riesling in his vineyard, which now totals an acre-and-a-half. The Viento tasting room, located at the western doorway to Hood River at 301 Country Club Road, just off I-84 at Exit 62, opened in June. “This has been a long-held dream,” Cushman says. “We’ve never had our own permanent home.” The building itself was designed by Cushman’s brother-in-law, Joe McRitchie, a Seattle architect. The high-ceilinged barn is oriented to block out highway noise and minimize the effects of the wind, while capitalizing on the view of the vineyard, creek and forest. Recycled and reclaimed materials add a rustic quality to the modern barn: exterior and interior wood came from a Parkdale barn; the bar back wall is made of staves from Viento barrels; and the black walnut bar top was crafted from slabs given to Rich at age 20 in exchange for a housesitting job. Cushman’s goal is to sell 80 percent of his wine from the tasting room. He continues to make his wine at Mt. Hood Winery. As fall progresses and the grapes are harvested, Cushman’s focus turns from keeping a close eye on the vineyards his grapes come from (“We don’t want any surprises,” he says) to the job he loves most: making wine. “My winemaking has evolved over the years,” he
says. “I’m a non-interventionist. I don’t do much to my wines because I want them to express where they came from.” He believes in getting fruit from the place where it grows best, and then being minimalistic. This, he says, helps him to make his own wines as well as wines for others and have them turn out differently. “The fruit is all coming from different sites,” he says. He also feels a real sense of ownership of every bottle of wine he produces. “Everything we make has got to be good, whether it’s ours or somebody else’s, and I feel a huge responsibility for that.” For Cushman, being able to do what he loves in the place he loves best makes every busy day worth it. “I’m really, really proud to be doing this in Hood River,” he says. He predicts the burgeoning wine scene in the Gorge will continue to grow. “I have the perspective of working in the Willamette Valley,” he says. “The fruit quality here is amazing. It’s every bit as good, or better.” He says the Gorge has “reached a critical mass” of good production, where visitors can go to multiple wineries for quality wine. “We have the infrastructure now—great restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, plus outdoor recreation,” he says. “I really believe in the Gorge. This is such a special place. I think we can really be a destination region for wine.” Which means, for Cushman, things could get busier yet. For more information, go to vientowines.com.
We specialize in Barbera, Chardonnay, Malbec, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Syrah and Zinfandel.
Fall wine tasting Cozy up with a glass of Pinot Noir
541.386.8333 // 2882 Van Horn Drive, Hood River, Oregon info@mtho o d w i n er y. co m // www. m th o o d winer y.com // Open daily 1 1 am-5 pm
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Fall Crush Events Fruits of the season at Gorge wineries
photos by david lloyd
harvest Experience Cathedral Ridge Winery hosts a series of Saturday events at the winery in October. During the Complete Harvest Experience series, participants will get to see the process of harvesting the grapes, learn about winemaking, and have a chance to taste exclusive wines. There will also be tips on pairing wines with easy-to-make cuisine, with recipes included. (cathedralridgewinery.com)
Old vine zin The Pines 1852 Vineyard and Winery celebrates the release of the new vintage of its flagship Old Vine Zinfandel on Sept. 13 from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Pines Estate in The Dalles. The event is family-friendly. Enjoy creek-side wine tasting, a barbecue and live music by the Bonneville Power Trio. (thepinesvineyard.com)
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grape stomp Domaine Pouillon hosts a crush party on Oct. 11 from noon to 3 p.m. Stain your feet and help wrap up the 2014 harvest in style. A trophy will be awarded for the best grape stomping costume, and there will be food and wine specials. Also, don't miss the winery's annual Thanksgiving Warehouse sale Nov. 28-30 from 11 to 5. Every wine in stock is on sale from 20- to 50-percent off.
Fall Harvest Party Jacob Williams Winery hosts its Fall Harvest Party on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the winery in Wishram, Wash. The $20 ticket includes exclusive wine tasting and a barbecue. One wine not to miss here is Jacob Williams’ 2010 Syrah, released in August. “Our winemaker, John Haw, captured the gentle, yet piquant essence of a well-appointed Syrah in this special 2010 release,” said owner Brad Gearhart. “This Syrah is heavier on the black and white pepper than our 2009 Syrah.” Noted for its exclusive use of grapes from the Columbia River Gorge AVA, Jacob Williams’ used grapes from the Hi-Valley Vineyard in The Dalles for the wine. Guests will enjoy the festivities at the winery’s newly constructed tasting room, with panoramic views of the Columbia River and surrounding eastern Gorge. (jacobwilliamswinery.com) Wine Release In honor of Mosier’s 100th anniversary this year, Analemma Wines has released a special limited edition Rosé of Pinot Noir called Centennial Rosé. The wine is made from 100 percent Columbia Gorge AVAgrown grapes. The label on the bottle is reminiscent of the historic Mosier Snow Cap fruit label, under which cherries, apples, peaches, pears and plums grown in the Mosier Valley were once packed. A quarter of the proceeds from sales of the wine will go directly toward beautification projects in downtown Mosier. (analemmawines.com)
THE NEXT GENERATION OF WASHINGTON WINE
can be found in the heart of the incredible Columbia Gorge, only 75 breathtaking minutes east of Portland.
For individual winery info: WINERIESOFLYLE.COM
award-winning hand-crafted wines from estate grown grapes & fruit sourced from top notch vineyards
{ fine design + photography } welcoming tasting room & patio
/ www.dlimageworks.com / david@dlimageworks.com
5.5 scenic miles south of hood river on hwy 35
541.386.1277 / wyeastvineyards.com currently open on weekends: noon-5pm or so after mid-april, open daily: 11am-5pm or so
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Harvest time at Syncline Winery near Lyle, Wash.
Notes on the Gorge Wine Region The roots of winemaking go deep here
I
t’s been 10 years since the Columbia Gorge was officially designated an American Viticultural Area (AVA) by the federal government. At the time, there were fewer than 300 acres of grapes planted on a handful of vineyards in the Gorge. There were seven wineries. Now, more than two-dozen vineyards are in production and the Gorge is home to more than three-dozen wineries. Perhaps most remarkable of all, nearly 30 grape varieties are grown in the Gorge, making it one of the most prolific winegrowing regions on earth. The last decade has brought profound changes to the Gorge wine scene, but winegrowing here
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photos by david lloyd
goes back a long way. In the 1880s the Jewett family, founders of White Salmon, built terraces on the bluff above the Columbia where they planted vines they’d brought from the Midwest. To the east, near what is now Lyle, English immigrant John Balfour planted grapevines more than a century ago. And in The Dalles, an Italian stonemason planted a vineyard of Zinfandel grapes in the late 1800s that today produces some of the finest old vine Zinfandel around, courtesy of The Pines 1852. That vineyard is one of the oldest in the Northwest. In the 1980s, a few intrepid souls began to revive winegrowing in the Gorge after a long period of dormancy. Winemakers realized that the vast variations in rainfall, temperature and soils from the central to the eastern Gorge translated into prime growing conditions for a wide variety of grapes. More subtle variations, too – distance from the river and elevation, for example – added to the diversity and abundance possible in Gorge vineyards. Winegrowers began to produce quality wines that garnered attention and respect, and from there the Gorge wine scene took root.
Since then, the quality of wine being made here has continued to rise. Long-time local winemakers have been joined by those from elsewhere, who’ve come for the quality of grapes and the quality of life. Wine tasting has never been more fun or more satisfying here, where every winery and tasting room has its own unique character and ambiance, every winemaker his or her own story. Take a wine tour of the Gorge and see for yourself. For more information about the Gorge wine region, go to columbiagorgewine.com
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In September the Northwest Plein Air show will be on exhibit at the Columbia Center for the Arts. “Hood River Rail Yard” by Aimee Erickson.
Discover Downtown H o od R i v e r , OR e g on
Spend a day in this beautiful and vibrant hub of the Gorge 9am: Have breakfast at Bette’s Place, a Hood River icon for nearly 40 years. 10am: Go jewelry shopping. Check out the variety of unique jewelry retailers, including Hood River Jewelers, Apland’s, Twiggs and Silverado. 11am: Head to Knot Another Hat to shop for yarn for your fall knitting project. Noon: Choose from a variety of restaurants serving lunch, including The Subterranean, Sixth Street Bistro, Full Sail Brew Pub, Brian’s Pourhouse, 3 Rivers Grill. Or grab a sandwich at Boda’s Kitchen or River Daze, or pizza at Andrew’s or Pietro’s. 1pm: Grab a warm coffee drink at Ground, Doppio or Dog River Coffee. 2pm: Do some serious shopping at the one-of-a-kind boutiques, including Ruddy Duck, Plenty, Melika, Parts & Labour and Doug’s. Send the guys to check out 2nd Wind Sports and Big Winds.
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3pm: Go to E.T.C. and browse their wide array of fabric and quilting supplies.
Visit Knot Another Hat for all your knitting needs. The shop has a huge selection of quality yarn and knitting supplies, plus comfy seating with a view for hanging out and working on your latest project.
Fall Events The Columbia Center for the Arts has changing exhibits every month in the main gallery as well as in The Nook. In September, the renowned Northwest Plein Air show will be on exhibit, following a three-day “paint out” by the show’s artists held at the beginning of the month, where artists paint “en plein air” at sites around the Gorge. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this popular show, which also includes writers seeking inspiration from the beauty of the Gorge. Another highlight of fall is the Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival, held at the Columbia Center for the Arts Nov. 7-9. The festival includes a wide range of dramatic and documentary films, shorts, student films and panel discussions.
4pm: Don’t forget the little ones—head to Cutie Pie for a wide selection of quality, gently used clothes and toys. 5pm: Hit one of the tasting rooms for a glass of wine—The Pines, Cascade Cliffs, Springhouse Cellars, Cerulean, Stoltz or Naked Winery. Or have a drink at the Pint Shack. 6pm: Head to Nora’s for dinner. Other good options include Celilo, Sushi Okalani, Double Mountain Brewery and Big Horse Brew Pub. 8pm: Find some live music at River City Saloon, The Trillium Café, Double Mountain Brewery or one of the wine tasting rooms.
Find upscale items in season for kids age 0-10 at Cutie Pie.
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m a rketpl ace: d owntown ho od ri ver HOOD RIVER JEWELERS
KNOT ANOTHER HAT
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 beautiful timepieces, diamond jewelry and designer collections.
Our mission at Knot Another Hat is to provide yarn lovers with quality products and services that will result in beautiful finished projects. We have everything you need to get started - from high quality yarns (including local hand-dyers) to patterns, needles, notions, gifts, and more. Come on upstairs in the Yasui Building, where we are waiting to help you discover (or enable) your inner fiber artist!
(541) 386-6440 • 415 Oak Street hoodriverjewelers.com
(541) 308-0002 • 16 Oak Street, #202 knotanotherhat.com
CUTIE PIE
APLAND JEWELERS
Let us help you ease childhood transitions and make active parenting fun! We are an upscale consignment store with items for new moms and children (0-10): cloth diapers, nursing supplies, natural body products, toys, books, high-end gear, clothing, and shoes. We rent infant and toddler beds, backpack carriers, strollers, safety gates, high chairs, etc. for families visiting the Hood River area. Under new ownership.
Craftsman jewelers and designers, we sell and repair in our state of the art shop. A second generation jeweler, Ken Apland brings 32 years of experience. Our other goldsmiths and designers bring an additional 30 years of combined experience. We have an intimate understanding of what an item might need, from rebuilding an heirloom to creating your own unique design from scratch.
212 4th Street • (541) 436-2777 Find us on Facebook
216 Oak Street • (541) 386-3977 info@aplandjewelers.com
COLUMBIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
ETC (Every Thread Counts)
Purchase art by local artists in the gallery. Be moved by our latest show in the theatre. Learn a new creative skill in the studio. We cultivate the arts by providing experiences that touch the heart, challenge the intellect and spark conversation. Our art center features an impressive art gallery, an intimate and versatile “black box” theater, a classroom dedicated to arts education, and a broad array of great artistic events.
Our store is a quilters dream..…you will find sewing supplies, fabric, thread, patterns and kits. We also offer quilting and sewing classes for beginners to advanced. See our web site for more information. 514 State Street • (541) 386-5044 everythreadcounts.net
215 Cascade Avenue • columbiaarts.org
sales@columbiagorgepress.com
POSTERS / RACK CARDS / POSTCARDS / BROCHURES / NEWSLETTERS PRESENTATION FOLDERS / MAGAZINES / DIRECT MAIL PIECES
541.386.1234
Commercial printing at an affordable price. the gorge magazine // Fall 2014 43
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Visit Good News Gardening for all your fall planting needs. Stay for lunch in the Garden Cafe, or get a warm drink to enjoy while browsing.
Welcome to the Heights
Pick up some fresh roasted coffee by the pound at Hood River Coffee Roasters.
Choose from a delectable variety of bakery goods and fresh breads at Pine Street Bakery.
H o od R i v e r , OR e g on
Get to know this unique part of town by visiting the many local businesses here 9am: Start your day with a fresh pastry and espresso from Pine Street Bakery. 10am: Take a stroll among the retail and service shops on 12th and 13th streets, including Apple Green, Hood River Sewing and Vacuum, and Morgan Paint. 11am: Get some fresh tortillas to keep on hand at La Cascada Tortillas. Noon: Choose from a wide variety of ethnic lunch spots, including Marley’s Corner Pub, the Thai House, or the Pita Pit.
FALL EVENTS Hood River Sewing & Vacuum offers premier brands as well as on-site service and repair.
Hood River Farmer’s Market happens every Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. through the end of November outside Hood River Middle School, 1602 May Street, across from Jackson Park. (The market moves inside the school cafeteria for the last few weeks of the season.) Dozens of local vendors are on hand, as well as mobile food trucks, live entertainment and activities for kids.
1:30pm: Head to Hood River Coffee Roasters to pick up a pound or two of fresh roasted beans. 2pm: Keep driving south to WAAAM, the renowned Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum. 4pm: Stop at Good News Gardening Garden Café for a warm coffee drink and a baked treat. 5pm: Head to Volcanic Bottle Shoppe for happy hour, or if the weather’s nice, sit outside at Ovino’s beer garden and enjoy a glass of fresh hard cider.
Try some fresh tortillas or custom-ground masa at La Cascada Tortillas.
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6pm: Get some dinner items from Rosauers Supermarket. Or, if you don’t feel like cooking, hit the Hood River Taqueria.
Grab some fresh deli items and local wines at Rosauers Supermarket, which also features a full-service bakery and a large selection of organic food.
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m ark etpl ace : h o od river h eigh ts Hood River Coffee Roasters
La Cascada Tortillas
We have changed our name from Hood River Coffee Co. to Hood River Coffee Roasters to better reflect what we do! For 25 years we have been the Gorge’s premier roaster supplying fine restaurants, espresso bars, grocery stores, and more. A little known fact is that we sell our fresh-roasted coffee by the pound to retail customers, like you! Open Monday-Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 3pm.
We feature non-GMO stone ground corn tortillas and flour tortillas that are produced from the finest organic, non-GMO unbleached wheat flour. Our corn tortillas are made in the centuries old Nixtamal method and the corn is stone-ground into masa ready for the tortilla press and oven. Our fresh-ground masa is also sold separately. To maintain the authenticity and superior quality of our tortillas we have imported all of our equipment from Mexico.
1310 Tucker Road • hoodrivercoffeeco.com
1021 12th Street • lacascadatortillas.com
Hood river sewing and vacuum
GOOD NEWS GARDENING
We proudly carry premier brands such as Miele, Dyson and Simplicity vacuums and Necchi, and Janome sewing machines. We offer on-site service and repair plus we carry a full line of accessories. Shop with confidence ...we encourage you to try the equipment before you purchase. Looking for a great gift? We have gift cards! Visit our web site for a schedule of our sewing classes.
Our nursery carries a fine selection of annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, roses and herbs. We have beautiful pots, tools, soil and seeds...everything to inspire the new or experienced gardener. Visit our Garden Café for breakfast or lunch and enjoy something off the daily menu (salads, soups, sandwiches, homemade desserts, tea and espresso). We use fresh, organic sustainably-grown food from the garden.
1108 12th Street • hoodriversewandvac.com
1086 Tucker Road goodnewsgardening.com
rosauers
WAAAM
At Rosauers Supermarket you will find: a floral, deli, bakery, and meat department as well as Huckleberry’s Natural Foods section. We offer you one-stop shopping for a broad array of natural and organic products that are viable and wonderful alternatives to the conventional supermarket world. We bake everything from scratch using only the finest, fresh ingredients… let us help you create the perfect wedding or special event cake!
Visit the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum and see one of the largest collections of still flying antique airplanes, and still driving antique vehicles in the counrty. A large new expansion has recently opened to accomodate more cars and antique engines and allow for an expanded Kid’s Zone. Open daily from 9am-5pm. 1600 Air Museum Road • waaamuseum.org
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1867 12th Street • rosauers.com
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ReseRve ad space now: Micki chapman (541) 380-0971 or mchapman@thegorgemagazine.com
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Making History Come Alive…
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ViSit Our HiStOriC Hood river Photo Blog Discover culture and history through fresh, engaging exhibits, and exciting programs explore hands-on activities and educational displays for families and children of all ages
300 East Port Marina Drive • (541) 386-6772 www.co.hood-river.or.us/museum OPEN: Monday-Saturday, 11am-4pm
c e l e b r at i n g 1 0 0 y e a r s o f a n a m e r i c a n i dy l l
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here is a myth—almost an ache, or a longing, really—about small-town America. Safe tree-lined streets, good water, a vital school and a hopeful church. A thriving, sustainable, or at least serviceable, economy built on agriculture and clean living. A quiet, stressfree place to raise your kids, pursue your dreams, or live out the rest of your days. Townspeople who lay down partisanship and petty self-interest in favor of “We the People” and the common good. Parks to play in, rivers that run clean, and art to fire the imagination. You know, friendly folk who say howdy and mean it.
Sounds good on paper. Come September 2014, the riverside town of Mosier, Ore.—present population 430—cele-
brates its official centennial. While it may not at first glance be much to look at, Mosier might well fully embody the true and ardent spirit of what a small town can be. It has, over the years, endured floods, horrendous winters, fires, dam installations, super highway construction and downturns in the economy. It gave up timber and lumber in favor of fruit trees and agriculture. It nearly lost its
The Mosier Post Office (top), has been located in the building at the corner of 3rd and Main streets since 1929. The building was originally constructed as a bank in 1914. Christina LeFever (above) opened The Dwelling Station, an upscale home furnishings consignment store, in a former gas station in 2012.
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school but found a way to keep learning alive at its very core. The little town was a hub once, and has over its century-plus wended its way through history’s peaks and valleys, boom times and bust. In 1909-10 there were 29 businesses in Mosier, including a bank, a hotel, sawmills and planing mills, fruit packers, a newspaper and three hair salons. Not so today.
Scenes from the Mosier Farmer’s Market (above and right). The decorative planter (bottom) was made by Alan Root as part of the town's beautification project leading up to the centennial celebration.
It hasn’t always been easy, but if there is a comparison from those days to these, it is that Mosier has always been self-contained and self-reliant. That hardy independence persists. It continues to take its own reins and write its own history going forward. There may be some validity to a growing acknowledgment of what’s popularly become known as the Mosier Vortex. Anecdotal evidence is abundant that Mosier—whatever her reasons—finds you, and gently but insistently pulls you in and hugs you tight to her bosom. On the surface, the Mosier 100 birthday celebration is a simple weekend of activities that got its genesis with a resonant and persistent theme: Let’s beautify the town. Organizer and town councilwoman Emily Reed put it simply: “Over 30 years there have been six different formal studies on what people want out of their town,” she says. “Consistently on top of those is beautification, basically a vibrant downtown. The hundredth year is just the perfect reason to make that happen.” Reed and her fellow councilpersons have been constantly vigilant for ways to revitalize the central core of Mosier. One piece of vibrancy that’s helped zazz up downtown is the founding of the Mosier Farmer’s Market that runs on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer near the Dwelling Station, the new Rack and Cloth Mercantile and Manny’s food cart. “As a group we talked about how best to bring a wider group of people to town,” says Reed. The market helped and has turned into a de facto town square on Sundays, where people meet ostensibly to see what the garden and orchard have wrought, but maybe really just to see how all the neighbors are doing. “The oldsters and the youngsters side by side,” adds Arlene Burns, a longtime Mosier resident and councilperson, and ardent activist in all things Mosier, including helping secure the famed Mosier Pocket Park along Mosier Creek, and helping preserve the Mosier School. “Why we’re so lucky,” she says, “is that we have a few amazing, gentle visionaries who have enough of a perspective to know that it’s all possible.” What’s been happening over the spring and summer with an ardent group of volunteers culminates on the weekend of Sept. 14, the anniversary of Mosier’s official incorporation as a town. Fundraising got underway last spring, when a slate of opportunities were made public for donations toward that beautification. Included were downtown picnic tables, decorative planters, benches and bike racks and other art installations (many done by artist Alan Root, a last name well-recognized
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The Mosier Creek bridge (above) was built in 1920. Scenes from Mosier (left) include the Pioneer Cemetery, Mosier Creek and Analemma Wines tasting room and vineyard.
throughout the Mosier valley), all roughly centered on the giant Mosier totem. Other longer-range projects to carry that theme forward, including expanding Mosier’s bike-friendliness, are in the works. For many, the weekend celebration will be the first opportunity to see the new additions. Secondly, the weekend will see a flurry of events that will likely instill a sense of pride and history in those who attend. Nothing says small-town fellowship more than a pancake feed (featuring an old secret recipe from the dearly departed Wildflower Café) and a parade. Throughout the weekend there will be historic reenactments performed by Voices From the Past featuring direct Mosier descendants; a history of the mysterious Ortley project; a 1920s fashion show and vintage car show; a number of pop-up “museums” featuring historic artifacts and photos; videos of Mosier residents who recall for the record the history, lineage and development of the town via their heartfelt stories; plus live music, arts and crafts, and a picnic. By and large, Mosier is living by its own edict: “Small enough to make a difference.” There are hundreds of reasons—perhaps 430 of them—why Mosier is finding an ideal and realizing it. Most like Mosier essentially the way it is, but improvements can always be made. It has chugged along through time like a railroad engine, seeing changes, morphing through whatever is thrown its way. It has always been fiercely independent, but there is certain dependence as well, on each other. While disparate in pursuit and lifestyle, there’s a commonality shared by the residents, as if everyone in the town hears the same tribal voices echo through the valley. Many families here go back generations—the Roots, the Huskeys, the Evans, Proctors, Wilsons, and of course, Mosiers— and some are still farming the land and fetching up new generations. Burns, a world traveler and adventurer, outdoor guide and filmmaker, found a gentle lifestyle here that drew her in. Reed, by her own reckoning, wants to atone for her years in the high-stress corporate world by raising a family and giving something back to a welcoming, open community. In a crazy mixed-up world of misplaced priorities and selfish scattershot aspirations, this place feels like, well, that simple small town of yore.
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love your space–let your space love you
The Mosier beautification project includes art installations around town as well as picnic tables, benches and bike racks near the town’s totem pole.
Suzi Conklin, who along with her husband Mark Cherniak, founded the popular but now-defunct Wildflower Café, can’t get enough of the town’s history. She and Burns, armed with a video camera, have been collecting essential oral histories from town residents—both old and new—to help paint the picture of what this place is for the Mosier 100 weekend. They asked the wheres and whys and hows of living in Mosier: how important the school is, what’s missing, what should be avoided, what can make it better.
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“We got an amazing cross-section of life,” Conklin says, in the 50 or so interviews. She has also pored over the collected archives of local resident Marilyn Shaw and culled highlights from the town’s development. “There are hundreds of hours of video. Some of these people are sixth-generation orchardists. I’m finding that not many people want
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Mosier to change. I think if anything people want a few more amenities, but really people love it because it’s so little and tucked away, and because when something happens in Mosier—and so little happens in Mosier—it’s a big deal. It could be a school play, the Christmas fair, or something being dedicated downtown. I think people just like the slower Mosier life.”
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This, you’ve guessed by now, is not the story of a town that has
Stylish Homes • Cottages • Condos • Private Retreats • Views • Hot Tubs The Root Orchards farm has been in operation by the family since 1878.
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Historic photos of Mosier include the train depot (above), Postmaster Lenora Hunter (top left), who held the job from 19101948, the post office, grocery store and Mosier Fruit Growers packing plant. (Photos courtesy of Marilynn Shaw)
been taken over and is biting off and pursuing a complete change of heart, chasing some industrial dream, or hoping for acres of retirement villages or golf resorts. Those things are fine. Somewhere else. This is about a community that, for one weekend, is going to slap itself on the back and invite you to the party. “I think people are going to be blown away in a short time by what’s happened,” says Burns of the event and the improvements. “People are really going to see a difference.” There will be found-object art pieces around downtown, installed plaques with quotes from the Mosier Stories videos, and the big “Before I Die” chalkboard for wishes and dreams. There will be planter boxes full of wildflowers near the totem, three ceramic benches, and a major arbor donated by Pacific Power and Light. The mundane CenturyLink building will be festively painted (try getting approval for that in an urban downtown). Native American artist Toma Villa worked with the Mosier School kids before summer break to do a wild mosaic while instilling a little heritage in his charges, many of whom will be staffing the museum sites. Even the Mosier Fruit Growers will have antique farming equipment on view. It’s hard not to see this as a magical, slightly goofy little place. Even the chief imagineer himself, Walt Disney, reportedly spent some time in Mosier. It might be a small town, but it’s full of open minds and happy people who, like the legend of the stone soup, all contribute something to the pot for the betterment of the many. It’s just a weekend, a simple celebration, but one that will, with any luck at all, resonate for another 100 years.] don campbell is a frequent contributor to the gorge magazine, and, in the interest of full transparency, admits to happily succumbing to the eddy that is the mosier vortex.
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Live where you play.
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Windermere/Tim Donahue, broker 541.386.3078 timd@gorge.net the gorge magazine // summer 2014 51
a p h o t o e s s ay b y n i c h o l a s b i e l e m e i e r
Nick and Pam Bielemeier of Hood River have spent more than three years documenting barns in the Hood River Valley and nearby counties. The photographer-writer duo have tracked down more than 100 barns, photographed them using a technique called High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, and recorded the stories behind them when possible. “We are trying to create an atmosphere, to show more of the feeling of romance of the place where the barn sits and the surrounding landscape,� Pam said. A photograph done with HDR imaging is actually several images combined, each one taken at a different exposure setting. Each individual image captures light and dark tones differently and, when many are combined into a single image, the resulting photograph spans a much higher range of lights and darks. The images make for a stunning, often-surreal visual feast. The Bielemeiers are helping the History Museum of Hood River County create a database of images and stories of the barns, and they plan to eventually turn the project into a coffee table book.
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S E RV I C E I N OR E GON A N D WASHINGTON
Crag Rats
In the backcountry with Hood River’s mountain rescue team by Christopher Van Tilburg photos by Richard Hallman
It’s 4:30 a.m. and we’re looking for a chainsaw. In a few hours on
this hot August morning, the Gorge will wake to multisport frenzy: kiting, windsurfing, stand-up paddling, kayaking, trail running, mountain biking, cycling. But not for us, not today. I’m standing on the asphalt at the Hood River County Public Works department with my colleagues, jamming ski and climbing gear into a burly 4-wheel-drive crew cab pick-up truck that belongs to the Hood River County Sheriff ’s office. Brian and I focus on the chief task at hand: loading two chainsaws.
On a rescue mission in White River Canyon.
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A 10-year-old boy rescued from the White River Canyon is loaded aboard a Life Flight helicopter.
Yesterday afternoon, a group of snowboarders hiked out-of-bounds from
On Thursdays we debrief, manage club business and train at our Pine
a training camp at Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge Ski Area. While they
Grove Hut, known chiefly as a wedding venue with an in-your-face view of
poked around White River Glacier crevasses, a bus-sized block of ice
Mount Hood. Occasionally we can be seen, like days of yore, bedecked
collapsed, burying and killing one of them. Our task today: retrieve the
in our signature black-and-white checkered shirts. Formed in 1926, the
body. Our psyche is neither excited nor somber; rather it’s efficient and
Crag Rats were the first organized mountain rescue team in the nation.
practical. Once at Timberline, a dozen of us ride a snowcat to 8,000 feet
In 1959, the Crag Rats became a charter member of the Mountain Res-
and hike down a slippery scree slope into massive seracs and crevasses.
cue Association. Under the direction of the sheriff, we respond to doz-
We fire up the chainsaws at 6:30 a.m. and start to cut ice. We recover the
ens of calls every year. In 2013 we had 31 missions spanning 48 days.
body in three hours.
Add in a dozen days of training—in everything from rope rigging and avalanche safety to navigation and medical help—and last year was ex-
Unfortunately, searching for outdoor adventurers is an all too frequent oc-
tremely busy for a few score of volunteers.
currence for us. We are Hood River’s Crag Rats, the county’s volunteer mountain rescue team. The recovery missions are often massive, danger-
Around the county, four-dozen cell phones light up: “Team needed for Ea-
ous and unnerving, and span from Mount Hood through the entire Co-
gle Creek rescue.” Nearly a third of our call-outs are at Eagle Creek Trail,
lumbia Gorge—and sometimes beyond. Climbers on the Eliot Glacier
just west of Cascade Locks—one the most popular hiking trails in the
Headwall in 2006. Climbers on Leuthold Couloir in 2009. A skier on
Gorge. The reason? Spectacular beauty and proximity to Portland are
the Coe Glacier in 2011. Mount Adams claims a climber. The Syncline
combined with cliffs, slippery mud, big rocks and steep hills. On one
claims a mountain biker. Vista Ridge claims an airplane with three local
rescue, we broke the large ATV wheel that attaches to our stretcher and
businessmen. Occasionally, when it’s too dangerous, we leave the dead
had to carry a fallen hiker out by hand. Another time, Jeff and I revived
to rest on the mountain.
an unconscious hiker who spent the night out in the wilderness. Today,
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it’s another cliff jumper at Punch Bowl Falls. Gavin, Tom, Brian, Todd,
getting stuck, but Rick’s expert driving prevails. Two hours, six miles: we
Dick and I drop work, family duties and household chores to head to
hand off the patient to an ambulance at the Tilly Jane SnoPark at 4:30
Eagle Creek and run up the trail; Penny coordinates logistics from home
a.m. When we all finally roll home at 4:30 p.m., our cell phones ping
via phone. In recent years, cliff jumpers have become an all too familiar
again: “Injured person at the Tilly Jane Guard Shelter.” We head back up
call-out. Last year one drowned.
the mountain.
On another summer day, we get paged to Badger Lake on Mount Hood to
Every spring without fail, the pager zings for a Starvation Creek call-out at
search for a lost hiker. Bruce, Micah and I hunker in for the two-hour
the most demanding time: night. Hikers ascend Mount Defiance, encoun-
drive on twisty mountain roads. The summer rescues are easier, with
ter snow, and lose the trail on the way back down. When they bushwhack
mild weather and long days. We’ve rescued a teenager who was hit by
straight downhill through thick Oregon grape, vine maple and Douglas
a rock while hiking above tree line, a hiker stranded on a gravel bar in
fir, they end on an impassible cliff off Warren Creek. Once we spent all
Newton Creek, and a round-the-mountain hiker who injured a knee
night out rescuing two dads, a teen and a toddler. Tonight, Brian, Gavin
on the Timberline Trail. Often, we don’t know the exact situation so we
and I hike up at night to 4,000 feet, encounter rock-hard ice, and wish
prepare for anything. Our packs bulge: harness, helmet, rope, webbing,
for crampons. Using GPS, so common nowadays with smartphones, we
carabiners, headlamp, prussic cords to ascend a rope, extra clothes and
find the missing hiker, unhurt, hunkered under a tree. We escort him
medical supplies. In winter, we strap on a full avalanche safety pack. To-
up a snowfield and down the icy trail. At 3 a.m. in the parking lot, his
day, we find a cold, hungry and tired woman a stone’s throw from Badger
girlfriend greets us with a pizza.
Lake Campground. She is safe, so we drive home. Rescue calls come year-round. Smack in a midwinter blizzard on a Sunday at 2 a.m., Don rousts me from my bunk for a rescue. We are training all weekend at Cloud Cap Inn, a cabin built in 1889 and perched at 6,000 feet on the north side of Mount Hood. Rick, Don, Paul and I jump out of our sleeping bags and fire up our snow cat in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm. We head to the Tilly Jane Cabin, a shelter used by cross-country skiers, locate and load up an ill patient, and then plow the heavy Logan snow cat through deep snowdrifts in a blinding windstorm. At one point, the tracks auger into a giant snow drift and I fear we are
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 61
our gear, scour the map, and receive our assignment from the incident commander, dusk creeps over us. Rick commandeers an ATV and shuttles rescuers up and down the trail for four hours. Ron, Meredith, Joe, Walter and I climb through wind, rain and mud. Then we run into snow and posthole up to our knees. Walter has a high-powered 1,000-lumen light designed for mountain biking in the dark, and it slices through the night. We complete our search objective—no one found—at midnight. The “call for help,” we later find out, was likely an owl or the wind. Another call-out: three lost teenagers are stuck on a cliff near Indian Point in Mount Hood’s Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. Todd, Tom and I head up Herman Creek trail at 11 p.m. We reach the cliffs of Grays Creek at 2 a.m. After an hour of searching, we can’t find a safe way into the drainOn another Starvation Creek night, we’ve been hiking for an hour through
age: it’s steep, muddy, rocky and strewn with giant, unstable old-growth
knee-deep brush when Lisa says, “This is poison oak.” The pervasive toxi-
logs and basalt boulders. We turn back. It’s difficult for us to enjoy the
codendron diversilobum. After hiking and searching half the night, Joe calls the Skamania County, Wash., sheriff ’s office and asks a deputy to drive to Wind Mountain and aim a spotlight across the Columbia River. Maybe we can catch a glimpse of the lost hikers in the beam. Bingo: Craig and Joe spy the hikers a quarter-mile from the highway. It takes us two hours to hike around the cliff, rig up a rope, pluck them off a tiny platform atop a tall basalt column, and hike back through the poison oak. Once again, we return at dawn, wanting food, water and sleep. I am anxious to rid my skin of the toxic urushiol oil from the poison oak. A quarter of our calls are for mutual aid in neighboring counties. This time, we assemble a crew to search Table Mountain in Skamania County. We’re itching to get deployed before dark, but by the time we ready
62 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
Rescuing a woman with a medical emergency near White River Canyon.
sunrise as we return to the truck at 4:30 a.m. We’re tired and hungry. We still have to pass off the search to the morning crew. Luckily, the missing hikers are later rescued safely by a National Guard helicopter. Another good outcome, everyone safe. At home I clean and repack my gear so it’s ready for the next callout. We’re in this business partly to give back to the community, partly to show our respect for the mountain wilderness, and partly because of the fun—although it isn’t always fun. Tom reminds me: it’s gratifying to help save a life. It’s only a matter of time before the next rescue, which could be needed at any moment, day or night.] christopher van tilburg is the author of mountain rescue doctor (st. martins, 2007) and the adrenaline junkie’s bucket list (st. martins, 2013). he lives in hood river and is a frequent contributor to the gorge magazine. richard hallman is an award-winning photographer who lives in hood river. he’s a member of the crag rats.
The author during a rescue on White River Glacier.
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 63
outside
Hiking the Gorge Three classic trails offer autumn fun for all story and photos by adam lapierre
Fall is prime for hiking in the Gorge. Trails are less crowded, the air is crisp and the changing leaves add brilliant color to an already gorgeous palette. Great hikes are innumerable in the Gorge, but these are three of our favorites. Choose one perfect for you and your hiking companions—or try all three. easy: Wahclella Falls The 1.8-mile out-and-back Wahclella Falls trail is without a doubt one of the lowest-effort, highest-reward hikes in the Gorge. Located about halfway between Troutdale and Hood River (I-84, exit 40) the Wahclella
64 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
Falls trail follows Tanner Creek upstream about a mile and ends at the base of a basalt cliff cathedral, where the thundering Wahclella Falls plunges into a giant, deep-green grotto of whitewater surrounded by moss and fern-covered rocks. Although glorious any time of year, this hike is at its most magical in the fall and spring, when seasonal rains turn the creek into a roaring beast and transform the towering, green-carpeted walls along the trail into a leaky faucet, drip, drip, dripping in harmony as you pass by. From the parking area (Forest Pass/daily fee re-
comfort. style. selection. follow your feet to footwise for everything Birkenstock
quired) the trail is just under a mile each way and is a simple out-and-back, with the option of a small loop (dogbone, in hiker-speak) at the end. Although the highlight is the 350-foot Wahclella Falls, which cascades over a series of drops before the final 60-foot plunge, the entire trail is worthy of a hiker’s highlight reel. After a brief and leisurely stroll along Tanner Creek on a paved path, the trail takes a sharp turn, where hikers come face-to-face with Murna Falls, noisily cascading down the rock face at arm’s length from the bridge that crosses over it. From there the trail climbs above the creek a bit, with a short set of stairs at the steepest section, before flattening out again as it approaches the falls. Although not nearly as exposed as the neighboring Eagle Creek trail, a few steep drop-offs along the way should be regarded with caution, particularly for kids and dogs. The trail splits about halfway up, but it loops around and reconnects, so it doesn’t really matter which direction you choose. From Portland drive east on Interstate 84 to Exit #40, signed for Bonneville Dam. Turn right at the stop sign, drive about 100 feet and turn right again at the fork (left takes you to the Tooth Rock Trailhead). Follow the short road to the end where you'll see the trailhead parking lot. From Hood River, travel west on Interstate 84 to Exit #40. Turn left, pass under the freeway and enter the lot. Drive about 100 feet and turn right again at the fork.
Medium: Lyle Cherry Orchard Three withered trees stand in defiance of time and weather, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge from atop the Lyle Cherry Orchard trail. These three wise old soldiers standing in the grass are all that remain from a settler’s homestead perched atop the dry, windblown hillside east of Lyle, Wash. The out-and-back trail is roughly five miles, with about 1,100 feet of elevation gain, making it a moderately difficult hike—but still very doable for most. A deterrent for this trail is the copious amount of poison oak along the way, but ironically, one great draw is the seclusion hikers can experience from a trail that the masses shy away from. Although never to be underestimated, poison oak dries out and drops its leaves in the fall, so it poses less risk this time of year. Another advantage of hiking this trail in the fall, rather than the spring when wildflowers are blooming, is that tick season is beyond its peak (although, just like poison oak, ticks are always something to be cautious of ).
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 65
outside
left leads to a fabulous viewpoint, right leads uphill toward the Cherry Orchard. From the split the trail takes a steeper pitch for about a half-mile before flattening out again and meandering east until you reach the Cherry Orchard. You’ll know you’re almost there when you come to an old dirt road. Follow the road a short distance to an open field and you’ll see the trees at the far end. The trail starts at the far end of a gravel pullout located just past the Highway 14 tunnel east of Lyle. The trail starts climbing immediately as it passes through an oak grove and zigzags up the hillside. After about five minutes, you’ll come to a wooden trailhead and sign-in box. The 515-acre Lyle Cherry Orchard property was donated to the Friends of the Columbia Gorge in 2009 by the estate of Nancy Russell (Friends’ co-founder) and is open to the public. At the sign, a short side trail leads to the first of many spectacular views of the Gorge. After about a mile of uphill hiking, the trail enters an open area nicknamed “the Bench” where it splits:
From Hood River, cross the Hood River Toll Bridge and turn right on Highway 14. Drive east through Bingen and Lyle. Just east of Lyle, you'll drive through two tunnels. The trailhead is the first major turnout east of the tunnels.
Difficult: Mount Defiance Starting at just over sea level and ending at nearly 5,000 feet, the north side Mount Defiance Trail ascends almost a thousand feet per mile on its way to the highest point in the Columbia River Gorge. For anyone looking for a leisurely frolic into the forest, tackling this beast is the wrong choice. The hike is brutally steep, often rough and, for many, just as painful on the way down as on the way up, leaving little time for enjoyment despite some amazing views of the Gorge and surrounding countryside.
hiking Dining
The water is always running. Follow iT. 66 the gorge magazine // Fall 2014
Hiking
Relaxation
History
Adventure
Fishing
Need a home base for your hiking spirit? You already have one. With hundreds of trails nearby—ranging from Beacon Rock to the spectacular Dog Mountain—Stevenson, Washington, is hikers’ paradise found. And at the end of the day, we have the spas and cozy beds to soothe tired soles.
CITYOFSTEVENSON.COM
For hard-core hikers, or at least the very fit, however, Mount Defiance offers a challenge unparalleled by any other trail around and is an outstanding all-day adventure into the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. At close to the same elevation gain as the popular south side Mount Hood summit route starting from Timberline Lodge, it’s also a favored training route for people preparing for a summit of Oregon’s highest peak. The hike is best done in the fall, when temperatures are cooler and snow at higher elevations isn’t a concern. The out-and-back trail starts at Starvation Creek Trailhead (I-84, exit 55), about eight miles west of Hood River. After a relatively easy warm-up from the trailhead, past Hole in the Wall Falls and Lancaster Falls, the trail begins its relentless uphill climb to the top. The first few miles are a head-down grind, with constant switchbacks and limited views as the trail ascends the forested north-facing Gorge walls. About halfway to the top the landscape changes. Heavy forest gives way to mixed, rocky terrain and hikers are rewarded with glorious, unobstructed views in all directions. Then it’s back to lung-burning uphill for another couple thousand feet before reaching the summit. One of the most pleasurable parts of the hike (if the weather is appropriate) is an immensely refreshing shower under Lancaster Falls on the way back down. The lower section of the falls flows in a mellow 20-foot drop onto easily-negotiated rocks, offering a prime opportunity to cool off and
soothe aching muscles and joints before the last half-mile of the day. From Portland, drive east on I-84 to Exit #55, signed for the Starvation Creek State Park and Rest Area. There's no westbound exit to the Starvation Creek Rest Area, so drivers from the east (Hood River) will need to continue to Herman Creek Road and double back. Similarly, when leaving the rest area, westbound drivers (Portland) will need to drive east on I-84 for about a mile and take the Viento exit, which leads to an underpass and then an I-84 on-ramp to Portland.
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 67
arts+culture
upcoming CLASSES Sept 6th, 10am-4pm Going Viral: Herbal Remedies for the Cold and Flu Season Beat those winter colds and flus with this medicine-making workshop focusing on immune support.
Creativity Grows Here Art, craft and nature merge at Wildcraft Studio School by kacie mcmackin photos by silvia flores
The bumpy dirt path leading to Wildcraft Studio School is the first indication that your experience here is going to be rural and real. Located in the hills above White Salmon, Wash., the studio offers workshops in traditional skills, studio arts, plant medicine and sustainable practices. The studio is a little rough, but also welcoming. A sign on the wall reads, “Facebook Bums Me Out.” The tables are covered in books, jars of herbs and natural dye swatches. On any given day you can find an intern cataloging native natural dyes, and someone making food for the students. Chelsea Heffner, creator of the school, describes her White Salmon hills location as “landscape that wasn’t tamed.” “It feels like nature is first and people are really second,” she says. Because the studio is an extension of her home, Heffner is always there, in her boots, ready to work.
68 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
Each of the classes has a different focus. “Wilderness Writing” is about translating the landscape to language. Other classes focus on harvesting plants for medicine, looking for wood to build looms, and foraging for sweetgrass and cedar to make traditional Native American baskets. The whole point of the school is to embrace the land. “That is the experience we provide,” Heffner says. She pauses and then corrects herself. “That is the experience the landscape provides, and we are trying to embrace it.”
Sept 7th, 10am-4pm Herbal Beauty: Creams, Masks and Toners Take charge of your skincare with handmade beauty products. Sept 13th, 10am-4pm Grow Mushrooms at Home: Log Inoculation Want to grow edible mushrooms in your backyard? This is the workshop for you! Sept 13th, 10am-4pm Patterned Cloth: The Magic of Indigo and Shibori Ancient indigo dye and traditional Shibori patterning pair to transform plain fabric into custom yardage. Sept 14th, 10am-4pm Fall Color: Natural Dyes of the Columbia River Gorge Forage for dye plants, transform silks and wools with natural color. (continued on page 71)
The classes are designed to have students live a specific moment, and to take advantage of a particular ecosystem. The temporal nature of the classes, and the mercurial quality of nature itself, are things that keep Heffner learning. Each season provides different materials, and has its own set of challenges. Part of the education is about learning how to be in step with nature, and finding that “delicate balance between the domesticated space and wild space,” she says. Heffner grew up in Rhode Island and attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she focused on painting and printmaking. While in school, she spent as much time outdoors as possible. After graduating, she went on to graduate school at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland. Her master’s studies focus was all about bringing nature into the city and the home. In the winter of 2012—a couple of years after graduating from PNCA—Heffner took a trip to the Gorge and found herself in White Salmon. She im-
mediately fell in love with the landscape and stumbled across the space that has become Wildcraft Studio School. After a year of work on the studio and the land, she opened the school in June 2013. “My goal in creating Wildcraft,” she explains, “was to bring creative people out of the city and provide space in a rural environment to allow for openness, shifts in thinking and fluid interaction with the natural world.” Getting out of your element is the first step to
Aimee Erickson
www.columbiaarts.org
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 69
arts+culture
leaving the domestic behind, and the classes require participants to get their hands dirty. It’s a school where you have to embrace pure exploration. Many of Heffner’s students tell her they are grateful for an experience that lasts well beyond the duration of the class—that their experience allowed them to see the things that are all around them in a new way, even once they’ve returned home. “I was open to whatever (the day) brought,” says Adrian Hale, a freelance food writer from Portland who recently took a class called “Medicine of the Wild Rose.” “But I left feeling an overabundance of joy and inspiration on so many levels.”
lifestyle photography by silvia flores
visit online portfolio at silviaflores.com
70 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
Heffner believes that getting out into nature is key. “Our classes really provide an opportunity for people to experience creativity where you have to gather everything,” she says. “You can’t escape the nature—it’s 100 percent a part of the experience.” Getting feedback from students before, during and after they take classes at Wildcraft is one of the most rewarding, and humbling, aspects of running her school, according to Heffner. In fact, “humble” is a word she uses a lot to describe her school. “It’s a super authentic experience,” she says. “It’s not premeditated or predesigned. It’s real. It’s constantly being humbled by creating situations where you’re just not in control.” She pauses and laughs. “That’s probably why I’m doing this, because I want everything to come out perfect. But the truth is, perfection doesn’t matter. That isn’t why people sign up for the class.” The students have one big thing in common: they’re all women. The school has become about women teaching women traditional skills in wild spaces, which is something that’s surprised Heffner. She didn’t set out to teach women only, but sees the magic in this unexpected development. “The bonding moments that have happened up there, I could never have planned, I could never have foreseen,” she says. “It just feels so meaningful.” At Wildcraft, women are in a competition-free environment so they open up and share. Some of the women who show up for classes haven’t done something for themselves in years and they’re looking for something rooted, meditative and informative. Wildcraft’s classes fit the bill. “You’re not creating for any
Sept 20, 10am-4pm Weaving in the Wild: An Experimental Weaving Workshop Sculpture weaving meets the natural world in two days of foraging, weaving and experimentation. Sept 27, 10am-4pm Herbal Remedies for Children
practical purpose,” Heffner says. “You’re not serving anyone but yourself, and so few women make the time to do that.” You do leave every class with something, but it’s really more about leaving with an experience, with dirt under your nails, hands stained from natural dye, legs sore from hiking, and a new appreciation for the landscape and everything available within it. “It’s about learning how to do something new,” Heffner says, “and having your eyes open to the fact that every single thing around you does more than you think it does—it has so many more lives and ways of being understood.” For more information, go to wildcraftstudioschool.com. Kacie McMackin is a food blogger, writer and photographer for gorgeinthegorge.com. She lives in Hood River and is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.
Sept 27, 10am-3pm Wilderness Writing: Fall Session Wander the hillsides: read, write and be inspired. Oct 4, 10am-4pm Fall Medicine with Portland Apothecary Plant identification, healing herbs and medicine making for the fall season. Oct 5, 10am-4pm Kitchen Sink Dyes Learn to use everyday herbs, flowers and spices to make gorgeous natural dyes. Oct 18, 10am-5pm The Felted Hat Curious about sculptural felting? Join us for a one day intensive and leave with a stunning custom hat. Nov 1, 10am-4pm Evergreen Tree Medicine Towering Firs, Cedars, Hemlock, Pine and Spruce: learn about culture, history and medicine of these powerful trees.
Chelsea Heffner, creator of Wildcraft Studio School
Nov 8, 10am-4pm Heirloom Felted Slippers Get ready to make the best pair of slippers you'll ever own, guided by felt-master Jack Fee.
the gorge magazine // fall 2014 71
wellness
what it is
A few Chinese Medicine healing modalities defined
Shifting Paradigms Laura Mayo treats the whole family at her acupuncture and herbal medicine clinic by janet cook • photos by silvia flores Laura Mayo
72 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
When Laura Mayo was growing up in Lithuania, her mother and grandmother turned first to herbs when a family member was sick. They were easy to come by; the pharmacy in her town—like most in the country—stocked both Western medicines and herbs side by side. After she married an American and moved to the United States, she saw how different things were here. “I looked at my husband’s family, and others, and saw how medicated they were,” Mayo recalls. When she sought herbs to treat common ailments, she realized they weren’t readily available at the pharmacy like they were back home. Still, she was living the American dream. After receiving a degree in chemical engineering, she worked as a research analyst in Virginia. She had a good job and a promising career. After being introduced to martial arts while still in Lithuania, she maintained a keen interest in them, continuing to pursue them after settling in Virginia with her husband. She read
Acupuncture: the insertion of fine needles at specific points on the body to stimulate, disperse and regulate the flow of chi, or vital energy, through the 14 meridians (energy channels) of the body and restore a healthy energy balance. Acupressure: the use of finger pressure on specific points to treat ailments. Herbs: often used in conjunction with acupuncture, herbs are custom-mixed by Chinese Medicine practitioners and can be given in capsules, extracts, tinctures or powders. There are more than 2,000 different kinds of herbs associated with Chinese Medicine, with about 400 of them commonly used. Moxibustion: a therapeutic method in which an herb, usually mugwort, is burned above the skin or directly on an acupuncture point to introduce heat into it in order to help alleviate certain symptoms. Cupping: a therapeutic method in which a heated cup is placed over an area of the body. As the air inside cools, its volume decreases and creates a slight suction on the area that stimulates blood circulation.
Flourish Natural Medicine www.FlourishNM.com www.GorgeNaturalMedicine.com books about Tai Chi and Chi Gong. “I started to become interested in Eastern philosophies,” she says. Mayo didn’t have a single epiphany about changing careers. “I had to grow to it,” she says. But she did know exactly what it was she was growing toward: acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Although there was an acupuncture school not far from where she lived, Mayo learned about the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland— one of the oldest Chinese medicine colleges in the U.S.—and knew that was where she wanted to go. “It had a very strong herbal school,” Mayo says, along with a reputation for thoroughly training students in all aspects of traditional Chinese medicine. With the support of her husband, she flew to Portland to visit the school. She applied and was accepted, and within four months Mayo and her husband had packed up and moved to Portland, where she enrolled in the four-year master’s program. Mayo graduated in January 2012 (having had her first child while in school), and she and her family moved to Hood River, where they had been coming to bike and relax for several years. After initially sharing space in another acupuncturist’s office, Mayo established her clinic, Family Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, in downtown Hood River a year-and-a-half ago. Since then, her practice has continued to expand as she sees patients for a growing variety of issues. Treating patients who are going through cancer treatments is one area of her practice that Mayo sees growing. As part of her master’s program, she worked at the Quest Center for Integrative Health in Portland, treating women who were suffering from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. “Because of their treatments, acupuncture was one of the only things we could do,” Mayo says. Many of her patients found relief from nausea, neuropathy, fatigue and anxiety with acupuncture. “Some patients would continue to come long after their chemo ended because they believed it was beneficial.” Mayo also sees a lot of pregnant women, whom she treats for pain, preparation for labor and for breach babies. She doesn’t do any manipulation to help turn a breach baby, but rather treats the mom to create “the optimal conditions for the baby to turn,” she says. Treating pregnant women has led to another expanding area of her practice: kids. Increasingly, a woman she’s treated during pregnancy will come back after her baby is born seeking help with things like ear infections and gastrointestinal distress—and, as the child grows, allergies and other ailments.
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the gorge magazine // FALL 2014 73
wellness
Jessica Vincenzo of Hood River was one such mom. Mayo had helped Vincenzo and her husband learn how to do acupressure during labor with her second child—“which completely saved my bacon,” Vincenzo says. “It was a godsend.” Mayo also helped her get through “hormonal stuff ” after her child was born. “She did a really good job illuminating what sort of dietary things would be helpful. And she put together herbs for me.” So when her son, Eli, got sick before he was a
74 the gorge magazine // fall 2014
year old with a digestive ailment, Vincenzo sought help from her regular pediatrician—and then, when nothing seemed to work, from Mayo. “He’d had this digestive thing for close to a month,” she recalls. “We’d done all kinds of things, including testing for parasites. We were at wit’s end.” Vincenzo had an appointment with Mayo for herself, but ended up taking Eli with her. “She looked at his tongue, and at the left side of his index finger. She showed us where the vein on the finger was really blue, indicating stagnation in his tummy.” Mayo did acupressure on Eli (which is just using the fingers to press acupuncture points), and showed Vincenzo how she and her husband could work a particular point on his index finger as well his wrist. She also suggested some dietary changes. “I’m not exaggerating when I say that the next day, Eli was better,” Vincenzo says. She also began taking
Eli to Mayo for ear infections, and her older son, Eamon, for treatment of seasonal allergies. “I definitely don’t negate the traditional western medicine paradigm,” says Vincenzo, who works as a medical social worker at Celilo Cancer Center in The Dalles. “I still go to the pediatrician first. But I’ve learned that a day or two after, I have an appointment with Laura just to make sure I’m covering all bases.” Adding Chinese medicine to her family’s western medicine toolbox has expanded their options. “It’s just a nice marriage, a nice union,” Vincenzo says. “It’s personalized healthcare.” Given many kids’ fear of needles, Mayo says she does only acupressure when she first sees a child. But many kids—especially younger ones—get past their fear and go on to have acupuncture. Both of Vincenzo’s sons have had acupuncture; she thinks Mayo’s easy rapport with kids helps in her treatment of them. “Laura talks to the child, no matter how old they are,” she says. “She has the child engage with her and what she’s doing.” Since her career change, Mayo has never looked back. “I love everything I do,” she says about her practice. Her passion for acupuncture and herbs— and the combination of them together—keeps growing. “I got into this profession to help people, and when I see improvement, that’s the most important part for me.” She says she “keeps getting surprised” by how effective herbs can be for so many things—including severe conditions. “I believe you can reach the goal so much faster with herbs and acupuncture.” For Jessica Vincenzo, Mayo has provided a paradigm shift for her and her family. Not only has it made her sons aware of a wider variety of treatment options and broadened their perspectives on wellness (when Eamon feels his allergies coming on, he asks his mom not for Benadryl like he used to, but for herbs), but also it’s empowered Vincenzo and her husband. “As a parent, there’s nothing worse than feeling sleep-deprived at 2 o’clock in the morning and powerless to do anything when your kid needs relief,” she says. “Laura has changed that dynamic and made parenthood so much more enjoyable.” For more information or to book an appointment, go to hrfamilyacupuncture.com
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the gorge magazine // fall 2014 75
our gorge
Ingredients
partake
• ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil • 1 lb. Rustic white loaf (from Pine Street Bakery, Hood River), cut into bite size pieces • 10-12 Large fresh sage leaves • 8 Slices pancetta (available at The Farm Stand, Hood River) • 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut into eighths • 1 Pint cherry tomatoes, halved • Kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper Chive Champagne Vinaigrette • ¼ Cup champagne vinegar • ¾ Cup extra virgin olive oil • 1 Small garlic clove, very finely minced • 1 ½ Teaspoon Dijon mustard • ¼ Cup very finely sliced chives • Kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper
Seasonal Panzanella
This autumn-inspired bread salad bursts with flavor: pancetta, tart cherry tomatoes, earthy fried sage, and hard boiled eggs are tossed together with toasted pieces of bread and a Chive Champagne Vinaigrette.
Beverage Pairings Try pairing the Seasonal Panzanella with these local beer selections
Solera Brewery (Parkdale) Valley Weisse
By Kacie McMackin
I
n a small sauté pan, heat ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil until shimmering. Gently place in a few sage leaves at a time and allow to fry for 10-15 seconds. You don't want them to brown! Remove using tongs and set on a paper towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining leaves. Set the leaves aside and save the oil. Turn your oven on to broil. Carefully toss the bread with the sage-infused oil on a baking sheet. Broil on the middle rack, tossing once or twice, until some of the bread has started to toast and is lightly brown. The goal is to give the bread a bit of color and texture, not to completely toast it. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a large bowl. Using the same baking sheet, lay the pancetta slices out in a single layer. Place them in the oven, under the
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broiler, until they are crisp, flipping once. Remove from the oven and transfer to a paper towel to drain. In a small bowl whisk together the champagne vinegar, garlic, chives, and Dijon until combined. Then drizzle the oil in slowly while whisking. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Break up the pancetta as you add it to the bowl with bread, then add in the tomatoes, sage leaves, and eggs. Toss together gently. Plate, drizzle with plenty of dressing, taste for salt and pepper, and serve immediately! Kacie McMackin is a food blogger, writer and photographer for gorgeinthegorge.com. She lives in Hood River and is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.
pFriem Family Brewers (Hood River) Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Full Sail Brewing Co. (Hood River) Cascade Pilsner
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andrew's pizza & bakery
(541) 386-1448 • andrewspizza.com 107 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River 310 SW 2nd Street • Downtown Stevenson Since 1991 Andrew's Pizza has been serving New York-style, hand-tossed pizza. Topping selections from basic to gourmet. Feel like a movie? Step through the Hood River restaurant and enter the Skylight Theatre…sit back and enjoy a firstrun movie while sipping on a pint of beer or a glass of wine. dine-in, take-out or delivery.
brian’s pourhouse
APPLE VALLEY BBQ
backwoods brewing company
• Our meats are smoked using local cherry wood • Dry rub and BBQ sauces are all made in-house • Pulled pork, chicken, ribs, burgers, salads, vegetarian items • Nightly dinner specials • Local draft beer, wine, hard cider • All desserts fresh-made by Apple Valley Country Store • Outdoor seating available • Ask about catering Open: Wed-Sun at 11am to 8pm. Closed: Mon & Tues.
We, the Waters family, decided to open a new brewery in Carson, Washington. Our brewery is inspired by the finest craft breweries of the Columbia River Gorge and all around the Pacific Northwest. We are locally owned and our beer is locally brewed in the “Backwoods”. Enjoy delicious pizza, fresh salads and tasty appetizers in our family-friendly pub.
(541) 352-3554 • applevalleybbq.com 4956 Baseline Drive • Downtown Parkdale
casa el mirador
(509) 427-3412 • Open Thur-Sun, 3-9pm 1162B Wind River Road • Carson
cascade locks ale house
(541) 387-4344 • brianspourhouse.com 606 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River
(541) 298-7388 • casaelmirador.com 1424 West 2nd Street • The Dalles
(541) 374-9310 • cascadelocksalehouse.com 500 Wanapa Street • Cascade Locks
We are located in a charming historic house in the heart of downtown Hood River. Our guest dining experience is optimized by tastefully and passionately blending nature’s finest ingredients with impeccably friendly service, our mission since 1998. Outdoor patio for private parties, groups, and rehearsal dinners. Dinner served daily, 5pm to 10pm.
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. Happy Hour margaritas, drink specials and 1/2 off appetizers 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.
• Great pizza and an awesome beer selection • American: new and traditional • Lunch and dinner • Burgers and sandwiches • World-famous horseradish • Outdoor seating • Take-out • Groups welcome
celilo restaurant & bar
crooked tree tavern & Grill (541) 352-6037 • cooperspur.com 10755 Coopur Spur Road • Mt. Hood/Parkdale
(541) 386-4502 • dogrivercoffee.net 411 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. experience the freshest foods here, today!
Our rustic mountain restaurant offers fresh creative food, a seasonally changing menu, local beers and wines, and wellcrafted drinks. A perfect place to dine after a day of exploring the Mt. Hood National Forest. Come celebrate with a FREE entrée on your birthday. Open daily for dinner. Breakfast and lunch served Fri, Sat and Sun. View our menus online!
Named one of 'America's top 10 coffeehouses' by USA Today
(541) 386-5710 • celilorestaurant.com 16 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River
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open: Fri & sat 11am-11pm; Mon, Wed, Thurs, & sun 11am-9 pm, and closed Tuesday.
dog river coffee
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) 308-0304 • indiancreekgolf.com 3605 Brookside Drive • Hood River
(541) 386-3000 • doppiohoodriver.com 310 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River
doppio CoFFEE
double mountain brewery & taproom
A scenic choice with excellent food and personal service located in the heart of the Hood River Valley just minutes from downtown. Unwind with breathtaking views of Mt Hood and Mt Adams from our covered, wind protected patio. Relax with a beverage from our full service bar or enjoy some fabulous northwest cuisine at a reasonable price. Open Daily for lunch & Dinner. happy hour 3-6pm.
Relax on our patio, right in the heart of downtown…enjoy a hand-crafted espresso drink made with locally roasted, fair trade and organic coffee. Serving breakfast and lunch all day: panini, salads, smoothies, and fresh baked goods (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free options). Local beers on tap, and local wines by the glass or bottle. Free Wi-fi and our patio is dogfriendly. Open daily at 7 a.m.
A local favorite, serving up an ever-changing variety of ales and lagers that are brewed onsite. The highly-regarded brews are complemented by a menu of sandwiches, salads and delicious thin-crust New York-style pizza that has earned rave reviews. Outdoor seating available.
DIVOTS clubhOuSe ReSTAuRANT
(541) 387-0042 • doublemountainbrewery.com 8 Fourth Street • Downtown Hood River
open 7 days a week at 11:30am
everybodysbrewing.com White Salmon, WA
EVERYBODY’S BREWING
FULL SAIL brew pUb
GROUND Espresso Bar & Cafe
(509) 637-2774 • everybodysbrewing.com 151 Jewett Boulevard • Downtown White Salmon
(541) 386-2247 • fullsailbrewing.com 506 Columbia Street • Downtown Hood River
(541) 386-4442 • groundhoodriver.com 12 Oak Street • Downtown Hood River
See for yourself why Everybody’s Brewing is a local favorite! We brew 12 different styles of beer plus seasonal selections onsite. The menu is filled with affordable food choices made with high-quality local ingredients. The atmosphere is warm and family-friendly. Enjoy the stunning Mt. Hood view from the outdoor deck, listen to free live music on Friday nights. Open Tues-Sun: 11:30am to closing
If there is one thing a brewer loves more than great beer– it’s great food and great beer! Our northwest-inspired menu complements our award-winning brews and features seasonal, local ingredients. Swing by for a pint, grab a bite, tour the brewery or just soak up the view. Open daily at 11am serving lunch and dinner. Guided brewery tours are offered daily at 1, 2, 3 and 4pm and are free of charge.
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. Feel like a having a brewski? Local beer and cider on tap.
grace su’s china gorge
mcmenamins edgefield
(541) 386-5331 • chinagorge.com 2680 Old Columbia River Drive • Hood River (Located off I-84 and the base of Hwy 35) While visiting the Gorge…take a trip to China. Great Szechuan-Hunan taste. No airfare. Free Parking. Very happy family. great plates for more than 30 years.
Mothers Marketplace
(503) 669-8610 • mcmenamins.com 2126 SW Halsey Street • Troutdale (off Exit 16)
(541) 387-2202 • mothersmarketplace.net 106 Highway 35 • Hood River
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.
We are a locally-owned vegetarian health food market that emphasizes organic foods. Our deli features pizza by the slice, a juice bar, fresh soups, and smoothies. We have an organic produce section, over 100 bulk bins of “real food”, grocery items ranging from boxed and frozen foods to natural beauty care products, plus bulk herbs and supplements. Follow us on Facebook
ales, wines, and spirits are handcrafted onsite.
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ovino market & delicatessen and gorge cyder house (541) 436-0505 • ovinomarket.com 1209 13th Street • Hood River Heights
We carry a variety of cheeses and charcutery, local bread, antipasti, chocolate, olive oil, vinegar, and other gourmet items to create the perfect picnic. Try one of our Europeanstyle sandwiches for lunch and enjoy it in our Beer & Cider Garden with a glass of Gorge Cyder House “old world style” hard apple cider crafted right here at our location.
pietro’s pizza & Gallery of Games
pint shack
(541) 386-1606 • pietrospizza.com 107 2nd Street • Downtown Hood River
(541) 387-7600 • pintshack.com 105 4th Street • Downtown Hood River
We offer fun games for all ages and three TVs so Mom and Dad can catch the game. Our extensive menu consists of a variety of pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, and a 24 item salad bar. It also includes broasted chicken, chicken wings, and seasoned fries. Place your to go orders at pietrospizza.com. Delivery available in Hood River and White Salmon. Free delivery to local hotels.
Welcome to the sunny side, where Hood River and Baja collide! Head on in for a fun vibe and enjoy the great selection of Northwestern craft beers, ciders and wine. 12 taps rotating often and a great selection of bottles. Enjoy it here or take ‘em home. We also offer great pub food! Live Music on Wed and Fri nights
(541) 436-0600 • pitapitusa.com 1769 12th Street • Hood River Heights
(541) 387-2583 • Find us on Facebook 207 Cascade Avenue • Downtown Hood River
river city saloon
riverside & cebu lounge
We believe you don’t need to sacrifice your health to get a quick, tasty meal. That’s why we start with our unique soft and roll-able pita bread, then fill it with your choice of lean, grilled meats, fresh vegetables, flavorful cheeses, and savory sauces. Conveniently located in the Rosauer’s shopping center next to Cherries Frozen Yogurt. Plenty of free parking! Fresh thinking…Healthy Eating
River City Saloon, an iconic Hood River fixture, is back under new ownership. For Football Season we’ll be open at 9am every Fri, Sat and Sun…join us for brunch while you watch your favorite team on one of our seven big-screen TVs. Enjoy great food, 16 taps, a full bar, live music most nights, and a comfortable atmosphere (darts, pool, ping pong, pin ball). Family friendly every night of the week until 9 p.m.
Diners seek out Riverside for some of the best food in the Gorge—and Cebu for great bar food, drinks and live entertainment. With amazing panoramic river views, Riverside offers fresh menu choices that change seasonally for breakfast, lunch & dinner—plus an award-winning wine list. Check our website for current menus and our Chef’s Blog. cebu lounge: happiest hours in town, Mon-Fri 4-6 pm
sixth street bistro & loft
SolStice wood fire café, bar & catering
pita pit
(541) 386-5737 • sixthstreetbistro.com 509 Cascade Avenue • Downtown Hood River A local favorite for over 20 years! We are committed to serving naturally raised, organic and local produce, meats, beer and wine. We have 12 microbrews, draft cider and a full bar. Happy hour daily from 5-6pm. Casual setting, outside seating and family friendly. Located at the corner of 6th and Cascade Streets in downtown Hood River. open 7 days a week at 11:30 for lunch and dinner.
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(541) 436-0800 • solsticewoodfirecafe.com 501 Portway Avenue • Hood River, OR Eat like a local…you'll have a fun and authentic Gorge experience at the waterfront! Serving inventive pizzas with perfectly blistered crusts, wood-fired veggies, salmon, burgers, and s'mores. 11 local craft beers, wines and ciders on tap, as well as exquisite cocktails. Large patio and kids play area. Vegan, gluten free, and organic options too.
(541) 386-4410 • riversidehoodriver.com Exit 64 off I-84 • Waterfront Hood River
stonehedge gardens
(541) 386-3940 • stonehedgeweddings.com 3405 West Cascade Avenue • Hood River “The best outdoor dining in the Gorge.” –NW Best Places We are a favorite among locals and visitors. Our cuisine is a classic, European blend that utilizes fresh, local ingredients and pairs well with our select wines. Our gardens are the perfect setting for weddings. Full-service catering available. “Romantic setting and the best meal I had in town.” –The Los Angeles Times
(541) 436-4600 • Find us on Facebook 113 3rd Street • Downtown Hood River
the subterranean
(541) 386-7423 • sushiokalani@gorge.net 109 First Street • Downtown Hood River
sushi okalani
the glass onion restaurant
The “Gem” below the jewelry store, has quickly become a favorite of both locals and visitors alike. Striving for the highest in quality and consistency, our goal is to make your dining experience the best it can be. Serving the best steaks in town as well as gourmet italian and seafood. Martinis, cocktails, beer and wine. Open for dinner seven nights a week and happy hour daily from 4:30-6pm.
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.
Join us in our cozy dining room for delicious local food made entirely from scratch by Chef, Matt McGowan. His philosophy: use fresh, quality ingredients and let the dish speak for itself, keep it simple and clean. Enjoy local wines and craft beer on tap, free WiFi, featured artist every month, special events and wine dinners. Ask about catering and private parties. Fall hours: Wednesday-saturday 11:30am to 9pm
the gorge white house
THUNDER ISLAND BREWING COMPANY (971) 231-4599 • thunderislandbrewing.com 515 NW Portage Road • Cascade Locks
(541) 436-1226 • volcanicbottleshoppe.com 1410 12th Street • Hood River Heights
Featuring our own wines and hard ciders, regional wines and craft beers, farm fresh cuisine, local and u-pick fruit, cut flower fields, art, and more! Taste wine in our historic home and enjoy spectacular double mountain views. Nestled in the lower Hood River Valley just 4 miles south of town. Open: 10am-7pm, April through October. Days vary, check our website for details and off season hours.
An adventure-based brewery that is handcrafting creative and innovative beers in the Pacific Northwest. Thunder Island Brewing makes original beers inspired by a love for outdoor adventures, with a nod to local history and with a respect for all that the scenic Columbia River Gorge has to offer. Check our web site for what’s brewing. We are now serving food and are an all-ages brewpub, please call for hours.
We have the most extensive and diverse selection of craft and import beer, cider, mead, and gluten-free beer in the Gorge…enjoy it here or take it with you. We also offer wine, light food, an outdoor beer garden, and the best foosball table in town. OPEN 7 dAyS A wEEk
(541) 386-2828 • thegorgewhitehouse.com 2265 Highway 35 • Hood River
(509) 773-4928 • theglassonionrestaurant.com 604 South Columbus Avenue • Goldendale
VOLCANIC BOTTLE SHOPPE
A new beAu t i f u l , f u ll- si ze m AgA z i n e co m i n g i n jA n uA ry 2 015
ReseRve ad space now: Micki chapman (541) 380-0971 or mchapman@thegorgemagazine.com
b e pA rt of t h e colu m bi A go r g e ex per i en c e… the gorge magazine // Fall 2014 81
our gorge
epilogue
Fruit packing in the Hood River Valley, 1912. (Photo courtesy of The History Museum of Hood River.)
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Columbia Center for the Arts presents the 3rd Annual Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival Venues include: Columbia Center for the Arts Springhouse Cellar Andrew’s Skylight Theater Featuring Screenings from the Northwest and Around the World
n m
Categories include: NARRATIVE ANIMATION DOCUMENTARY 3D AND INDEPENDENT FILMS MADE IN THE NORTHWEST
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OPENING RECEPTION for fans & filmmakers Friday, November 7, 7pm Full schedule of screenings and discussions with filmmakers, actors and artists available by September 15th
www.columbiaarts.org AWARDS & SPECIAL EVENTS Sunday, November 9, 5pm
$35/3 days $15/1 day
Sponsored in part by Oregon Arts Commission
Providence in Hood River Find health care where you need it • Great doctors • Convenient clinics • Award-winning hospital
541-386-3911
www.providence.org/hoodriver