TRIP PLANNER: KLAMATH BASIN PG. 86
Gravel Rides
A Wine Bar Wave + Gelato Favs
Wildfires: Recovery + Lessons
PARKS, TRAILS + STAYS FOR PET LOVERS
WINE COUNTRY ITINERARIES IN OREGON + WASHINGTON SWEET SUMMER CHERRY RECIPES
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July | August
volume 81
Discover yourself here. The secret is out! Announcing Strada, the first-of-its-kind collection of custom homesites in Discovery West, available to the public. Generous homesites offer ample space and privacy and a serene natural setting — all close to nature, trails, bike paths, schools, parks, shops, restaurants and more. This rare opportunity is just waiting for you to customize your next life’s move. Learn more about your custom home build journey in Strada. Visit DiscoveryWestBend.com/Strada for details or call Shelley Griffin at Harcourts the Garner Group Real Estate at (541) 280-3804.
The Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires combined in the Santiam Canyon to torch forest and towns alike, but they didn’t snuff out all life here.
Fighting Wildfires photography by Daniel O’Neil The new method may be the oldest method for containing wildfires. (pg. 64)
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1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 3
JULY | AUGUST 2023 • volume 81
64
74
Trial by Fire
A Sense of Place
New lessons from old methods is a bitter pill for fire control.
The Butler Bank Building in Hood River is a surprising art collective.
written by Daniel O’Neil
written by Kerry Newberry
54 Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer This summer, (un)leash fun on five trips for you and your dog. written by Jean Chen Smith
It’s truly summer when your dog knows it is, too. Paddling on the Deschutes River in Bend.
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1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Craig Zagurski/Visit Bend
FEATURES
EXPERIENCE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LUXURY, TODAY We are excited to announce that a finished model Residence at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Portland is now open for tours. With sweeping views of the Willamette River through floor-to-ceiling windows, the interior of this home is modern and comfortable. Morning light floods the living room and private terrace, while the evening sunset is reflected off Portland’s skyline and, in the distance, paints Mt Hood orange with alpenglow. For further information and to schedule your own private showing, contact Terry Sprague at terry@rcrportland.com or visit www.rcrportland.com. 971.217.8882. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Portland, are not owned, developed, or sold by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, or its affiliates (The Ritz-Carlton)®. BPM Real Estate Group uses The Ritz-Carlton marks under a license from The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC.
DEPARTMENTS JULY | AUGUST 2023 • volume 81
LIVE
52
16 NOTEBOOK
Pagan wine, The Benson’s renovation, The Red-Headed Pilgrim. Jason Quigley/Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
22 FOOD + DRINK
Beer and places, tribal foods, gelato.
26 FARM TO TABLE
From Turkey to Oregon, the sweet cherry and recipes.
34 HOME + DESIGN
One Black Butte condo remodel with landform architecture.
42 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Potter Sarah Wolf balances creativity with the practical.
26
Daniel Stark
THINK 46 STARTUP
Oregon State University and its counterpart in Colorado oversee a new federally funded food business center.
48 WHAT I’M WORKING ON
Mitchell’s Spoke’n Hostel for cyclists.
50 MY WORKSPACE
Alan Thornton plays with fire and light.
52 GAME CHANGER
Beaverton’s Patricia Reser Center for the Arts.
EXPLORE 80 TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT
Sleeping in treehouses in Cave Junction.
82 ADVENTURE Daniel O’Neil
Three gravel tours for two wheels.
42
84 LODGING
TenZen Springs + Cabins.
12 Editor’s Letter 13 1859 Online 94 Map of Oregon 96 Until Next Time
COVER
photo by Dillon Jenkins (see “Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer,” pg. 54)
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1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
86 TRIP PLANNER The Klamath Basin.
92 NW DESTINATION
The Olympic Peninsula and the quietest place in the lower forty-eight.
HERE, NOT HING S TANDS S T ILL . Spectacular ocean views. Innovative coastal cuisine. Restorative spa treatments. Sunset bonfires on the beach. Heart-pumping dune hikes. Head out. Stay in.
PAC I F I C C I T Y, O R EG O N
H E A D L A N D S LO D G E .CO M
5 03 . 4 8 3 . 3 0 0 0
CONTRIBUTORS
GRANT STRINGER Writer Startup “As a reporter, I get the opportunity almost daily to talk to someone in-depth about their life’s work, from dryland wheat farmers to constitutional lawyers and drug abuse counselors. I was giddy interviewing Lauren Gwin, a food systems expert at Oregon State University, about her work at the intersection of sustainable agriculture, economic development and climate policy. It’s impossible not to share Gwin’s passion.” (pg. 46) Grant Stringer is a freelance journalist based in Portland writing for national newspapers and local outlets in the U.S. West. He covers the Oregon Legislature for The Oregonian.
JEAN CHEN SMITH Writer Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer “Oregon is an ideal state to romp and play with your fourlegged friend, especially in the summer. Whether you’re doing a day trip or pursuing an overnight adventure, there are so many places that welcome dogs. Cannon Beach is an excellent destination for both dogs and their owners who enjoy the ocean. The Deschutes River and numerous hiking trails make Bend another idyllic spot. The hotels in our roundup are luxurious and high quality (and pet friendly). So get out this summer and try one, or all, of our recommendations.” (pg. 54) Jean Chen Smith is a freelance writer and Pilates studio owner who lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley with her husband and two mini shih tzus, Tonka and Paisley.
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DANIEL STARK Photographer Farm to Table
JAMES SINKS Writer Trip Planner
“Taking on this assignment was very special to me as I grew up in Hood River and have fond memories of running through these orchards as a kid. My goal was to transport you to the lush landscapes of the Hood River Cherry Co. orchards and the vibrant canopy of their cherry blossoms. Amid this picturesque backdrop, I had the privilege of capturing a portrait of Katy Klein, the co-owner of Hood River Cherry Co. Her vibrant spirit and profound connection to the orchard radiated through the lens.” (pg. 26)
“As a kid in Klamath Falls, I’d sometimes hike uphill past the sleeping houses to the large, concrete-and-rock whitewashed ‘K’ overlooking the city, to watch the dawn break. It always was worth the trek. Decades after packing up and leaving, I returned for this month’s 1859 Trip Planner feature—and marveled at the still-stunning view. Whether you’re seeking thrills or tranquility, I think you’ll agree that practically everywhere across the Klamath Basin, it’s stunning, sunny and worth the trip.” (pg. 86)
Daniel Stark is an accomplished portrait and editorial photographer based in Bend. With an unwavering passion for storytelling through imagery, Daniel masterfully captures the essence of his subjects, unveiling their unique narratives with every click of his camera.
James Sinks is an awardwinning journalist and freelance writer whose first news job was when, as a teenager, he launched and edited a teen section at the Herald & News in Klamath Falls. He lives in Salem with his cat, Junebug.
Scan. t s a o Find.. C n o g e r O n r e h t u o S Go. Go. Powered Powered By Nature
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EDITOR
Kevin Max
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Allison Bye
WEB MANAGER
Aaron Opsahl
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Joni Kabana
OFFICE MANAGER
Cindy Miskowiec
DIRECTOR OF SALES
Jenny Kamprath
HOMEGROWN CHEF
Thor Erickson
BEERLANDIA COLUMNIST
Jeremy Storton
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Cathy Carroll, Jean Chen Smith, Melissa Dalton, Joni Kabana, Julie Lee, Kerry Newberry, Daniel O’Neil, Ben Salmon, James Sinks, Jen Sotolongo, Grant Stringer
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jeremy Bittermann, Don Frank, Dillon Jenkins, Tambi Lane, Robin Loznak, NASHCO Photo, Armand Nour, Daniel O’Neil, Gwen Shoemaker, Daniel Stark
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Mackenzie Melendy
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FROM THE
EDITOR
HELL, IT’S finally summer. Summer in Oregon often is synonymous with travel and wildfires, and increasingly travel to avert wildfires. Is that possible today? In one of our feature stories, we look under the hood of an innovative way to control and contain massive wildfires. This technique is as old as human civilization but increasingly getting more attention as we watch hundreds of thousands of acres burn uncontrollably every summer. Turn to page 64 to read “Trial by Fire.” Let’s hope travel is done more for pleasure than fire aversion and get right to it. Our Trip Planner (pg. 86) heads down to the Klamath Basin for a reassessment of a bored childhood. Our previously bored writer finds that mom was right and that there are countless things to do, though many of these recreational opportunities have been developed while he was away. This piece hits the Upper Klamath Canoe Trail, heads into the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, soars through canopies on ziplines, boats out to Crater Lake’s Wizard Island and more. No summer adventure is now complete without hopping on a gravel bike and committing to hard work to get to places that few people ever go. Three gravel adventures (pg. 82) take you from Corvallis to the coast, around Central
12 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Oregon and over the Santiam Pass. These range from difficult to more difficult if done in entirety. Not feeling it? Chunk it out. Continuing on the crazy bike theme, this issue’s What I’m Working On (pg. 48) unearths a useful gem in tiny Mitchell. For those who insist on biking across large swaths of the state and come to this area, it’s otherwise desolate without the life-saving Spoke’n Hostel for cyclists. It’s also totally cool! Do dogs know it’s summer? Beyond the panting and shedding, do they really comprehend the summer vacation? There’s a good way to tell. Turn to page 54 and find the right one of five trips for you to take your dog on this summer. The energy from and your dog’s subsequent sleeping smile gleaned from the Oregon Coast to river trails and the Wallowas is one good measure of summer vacation comprehension. If you want to find peace in your life, go to the Olympic Peninsula and seek the most quiet place in the lower 48, the One Square Inch of Silence. Marked by a small stone painted red, this spot was so designated by an acoustical ecologist on Earth Day in 2005. Find that spot, find your peace and reflect on this obscure profession you may be hearing about for the first time. Turn to page 92. Cheers!
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GET AWAY TO WINE COUNTRY
HAVE A PHOTO THAT SHOWS OFF YOUR OREGON EXPERIENCE? Share it with us by filling out the Oregon Postcard form on our website. If chosen, you’ll be published here. www.1859oregonmagazine.com/postcard photo by Paul W. Harvey IV A rainbow hangs over The Lookout at Cape Foulweather.
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Stay and play in Yakima Valley Wine Country! Enter for a chance to win a travel package from Yakima Valley Tourism valued at more than $600. One winner will receive a two-night stay in wine country, a customized Graze Craze charcuterie picnic, your choice from three Yakima Valley winery experiences and a canvas tote of local goodies. Enter at www.1859oregonmagazine. com/contests/winecountrygetaway Sweepstakes runs July 1-31. Travel must be completed by October 31, 2023. Minimum 30-day lead time is recommended for booking.
SHOP LOCAL Stop by Local, our curated online shop of goods made by businesses in the Pacific Northwest. Find outdoor gear, specialty foods and more. Or show your state pride with 1859 T-shirts, hats and other apparel. Buy local. Feel good. www.1859oregon magazine.com/shop
JULY | AUGUST 2023
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE
13
Tambi Lane
NOTEBOOK 16 FOOD + DRINK 22 FARM TO TABLE 26 HOME + DESIGN 34 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 42
pg. 32 The sumptuous cherry pie isn’t just for birthday requests.
notebook
Tidbits + To-dos Talia Filipek/Wallowa Lake Lodge
written by Cathy Carroll
CAmark yo LEN ur DA R Wallowa Lake Lodge Turns 100 Wallowa Lake Lodge, so beloved that local residents bought it to keep it from being developed by a big hotel chain, is celebrating its centennial. The local Nez Perce tribe purchased the conservation easement to the property on the lake in Joseph and now maintains the 10 acres of waterways and riverbanks surrounding the lodge and hope to bring back the native sockeye salmon. The lodge’s season runs through September.
John Williams/High Desert Museum
www.wallowalakelodge.com
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A New Baby Bobcat
Wine of the Ages
There’s a new bobcat kitten at Bend’s High Desert Museum. People from the Portland area removed the 3-pound feline from the wild and contacted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Animals often leave their young periodically and return. ODFW returned the bobcat to where he was found, hoping his mother would return. After someone else brought the kitten to ODFW six days later, officials found a new home for him at the museum.
Björnson Vineyard has just released its gouais blanc, made from a rare ancient grape, a parent of chardonnay, making it the first North American winery to do so. Vineyard founders Pattie and Mark Björnson planted the grapes in the fall of 2019. In the Middle Ages, gouais blanc was known as a wine of the peasants. “We can’t meet our ancestors, but we can taste the wine they drank,” said Mark Björnson.
www.highdesertmuseum.org
www.bjornsonwine.com
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Dillon Vibes Photography
notebook
Sustained Appetite at Alloro Christopher Smith, executive chef at Alloro Vineyard, is creating tasting menus based on the ingredients all around him on Alloro’s sustainably farm in Sherwood. Smith previously spent six years at Barking Frog at Willows Lodge in Woodinville, was honored as one of Zagat’s “30 under 30” rising young chefs and is formerly executive chef at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg. Dishes honor Alloro founder David Nemarnik’s Italian heritage, including housemade pasta, focaccia and farm-raised meats.
The Benson Portland
www.allorovineyard.com/ Experience/Chefs-Tasting
Photo: Visit Hood River
The Fruit Company Heritage Experience The Fruit Company in Hood River, a family business since it began in 1942, is the place to experience Oregon’s agricultural heritage. With views of Mount Hood framed by pear trees, the Fruit Heritage Museum & Gift Shop honors the valley’s farming legacy and has a fun, expansive store. Discover why the bounty from the nutrient-rich volcanic soils attracts people from around the world to order fruit from this spot to their doorstep. www.thefruitcompany.com
Benson Hotel The Benson Portland has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of the 287-room property on SW Broadway. The nine-month project included updates to the lobby, restaurant, bar, fitness center, meeting and event spaces, ballrooms and guest rooms. With original Italian marble floors, Austrian crystal chandeliers and the largest collection of circassian walnut within one building, this fabled, European-style hotel built in 1913 is on the National Register of Historic Places. www.thebensonportland.curiocollection.com
JULY | AUGUST 2023
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 17
notebook
Musician
Jeffrey Silverstein finds community and his musical grounding in Portland.
Eyes on the Horizon Portland’s Jeffrey Silverstein travels the country cosmos on Western Sky Music
Shade Standard
written by Ben Salmon
“I realized it’s in my blood,” he said, “and definitely something I should be doing.” About six years ago, Silverstein moved across the country to Portland, arriving not only to a new town but also a crossroads in his artistic life. “I really felt like when I moved out here, it was like, ‘What are you going to do?’” he said. “‘You’ve had bigger bands and you’ve had a duo. You’ve experienced some success and you’ve had bands come to an end. You’re in a cool music city. How are you going to get tapped into it?’” He found his path forward at the Sou’wester Lodge, a rustic resort on the Washington coast that hosts artists’ residencies, including one that provides musicians with an analog recording studio in a 1968 Ford motorhome. There, Silverstein spent five days recording songs that later became his solo debut, 2019’s How On Earth EP. “That was huge for me,” he said. “That week showed me that I still want to do this and that I still have music to offer.” Since then, Silverstein’s music career has been on a steady rise. His first full-length, 2020’s You Become the Mountain, earned praise for its meditative blend of ambient vibes, drum-machine rhythms, gently rippling guitar work and hints of twang courtesy Portland-based pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker Jr. And in May, he released its followup, Western Sky Music, which takes those hints of twang and expands them across nine tracks of cosmic Americana that feels significantly more confident and compositionally sturdy than Silverstein’s previous work. The ultra-cool music website Aquarium Drunkard lauded the album’s “mysterious charm,” while the equally ultra-cool music website Raven Sings the Blues called it “his most nuanced and necessary (release) yet.” Now settled in Portland, Silverstein is a special education teacher with a side hustle that is growing more than he could’ve Listen on Spotify imagined, especially given that he arrived in town unsure about his musical future. “I’m at a pretty interesting moment where I can feel some of my effort and hard work that I have put into this paying off in different ways,” he said. “It’s a good problem to have, and I’m grateful for it.”
JEFFREY SILVERSTEIN was lucky enough to live in Baltimore in the 2000s, when that city’s music scene was nurturing excellent underground bands like Animal Collective, Future Islands, Beach House and Lower Dens. Silverstein—who is originally from New Jersey—played in his own band, too, called Secret Mountains. “I got to be a part of all that,” he said, “and it was huge with regard to my understanding of how to bring people together around music, and how beautiful that is.” Eventually, Silverstein left Baltimore and moved to Brooklyn, New York, which is perennially home to some of the best up-and-coming rock bands in the country. There, he played in Nassau, an adventurous folk duo. At the same time, he earned his master’s in special education, with the intent of following his mother into teaching. 18
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
717 SW 10th Ave Portland, OR 97205 503.223.4720 www.maloys.com
Ocean view For fine antique and custom jewelry, or for repair work, come visit us, or shop online at Maloys.com. We also buy.
notebook
Bibliophile
Pilgrim Power Humor and drama on the journey to find the meaning of life “THIS IS THE story of a pilgrim named Kevin Maloney,” we learn in the prologue to the novel The Red-Headed Pilgrim, autobiographical fiction by Kevin Maloney. Our hero hails from Beaverton, “a suburb of Portland the way the Monkees are a suburb of the Beatles.” A twisted JV football drill sends him running for the forest, sparking an existential crisis. His parents line up a therapist who offers him a copy of Siddhartha, and his pilgrimage eventually ensues. Think On the Road meets Napoleon Dynamite in the latest from this Portland-based author. You’ve said that half of writing is skill and half from how you live your life. Can you elaborate? When I was younger, I used to be dazzled by fancy sentences in books. I still am, but as I’ve gotten older, I realize that the books that really stick with me change the way I see the world. I don’t mean ideas or politics— I mean the author’s vision of the world infects me and makes me set the book down and look around and notice things that I don’t usually see. Little details, like a bird splashing in a puddle or a kid standing next to his mom, playing with a piece of string. It’s so easy in life to let yourself become bogged down by to-do lists and work stress. Great art has the power to lift us out of our daily brain and put us in a more cosmic frame of mind. To do that, a writer has to make a habit of being vigilant—paying attention to the little details in the world and their own mind. What were the high points and low points for you in writing this book? 20
Kevin Maloney
interview by Cathy Carroll
Kevin Maloney deftly draws you into a Quixote-like tale that begins in Beaverton.
The high points happened when I was writing a scene and it worked the first try. There were sections where the dialogue and descriptions came together in front of me, and it felt like the book was writing itself. Those moments come after a lot of hard work and practice and mostly failing, so when the prose is flowing and it’s good, I just try to get out of my own way and let the words come out. That’s an incredible feeling. The low points came after I had all these scenes, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to put them together. I’m a confident story writer, but this is my first full-length novel. A novel is an entirely different thing than a story. You can put twenty stories together, but that doesn’t make it a novel. A novel—a good one—contains some kind of magic that I still don’t completely understand. I struggled with this book for almost seven years, trying to make every page feel inevitable and effortless.
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Why did you choose to write autobiographical fiction rather than memoir? This thing happens to me when I try to write memoir—I freeze up. I get so preoccupied trying to get the details of what happened just right that my writing comes out stiff and dull. But when I give myself permission to lie, suddenly I start telling the truth. When I decided to make The Red-Headed Pilgrim an autobiographical novel that adhered closely but not strictly to my life, suddenly it became fun. I quit worrying so much about what actually happened and started trying to capture the feeling of certain periods in my life. There’s the added benefit that I don’t want to hurt anyone with my writing. I gave the protagonist my own name, Kevin Maloney, because I don’t care how I look in my book. But to the extent that other characters are based on real people, I fictionalized names and played around with facts and details, because the point isn’t to make anyone else look bad. I want to be the biggest idiot on the page.
ge t a-g o o d
c l im b-in-
The Rooftop at SCP Redmond
AND RELAX! After a long day, grab a drink and a bite to eat in Redmond, The Hub of good times and unexpected finds in Central Oregon. Where to Stay
Photo: Britt Eisele
food + drink
Cocktail Card recipe courtesy of Javier Santos, SubTerra Kitchen & Cellar / NEWBERG
Bell Road Bloom
FOR LAVENDER SYRUP • 1 cup water • ¾ cup sugar • 3 ounces lavender FOR LAVENDER SYRUP Add all ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to low simmer, or until sugar is dissolved. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it steep for 1520 minutes, then strain. FOR COCKTAIL Combine all ingredients except Créme De Violette in a Boston shaker over ice. Shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds. Double strain into a martini glass. Float Créme De Violette on the side of the martini glass (Créme De Violette will fall to the bottom of the glass). Garnish with a fresh lavender sprig.
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1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Beerlandia
Pairing Beer with Oregon Places written by Jeremy Storton AS I WRITE THIS, I’m in the air returning from Nashville. I enjoyed some good beer while I was there, but that’s not what I think about when I think of Music City. Images of barbecue, whiskey and blues infused country music fill my mind before beer. I’ve been fortunate to have been a few places in the world where I tasted the beer and got the T-shirt. A few of those places are well known for their beer. Others are well known, but also have beer. Oregon is different. It’s well known for beer and … fill in the blank. I’ve enjoyed some unforgettable experiences in Oregon. The moments sitting dockside at a high lake, dangling my legs on a tailgate at the end of a southern trail, driving past the verdant hills of the east, staring at the mountains that benevolently dare us to climb, or donning a wetsuit at the coast have all contributed meaning to my life. These experiences still would’ve meant something without it, but a good beer caps off these experiences like a soundtrack to a movie. This, for me, is what Oregon is known for, the beer-filled experience that sates our thirsty souls. There are a few places in Oregon on my agenda this late summer. I can’t hope to visit them all, but I do hope to visit and experience them again. Places like the Oregon Trail Brewfest in Oregon City, and all the patios, fun runs and other beer festivals throughout Oregon. Chances are I’ll be near the water this summer. But, wherever you are, go outside. Go find your place. The best Oregon beer experience is always the next one, and the next one is around the bend.
Illustration: Allison Bye
• 1½ ounce Freeland Spirits Gin • ½ ounce Luxardo Liqueur • ¼ ounce Green Chartreuse • ½ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice • ½ ounce lavender syrup (recipe below) • ⅛ ounce Crème De Violette • Lavender sprig for garnish
September 14-17, 2023
Mount Angel Oktoberfest is grateful to our sponsors:
Bark Boys
www.oktoberfest.org Mount Angel, Oregon
CRAVINGS: GELATO
Photos: Sakari Farms
BONTÀ GELATO
Gastronomy
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Sakari Farms outside of Bend. Alaska Schreiner brings back tribal foods at Sakari Farms. Among its outcomes in the Sakari Farms hot sauce.
Sakari Farms written by Kerry Newberry ON A SIX-ACRE stretch of land in the high desert near Tumalo, Spring Alaska Schreiner is transforming the way people connect to tribal foods. In 2018, the agriculturalist—her tribal name is Upingaksraq (the time when the ice breaks)—launched Sakari Farms, planting first foods and medicinal plants from ancestral seeds. Today, she farms four 100-foot-long greenhouses packed with tribal peppers, heirloom beans and rare squash that’s either sold fresh or turned into delicious goods like Hopi black bean hummus, smoked chanterelle zucchini chips and snacky bites of Gete-okosomin (winter squash) marinated in maple sugar. “The goal of the farm is to create awareness around native people and tribal foods,” said Schreiner. “But our concept is to create higher-end products— think Bon Appétit style.” In fact, Sakari’s Cedar Smoked Salt was featured in Bon Appétit last year. You can find that specialty salt along with other bestsellers like a new smoked salt made with Douglas fir tips foraged from the Cascade Range at the onsite market. “We have one of the only tribal grocery stores in the Northwest,” said Schreiner. “It’s pretty rad.” The shop stocks tribal food products from native farmers across the country including Séka Hills Olive Oil and wild rice from Red Lake Nation Foods. “We also make some serious hot sauces,” said Schreiner from the supremely spicy Cascadia Lava to the savory Salsa Morada loaded with heirloom buena mulata peppers. A community hub, the farm also houses a seed bank for national tribal members and offers farming classes. This summer Sakari Farms will mark its first season at the Northwest Crossing Farmers Market in Bend, selling heirloom vegetables, fresh tribal-made food, and bouquets with native flowers like the stunning Hopi Red Dye Amaranth. The market is another spot where Schreiner looks forward to sharing Sakari’s spirit: “A big educational farm that produces some pretty serious food.” 65060 HWY 20 BEND www.sakarifarms.com
24 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
After backpacking around the world for a year, Jeff and Juli Labhart returned to Bend with culinary dreams and opened their first gelato shop in 2015. Since then, their downtown scoop spot has expanded to include a second tasting room along with coveted pints sold at local markets. Still small-batch and made with top-tier ingredients, their delightfully creamy gelato spans eighteen rotating flavors from a classic stracciatella and salted chocolate to seasonal twists like tumalo lavender, rhubarb swirl and citrus cream and berries. SCOOP SHOP 920 NW BOND ST., BEND EAST SIDE TASTING ROOM 924 SE WILSON AVE., STE. A, BEND www.bontagelato.com
PINOLO GELATERIA One of Portland’s most revered gelato makers, Pisa-born Sandro Paolini has been captivating the city with his classic Italian flavors since 2015. For his hazelnut gelato, he imports prized Piedmontese hazelnuts known for their nutty sweetness and earthy flavor. Other standouts include a salt-kissed pistachio and a summertime suite of seasonal sorbettos made with fruit from Sauvie Island farms. Not to miss—the ephemeral scoop with sweet Hood strawberries. 3707 SE DIVISION ST. PORTLAND www.pinologelato.com
SEA STAR GELATO For beachside gelato, this scoop shop run by husband-and-wife team Douglass and Tanya Lintow can’t be beat. The family hub serves up more than thirty flavors from classics like vanilla and espresso to more inventive spins like blue moon and bubblegum. Come summer, you’ll find a line out the door for seasonal flavors fed by local berry farms from ripe raspberry to the sweet-tart tayberry. 8 N. COLUMBIA ST. SEASIDE www.facebook.com/seastargelato
BEST PLACES FOR
3394 BROWN ISLAND RD. S. SALEM www.mintoislandteam.com
MARION ACRES & HELVETIA FARM MARKET Two inspiring couples run this 47-acre farm and adjacent charming market that’s stocked with beautiful seasonal produce, pasture-raised meats, baked goods, charcuterie and locally-made bread. Come summer, seasonal events kick-in including second Saturday farm tours where you’ll meet the resident cows, pigs, laying hens and more while learning about sustainable agriculture on a small family farm. Register in advance online. 23137 NW WEST UNION RD. HILLSBORO www.marionacres.com
ANTIQUUM FARM Spend an afternoon at a holistic wine farm where sheep, chickens, geese, and pigs are integrated into the vineyard as part of a regenerative system called grazing-based viticulture, a fascinating and forward-thinking practice. After touring the holistic farm and seeing how it transforms the wine grapes, you can taste a flight of Antiquum’s current releases paired with cheese and charcuterie in an idyllic farm cottage. 25075 JAEG RD. JUNCTION CITY www.antiquumfarm.com
Small plates and wine meet at Portland’s Grape Ape.
Dining
Wine Bars written by Kerry Newberry A WAVE OF personality-packed wine bars continue popping across Oregon, bringing a new vibrancy to dining out with friends. In Portland, the pocket-sized Heavenly Creatures (2218 NE Broadway St., Portland; www.heavenlycreaturespdx. com) has the most Parisian vibes with flickering candles, dramatic floral arrangements and a superb menu with bites like buttery yellowtail stacked on toast and grilled rapini with seaweed bagna cauda. Feel free to skip the wine list here: Just tell the staff what you like, and they always deliver. At Négociant (655 Northwest 21st Ave., Portland; www.negociantpdx.com), you can pretend like you’re in a tiny but equally fabulous version of Eataly. Similar to those dreamy food emporiums, you can eat an exceptional lunch or dinner (try the tortilla española), while also procuring top-notch cheese, charcuterie and gourmet conservas to take home. Grape Ape (77 SE Yamhill St., Portland; www.grapeape.wine), the city’s newest wine bar, offers a wall of hard-to-find natural wine producers like Guadioso from Sicily. Open lunch until bedtime, the snacky food—think toast topped with tuna confit or chicken wings au vin—is an easy match with their glass pours. On the coast, Good Times (567 Pacific Way, Gearhart; www.goodtimes.dog), the highly anticipated natural wine bar from André Allen Anjos, Ireland Baldwin and Doug Niblack, recently opened in a former ice cream parlor. Expect veg-friendly fare from blistered shishitos and hearty cauliflower steak to gnocchi with a zippy carrot marinara. One town over, Seaside just welcomed CHēZ (719 First Ave., Seaside; www.chezmonger.com), a specialty cheese shop and café by day, wine bar by night.
Ilana Freddye
Join one of these rarely offered tours of the state’s only tea farm. While walking through the thirty-year-old Mother tea plot, nursery and processing room, you’ll learn the history of the farm and everything about Camellia sinensis from propagation to processing. The tour wraps up with a tasting of farm-grown teas. Scheduled dates include July 6, August 10 and September 16 and tickets are required. Private tours are also available for groups of ten or more.
Négociant
MINTO ISLAND TEA COMPANY
Thomas Teal/Grape Ape
SUMMER FARM TOURS
FROM LEFT Find top-notch cheese and charcuterie alongside wine at Négociant. Heavenly Creatures has Parisian vibes and a superb menu.
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farm to table
Blooming cherry trees at Hood River Cherry Company frame Mount Adams in May.
Hood River Cherry Company owner Katy Klein finds a quiet moment in her Rainier cherry grove.
Farm to Table
The Cherry on Top Spring’s vibrant pink buds produce succulent bites of summer heaven from Hood River written by Julie Lee | photography by Daniel Stark THERE IS something that screams spring when pink buds burst in the sky on cherry trees: bold pink in color, breathtaking against a blue sky, announcing winter’s end. That was especially true this year after Oregon’s seemingly never-ending deluge. It’s a “blink-and-you’ll-missit” window in May, when cherry blossom loyalists will walk, hike and bike around Oregon to breathe in the beauty and abundance of cherry blossoms. There is even a Cherry Blossom Park in Portland, dedicated to nature’s wizardry. Sweet cherries originated in the region between the Black and Caspian Seas and derive their name from the Turkish town of Cerasus. Colonists brought cherries with them in the 1600s, and in 1847, a settler traveling from Iowa to
Oregon brought nursery stock, which became the first cherry trees planted in the Northwest. Cherries, considered a bite-sized superfood, are packed with potassium, copper and vitamin C and tout numerous health benefits. Two handfuls of cherries deliver the same benefits as a banana to balance electrolytes and eliminate post-run cramps, and a cup of cherries outweighs the copper benefits of Chinook salmon. One of the hidden benefits is getting better rest; cherries contain melatonin, and a glass of tart cherry juice before bed has been proven in studies to help regulate sleep. That post-Thanksgiving dinner feeling you have after gobbling turkey? Cherries produce
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farm to table
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farm to table
Hood River Cherry Company’s orchards in bloom in May. High season for cherries typically occurs in July and August.
the same relaxing effect with their mix of tryptophan and serotonin that helps balance mood and brain function. A bonus? Sweet as cherries are, they also contain half the sugar of an apple or orange. At Hood River Cherry Company, the dividend of spring’s cherry blossom season comes mid-summer. Affectionately and appropriately called “Mother Nature’s magic on a stem” by founder and orchardist Katy Klein and her family, cherries are in high season in July and August, and the Hood River Cherry Company has a corner on the market. Hood River Cherry Company cherries are grown at a high elevation at the base of Mount Hood and have a darker, 28 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
sweeter flavor and longer harvest season than other cherries you’ll find. Vine-ripened and hand-picked, Hood River Cherry Company cherries are heralded around the country as unique. Klein and Brad Fowler planted their first cherry tree in 1993, fittingly on the day their youngest son was born. The inspiration to get into the cherry business stemmed from their own search for cherries that weren’t underripe or bland. Both raised in Hood River, orcharding was already in their blood, and Klein’s father had a small orchard where she tasted her first hand-picked cherry. Recognizing that the high elevation in Hood River was ideal for cherry growing, they dove into the business.
It’s a family business through and through; all four of their children planted trees at a young age and weren’t afraid of the long days of farming. “Brad and I started the business from scratch,” said Klein. “Every child is involved, and some have orchards of their own.” Tony Guisto is part of that second generation on the farm. “We have a vision to grow the business without losing vision of what we do best, which is producing a high-quality cherry,” said Guisto. “We don’t want to get too big. Right now, it’s a niche market,” said Klein. “Everything is hand-sorted. All our cherries are picked tree ripened. We don’t do it like the big guys.” Guisto said the pandemic helped consumption. “People wanted to eat healthier,” he said. Their only issue was labor, with 90 percent of their cherries being hand sorted, they had to make modifications in the packing line. Online sales are resuming this year for the first time since 2020, after being stalled with some shipping challenges. They ship overnight and love sending their cherries all over the country to loyal Hood River Cherry Company enthusiasts. “We have almost a cult following,” said Klein. “It has to do with the tree ripening, the clusters.” Hood River Cherry Company had immediate support in the Northwest and along the West Coast, and now has a global following. “When we started, we didn’t have a foot in the door,” Guisto said. He was 5 years old when the orchard was first planted and went into production when he was 14. “I’m proud of my mom,” he said. “In the food industry, it’s a ‘man’s world’. People knew what they were going to get when they did business with her. She is old school. Being a middle schooler and seeing my mom travel the country to sell cherries? Respect.” “People would tell me no, then I would ship them cherries overnight,” said Klein. “I thought to myself, ‘We’ll see how they feel when they try these!” The rest, as they say, is sweet history. For an afternoon treat, Klein’s favorite summer sip is Hood River Cherry Company’s Sweet Cherry Sangria—simple to assemble, and the flavors meld beautifully together overnight. Six-time James Beard award finalist Cathy Whims of Nostrana in Portland offers one of her favorite summertime desserts, Cherry Semifreddo. “This gorgeous dessert is a simple and elegant way to showcase Oregon cherries,” she said. “Semifreddo is an Italian dessert that means ‘half frozen’ and is similar to ice cream but requires no churning or special equipment. This recipe makes two loaves—one for now, one for later. Believe me, you’ll be grateful you made more than one. This is a perfect make-ahead recipe that can be stored for up to a week and brought out to impress guests at your next dinner party. A drizzle of aged balsamic adds visual drama and contributes a zesty element of surprise to the sweet and creamy elements of the dish.” And Ben Stenn, owner and chef of Celilo Restaurant and Bar in Hood River, shares his recipe for Cherry Olive Oil Cake, with cherry sauce and cherry ice cream, a delicious way to indulge in summer’s sweet cherries.
Hood River Cherry Company
farm to table
FROM TOP Hood River Cherry Company cherries are hand picked and tree ripened. Katy Klein and her son Tony Guisto stand among the cherry trees on their family-owned orchard in Hood River.
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farm to table
Oregon Recipes
The Many Faces of the Cherry Sweet Cherry Sangria
Hood River Cherry Company / HOOD RIVER Owner Katy Klein SERVES 8 • 2 bottles red wine • 1 cup brandy • 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice • 1 cup orange liqueur • 2 cups pitted Hood River Cherry Company red cherries • 2 oranges, sliced
Cherry and Olive Oil Cake with Cherry Ice Cream from Celilo Restaurant & Bar.
Cherry and Olive Oil Cake with Cherry Ice Cream
Celilo Restaurant and Bar / HOOD RIVER Owner and chef Ben Stenn SERVES 12 FOR THE CAKE • 1½ cups all-purpose flour • 1½ cups sugar (plus a little extra for the cherries) • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1 teaspoon salt • 3 whole eggs • 1 cup olive oil • ½ cup apple juice • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 2 cups cherries, pitted and sliced into quarters FOR THE CHERRY SAUCE • 2 cups pitted and sliced cherries • ½ cup sugar FOR THE CHERRY ICE CREAM • 16 ounces whole milk • 5 ounces heavy cream • 4 egg yolks
• ½ cup sugar • 2 cups pitted and sliced cherries FOR THE CAKE Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Choose 12 small, individual cake tins or a muffin pan of similar size. Use nonstick spray and generously coat the inside of the tins or pan. Toss the cherries in a tablespoon of sugar and let sit in a bowl while assembling the other ingredients. Stir dry ingredients together. Whisk eggs. Add other wet ingredients to eggs and whisk together. In three batches, fold dry ingredients into wet, ensuring there are no lumps of dry flour. Fold cherries into the batter, leaving aside any residual liquid from the cherry bowl. Fill cake tins halfway (resist the urge to put more batter in the tins; it doubles in size in the oven and will spill over the edge if filled too high). Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan to ensure even cooking. Bake for 10 more minutes and then check with a wooden skewer or cake tester to confirm that the batter is set in the center of the cakes. FOR THE CHERRY SAUCE Put cherries and sugar in a heavy sauce pan over low heat. Cook over low heat until
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Combine all ingredients and let chill in refrigerator for 24 hours. Serve over ice with an orange garnish.
the juice from the cherries has released and base of the pan is filled with liquid. Simmer and reduce liquid by half, about 45-60 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Let stand to cool slightly before blending. Be careful blending hot ingredients—they expand! Blend until smooth. FOR THE CHERRY ICE CREAM Combine milk, cream and half the cherries. Bring to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat. Let steep for 20 minutes. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar, and continue whisking for a full minute until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy in texture. Have a food thermometer handy. Ice cream batter should be cooked to exactly 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk hot milk mixture into egg mixture, then return to the saucepan and cook over low heat until 180 degrees. Remove from heat and pour into a low, flat pan to cool. Stir in remaining cherries. When the batter is cool, transfer to an ice cream machine and freeze to desired consistency. Serve the cake with a spoonful of sauce and scoop of ice cream.
Nostrana’s Hood River Cherry Semifreddo.
Hood River Cherry Semifreddo Nostrana / PORTLAND Owner and chef Cathy Whims 2 LOAVES (Each loaf serves 8) • 6 egg yolks • 1½ cups (or 1¼ cups) superfine sugar • 3 cups whipping cream, well chilled • 1½ cups pitted Hood River cherries, puréed in a food processor until smooth • 1 teaspoon almond extract • Aged balsamic and whole cherries to garnish Prepare an ice bath in a wide, shallow bowl or pan, and set aside. Place the bowl of a stand mixer and the wire whisk attachment in the freezer (or a large metal bowl and the beaters of a hand mixer). In a heat-proof bowl over barely simmering water (making sure that it doesn’t touch the surface of the water), whisk egg yolks with sugar, stirring constantly. Initially it will form a dough-like texture, but as it heats it will begin to melt and form into a thick liquid. Whisk until it begins to form ribbons on the surface (approximately 4 minutes). Remove bowl from heat, place onto the ice bath, and whisk until room temperature (approximately 3 minutes). Using the chilled bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the chilled wire whisk attachment (or in the chilled metal bowl with a hand mixer fitted with the chilled beaters), whip the cream on high until it forms stiff peaks. With a spatula, stir in cherries and almond extract, folding, then add in the egg yolk mixture. Line two 9-inch bread pans with plastic wrap, then pour in cherry mixture and cover with more plastic wrap to seal well. Freeze for at least 8 hours, and ideally overnight. Turn out from plastic wrap and slice in 1½-inch segments to serve. Garnish each slice with aged balsamic and a few whole cherries.
farm to table
The perfect ending to any summer meal may just be cherry pie.
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farm to table
Bob’s Cherry Pie MAKES 1 PIE FOR THE PIE CRUST • 3¾ cups all-purpose flour • ¾ teaspoon salt • 3 (12 ounces) sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed • ¾ cup ice water, plus more as needed
Homegrown Chef
Pie-Eyed
written by Thor Erickson photography by Tambi Lane IT WAS JUST after six in the morning, and the phone was ringing. I stirred from my slumber to answer the call. “Hey, it’s Bob!” the voice on the other end said loudly in a sportscaster-esque tone. “Say, my birthday is coming up and I was wondering if you might like to make lunch for me and a few of my pals? Grilled cheese sandwiches and fresh cherry pie.” “No problem, Bob,” I replied groggily. “I’m on it!” Bob, who is well versed in many things, has been a dear friend for over two decades, and this was not the first request for birthday lunch. In fact, I’ve been making this same lunch for Bob for many birthdays. It all started one day when I was visiting Bob to talk about jazz, politics, local theater and, of course food. Coincidentally, Sean, a mathematics professor extraordinaire, and an unbeknown mutual friend was also there talking with Bob about fly-fishing, mountain biking and percussionists of the 1950s. Bob reminisced about his favorite childhood food memories. “Grilled cheese sandwiches with crusty bread and stinky cheese. And fresh cherry pie made with the best cherries and a double crust!” he said as tears came to his eyes. “I’d sure love to eat that again.” Sean stood up. “We’ll make it for you! For your birthday,” he announced. “Thor will make it, and I will help!” Here’s the recipe that I make every year for Bob. Pitting the cherries is time consuming, but so worth the effort.
FOR THE FILLING • 4 pounds Oregon red cherries, pitted • 1 lemon, zested and juiced • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract • 2¼ cups granulated sugar • ¾ cup cornstarch FOR FINISHING THE PIE • 1 egg wash, as needed for finishing • 1 pinch turbinado sugar, as needed for finishing Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make the pie crust: In a large bowl or in a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and toss to coat. Cut the butter into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter (or pulse it in the food processor) until the butter resembles the size of cherries. Add the water and mix to combine. Add more water as needed to get the dough to come together. It should not be wet or sticky. Divide the dough—you’ll need half of the dough for the bottom crust and half for the top crust. Wrap each piece of dough and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger quantity of dough to ¼-inch thick. Transfer it to the pie pan and trim the edge so there is ½-inch overhang all around. Chill the dough inside pan for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Dock the chilled dough with a fork on the base and sides. Line the crust with parchment paper and pie weights, and bake until the crust is beginning to brown at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights. If the base looks visibly wet or under-baked, return the crust to the oven without the pie weights for another 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. While the crust is cooling, in a large bowl combine the cherries, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla. In small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch to combine, then add to the cherry mixture. Mix until the cherries are evenly coated. Mound the filling into the cooled crust, pressing firmly to prevent air pockets. Make a nice, rounded mound at the top. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the smaller amount of dough to ¼-inch thick. Use a rolling pin to transfer the dough to the top of the pie. Trim away any excess dough, leaving ¾ inch all the way around the edge. Nudge the edge down into the side of the pie pan so that it meets the top edge of the bottom crust. Push the crust down a bit so the excess puckers outward and creates a little lip, just like the edge of a typical pie. Press that outer lip together to seal the edges a bit, then crimp with a fork to seal. Egg wash the top crust evenly and sprinkle with sugar all over. Cut vents in the top of the pie—be creative with this! Transfer the pie to the prepared baking sheet and bake until the crust is very golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents, 45 to 50 minutes. If the pie is browning too much or too quickly, reduce the oven temperature to 375 and tent the top of the pie with foil. It is extremely important that you cool the pie completely before slicing and serving. Bob likes it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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Jeremy Bittermann/JBSA
home + design
This Black Butte Ranch condo features deep window seats at picture windows in the living room, guest room and primary bedroom.
Home + Design
Home on the Ranch A vacation condo at Black Butte Ranch is remodeled to reflect the natural landscape written by Melissa Dalton
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with a pool, restaurant and fitness center, and were impressed with Hacker’s work there. At Lakeside, as well as the newly completed lodge, the firm has evolved the Northwest modern look, bringing refinement to familiar materials like stone and local woods in an approach that connects the land with the buildings and their interior environment. “Corey Martin, the design principal at Hacker, calls it landform architecture,
Hacker Architects
FROM THE OUTSIDE, this three-story condo in Black Butte Ranch looks much like its neighbors. Originally built in 1972, it has big windows, a funky angled roofline, and is wrapped top to bottom in tan exterior siding. Inside, however, the dated red brick fireplace, orange-tinted kitchen cabinets, and laminate bathroom counters have been swapped out for a modern look that takes its cues from the beauty of the surrounding landscape. “This project was really about, how do we gracefully bring the home up to today’s standards, and also make it about this unique place,” said interior designer Jennifer Fowler, who now heads up her own Portland firm called Fowler Interior Designer, but for this condo’s remodel, led a design team of five people based at Hacker Architects, which has offices in Bend and Portland. Starting in the 1880s, the 1800 acres of land that make up Black Butte Ranch today were used for raising cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. By 1969, a real estate developer named Brooks Resources had bought it to create a recreational complex woven into the spectacular Central Oregon setting, including sprawling meadows, connection to nearby Deschutes National Forest, and views of the ranch’s namesake, the extinct stratovolcano Black Butte. When the first brochure was mailed out to advertise new home sites available, it branded the Ranch a place to “listen to the quiet.” This particular condo is part of that initial wave of development, although its current owners—who split time between Oregon and Hong Kong—bought it in 2011. In 2015, they went to the grand opening of the Ranch’s Lakeside building, a complex
Black Butte Ranch recently opened its new lodge facility, replacing its fiftyyear-old original lodge. Designed by Hacker Architects, the lodge features a restaurant and bar, a second-floor bar and lounge, a private dining room, and meeting and event spaces.
Astoria is a beautiful coastal town where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, an ideal location for an opera festival! August 20th at 3:00 pm - Opening concert with the CCO Chorus and friends at the Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts August 23rd at 7:00 pm - Pint-Sized Opera (opera in the bars) featuring Don Giovanni cast members at Ft. George Brewery August 25th at 7:00 pm -An opera made for film: Goodbye, Mr. Chips at the Liberty Theatre August 26th at 7:00 pm - Free Men and The Dream at the Charlene Larsen Center August 27th at 3:00 pm - Free Men and The Dream at the Charlene Larsen Center September I st at 7:00 pm - Don Giovanni at the Charlene Larsen Center
Festival 2023!
September 2nd at 11:00 am - Opera Sisters, a discussion of the book with the author Marianne Monson at the Astoria Public Library September 3rd at 3:00 pm - Don Giovanni at the Charlene Larsen Center Note: All events will be held in Astoria, Oregon.
For details, visit cascadiachamberopera.org
The World’s Sweetest Tree Ripened Cherries JULY—SEPTEMBER Bing, Rainier, Regina, Lapin, Skeena, Sweetheart
800-709-4722 HRCherryCompany.com
Photos: Jeremy Bittermann/JBSA
home + design
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wherein the buildings reference and blend in with the surrounding landscape,” said Fowler. The condo owners approached Fowler and Martin in the hopes of applying that approach on a smaller scale remodel in their home. Since the condo is governed by a homeowner’s association that exerts design review, minimal changes were allowed to the exterior, so as to keep it in sync with its neighbors. The design team found the original architect’s blueprints and realized that one large window originally planned for above the rear sliding door had never been installed. The only exterior modifications they suggested included honoring that original design, altering a small window above the kitchen sink, and adding a window to the stairwell to bring in more natural light. Such tweaks, combined with strategic removal of a few walls, facilitated more sight lines to the scenery. For the interior finishes, the team balanced the condo’s nostalgic qualities with streamlined treatments, curated color and quiet moments. This started with the existing Blue and Buggy pine paneling, a locally sourced wood with pronounced pink and yellow colors and grain variation—and a very ’70s feel that the owners loved. The Hacker team specified the original boards be salvaged in the demolition, then seamlessly combined them with new boards, to redistribute the paneling in a more unified fashion. Now, the walls flanking the living room’s soapstone fireplace and an accent wall in the main room both sport vertical boards that meet the ceiling. The pine-clad ceiling plane in the kitchen then wraps down the wall for cohesion. “The character, color and grain movement of that wood is so beautiful and so indicative of that area, that we didn’t think we needed to get rid of it,” said Fowler. “Yet we knew with the liveliness of the wood and the geometry of the architecture, and with wanting to draw attention to the views, that we needed to be quiet with the expression of casework and layout of the rooms.” Each bathroom—one per floor—was also reorganized, and assigned a tile color that aligned with the team’s conceptual thinking about the connection to the landscape. “The golden hues on the ground level reference the meadow grasses,” said Fowler. “Then the green at the second level corresponds to the tree canopy. At the top, the blue references the sky.” Those choices are joined with large scale terrazzo tile, custom concrete sinks and black accents via the faucets and select hardware. The final touch is the custom built-in cabinetry and furniture, from the kitchen’s black laminate-covered cabinets that anchor the great room, to the deep couches lining the sunken living room, and the bespoke storage in the primary bedroom and mudroom. Perhaps the best place to now “listen to the quiet” is the deep window seats found on every level—at picture windows in the living room, guest room and primary bedroom. “Everyone loves the window seats, with the mountain right in front of you,” said Fowler. “They just get you that much closer.” AT LEFT, FROM TOP The exterior of the Black Butte Ranch condo. The renovation works within a dated architectural era and brings light, wood and a fresh look with blonde woods.
home + design
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The kitchen is now a biophilic dream with soft accent colors. Light knotty pine in the bedroom with a nice inset bookcase. The bathroom is soft on the eyes and brings the feel of a spa.
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home + design
DIY
Container Water Fountain illustrations by Mackenzie Melendy
FROM SMALLER BUBBLERS to cascading waterfalls, the allure of the backyard water feature is that it adds soothing sound to your garden. And if you live in a city or near a busy street, the gurgling water can help to mask intrusive noises. For an easy weekend project, consider building a water fountain out of an existing container. No digging required, and the fountain can sit with a cluster of plants for variation. At its most basic, this water fountain consists of a waterproof container with a submersible pump that spurts water in a geyser-like fashion, or lets it burble gently, depending on the pump purchased. The water is continuously circulated via the pump, and a plastic bucket inside the exterior container acts as the water reservoir. Here are our tips to get started: 1 ABOUT LOCATION A water supply line is not needed to run the fountain, as it recycles the water in the reservoir, but most pumps will require electricity to operate. Consider this when choosing a location. 2
CHOOSE THE BASIN Glazed ceramic or concrete resin planters are popular choices for this
plastic bucket, which acts as a water reservoir. Drill several more holes in the bucket’s plastic sides to allow water to flow through easily. 4
INSERT THE PUMP Attach plastic tubing to the pump, and feed it through the bottom of the overturned plastic bucket, until the tubing is flush with or just below the fountain’s finished water line. Set the submersible pump inside the plastic bucket, with the power cord threaded out the exterior pot’s drainage hole.
5
SEAL IT With the cord in place, seal the drainage holes on the bottom of the outer container with silicone sealant. Let cure. For extra durability, coat the interior of the container with waterproof sealant as well.
project, and will look pretty among your plants. A pot with a 24-inch diameter is a nice size, in order to make the fountain a focal point. ADD A SECOND BUCKET Take a plastic 5-gallon bucket and turn it upside down, drilling a hole so the pump’s plastic tubing can be fed through. The submersible pump will be placed inside the overturned
PLACE THE FOUNTAIN AND FILL Set the fountain in place while it’s still lightweight and easily moved. Elevate it on pavers or bricks to allow the cord clearance at the bottom, then cover those supports with decorative rocks, or plants. Add clean river rock inside the container, in order to conceal the plastic bucket on the interior, and until the rock is around two inches below the pot rim, or flush, depending on the look you want to achieve. Add water until filled. Plug in the pump, making any adjustments to the water flow so that the liquid is recaptured in the pot. 38 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Image Credit: Royal BC Museum
Visit Orcas: Our Shared Future, and dive deep into the stories and science of these magnificent apex predators. This immersive exhibit features life size orca replicas, fossils, artifacts, and artwork from Indigenous peoples of the North American West Coast. Open now!
In Partnership with
I N PART NE RSH I P WITH
Tickets at omsi.edu
home + design
Get the Look of the Black Butte Ranch Condo
In 1968, Danish architects Claus Bonderup and Torsten Thorup debuted the Semi Pendant. With its sharp silhouette and flaring enameled shade, it became an icon that’s still in production today. The pendant is available from Gubi in an array of colors and neutrals, from glossy Pumpkin to shiny Chrome, and three sizes. www.gubi.com
Sporting a design that’s been around since 1916, the Glacier National Park Throw from Pendleton is a modern classic. Thanks to its versatile size, it’s perfect for indoors or out, whether that’s accenting the living room couch or warming shoulders around the backyard campfire. The leather carrier makes it portable, too.
Leigh Odell and Andy Morrison have co-owned and operated their handmade tile studio and showroom, called Tempest Tileworks, in Portland since 2006. For the bathrooms in the Black Butte Ranch condo, Hacker Architects chose ceramic tile from Southern California maker Arto, available at Tempest, in colors like Custard and Turquoise. www.tempesttileworks.com
Large format Terrazzo Renata Field Tile from Ann Sacks covers the backsplash and floor in the condo bathrooms, serving up a streamlined look that also vibes with the home’s ’70s origins. The tile’s precious marble flakes, grains, and chips in irregular sizes give it just enough organic color and movement in the neutral colorways, such as white and grey. www.annsacks.com
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Photos, clockwise from top left: Pendleton, Gubi, Ann Sacks, James Ogg
www.pendleton-usa.com
Sunshine for all Seasons!
New Radio Show “Like a record player and a library card all in one” —Host Lynnsay Maynard Sundays at 12 PM 89.9 FM allclassical.org
Lavender Farms are Open all Summer Sequim Lavender Weekend July 21 - 23 On the beautiful Olympic Peninsula! visitsunnysequim.com 1-800-737-8462
Daniel O’Neil
artist in residence
The Craft of Clay Sarah Wolf creates ceramics that serve form and function written by Daniel O’Neil
ONE HAND wields clay, glaze and heat. The other holds color, contrast and design. In ceramics, function and form merge intricately into usable art. It’s a challenging balance, especially when a business forms around this pursuit. But Sarah Wolf comes predisposed to handling the multifaceted task of creating the practical and beautiful. Her hands overflow with style and intent. 42
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Rock climbing, a science- and art-based upbringing in Portland, studies in both geochemistry and ceramics, and a playful take on life all helped Sarah Wolf found Wolf Ceramics in 2016. Today, Wolf Ceramics wares are designed and handmade in Hood River.
Wolf Ceramics
A physicist father and full-time artist mother, schooling at Catlin Gabel in Portland, a Whitman College bachelor’s degree in geochemistry, ample time spent in nature—climbing mountains, growing food, crafting necessities like clothes and baskets—and a post-baccalaureate ceramics degree all led to Wolf Ceramics, now based in Hood River. “I just love making things that are useful,” Wolf said. Since 2016, she has combined her background and each of her hands, building her art, craft and business in the same way that she fashions a bowl from a mound of red clay: intuitively, inquisitively, joyfully. From day one of Wolf Ceramics, as she produced mugs, plates and vases in an empty room at her parents’ house in Portland, Wolf has ignored the art-versus-craft question. “Is that art? Is it craft? Am I just making functional things? I don’t think there’s any need to make a distinction. There’s any number of combinations in the gray areas between the two,” she said. After playing with black and white glazes and earthy, raw clay in her first year, exploring the infinite variations of line, negative space and shape, Wolf then introduced color. She loves color. She found a blue from a supplier in Portland and made some dinner plates that chef Naomi Pomeroy found as a perfect accompaniment to dishes she served at her critically acclaimed restaurants Beast and Ripe Cooperative. “When I announced that I was closing after fifteen years at my location, I had a lot of people writing to me to say they were heartbroken and would miss my food,” Pomeroy said. “But the message I received the most was, ‘Can I buy the blue plates?’ They became iconic.” The coupling of function and aesthetics resembles two hands folded. Rather than dissociate them, Wolf became intrigued. A passion for growing and cooking food led Wolf to elaborate more dinnerware, which nowadays appears on tables at places like Piccone’s Corner in Portland. “Working with people in the culinary industry inspires my most functional work,” Wolf said. “It pulls me in new directions, like taking the shape of a plate and making it slightly more ergonomic or for holding a certain type of dish. Or someone will say, ‘I’ve always wanted to be able to serve my oysters on one of these things, and none of these work because of this or that reason.’ And it’s like, ‘Oh, we should try it this way,’ and then that leads to something that takes off.” Dinnerware orders have recently allowed Wolf Ceramics, which relocated to Hood River last year, to hire more employees. Wolf plays artist and employer, apparently conflicting roles that she handles like the art-versus-craft debate: all is shapable. Wolf hires artisans, treats them as friends, and pays a living wage, which partly explains the price of her wares and their popularity. Joey Rose Cardoso helps throw, glaze and kiln pieces at Wolf Ceramics, where she works as studio manager. She and Wolf have known each other for some thirty years, since school at Catlin Gabel. Both also graduated from Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. Cardoso recognizes Wolf ’s strong attributes as an artist and businesswoman.
Daniel O’Neil
artist in residence
ABOVE, FROM TOP Besides designing all of the Wolf Ceramics pieces, ceramics artist Sarah Wolf also works in each stage of production. Clay and creativity assume myriad forms in the hands of Wolf.
“Sarah’s fearless,” Cardoso said. “Part of the reason this business has been so successful is because of her willingness to say, ‘Well, who knows, but let’s try it.’ And then it becomes playful, like ‘What else could we do, what else are we capable of?’ When we’re in the studio and she’s designing new things, she’s like a little kid, just playing. She makes it look so effortless.” As Wolf expands production of functional ceramics like planters, cups and plates, she’s learning to leave more responsibility in the hands of her employees. This frees up time for creativity. “If you want to make your living off of your art, you have to make things you can sell,” she said. “I want to make enough money doing production so I have time to make things and not worry if they’re sellable.” In Wolf ’s future, the hand of functionality feeds the hand of creativity. It’s already begun to happen. “I have a little studio upstairs where I haven’t gotten to spend much time lately,” Wolf said. “But I’ve got a loom I’m ready to set up. And I’ve got printmaking and painting and weaving projects stewing around in the back of my mind, as well as a million ceramic projects.” JULY | AUGUST 2023
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STARTUP 46 WHAT I’M WORKING ON 48 MY WORKSPACE 50
pg. 52 The new Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton brings big acts to its first audiences.
Jason Quigley/Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
GAME CHANGER 52
OCT 12-15 2023
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startup
Startup
Food and the New Realities A new federally funded food business center dives into uncertainties written by Grant Stringer OREGON’S FOOD ECONOMY is booming with small and mid-sized farms growing everything from organic blueberries to wine grapes, hazelnuts and pears. They just got a huge investment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $30 million in spending to Oregon State University in May for a regional food business center. The new hub will dole out grants, resources and other help connecting local farmers with retailers and eaters. Oregon State will co-lead the new center with Colorado State University as part of a push to diversify the food supply with more, local crops in the name of economic development and climate resiliency—while boosting low-income people and people of color growing said food that agencies say were historically ignored in investments like these. The new center will serve Colorado, Wyoming and the Northwest. Lauren Gwin, an associate professor at Oregon State’s small farms program, was tapped to co-lead the new center. Gwin credited the USDA for ramping up investment in small and mid-sized farms with the venture, which is one of about a dozen new food business centers across the U.S. It’s a big opportunity to invest and build connections between local people who produce food, she said. And it’s something that the food supply desperately needs as agriculture suffers from and contributes to climate change. 46 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Gorge Farmer Collective
Oregon farmers seek new ideas for future challenges through a new food business center.
About 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions came from food producers in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The International Governmental Panel on Climate Change recently identified regenerative agriculture as a possible source of significant emissions reductions as the world barrels toward 1.5 Celsius of warming by the end of the decade. That’s meant volatility for Oregon food producers in a state now racked by extreme heat events and unseasonable snowfall, coupled with the labor and supply chain snafus of the COVID-19 pandemic that left grocery store shelves bare. But Oregon has continued to evolve into a powerhouse of small-scale and organic farming. For Gwin, this new business center is all about supporting the folks already doing the work and, in the process, making the regional food supply shock-resistant. The initiatives will include a program identifying new climate-friendly agriculture products, then marketing them and connecting growers with retailers, which she said can be challenging. The center will expand the Western Meat School, which informs and supports farmers venturing into cattle and poultry production with resources about financing, processing and marketing. And it’ll open new lines of communication between entrepreneurs, experts and newbies. For consumers—in other words, people who eat food—this could mean seeing more local and affordable food on grocery stores shelves. And the program is an affirmation that organic and locally produced foods are critical for communities and the climate, Gwin said. She said it’s refreshing to see the USDA invest beyond big farms and commodity crops. Producers of wheat, soybeans, corns and other commodities grown for industrial food production and export still dominate talks on agriculture policy and spending in Washington, D.C. In Congress, negotiations kicked off this spring on the next Farm Bill, a massive spending package priced in the hundreds of billions of dollars that funds everything from commodities subsidies to food assistance, grants for conservation and regenerative agriculture. Advocates for a healthier, more affordable and environmentally sound food industry have lasered in on the negotiations as an avenue for climate action and food justice. For the time being, Oregon State and Colorado State are standing up a steering committee to oversee the program. She is adamant that the new committee won’t hoard the new funding; she sees her role as a collaborator and welcomes new ideas from communities about what they need most.
EXHIBITION OPEN THROUGH
OCTOBER 1 FEATURING SEVEN INDIGENOUS ARTISTS
Oregon Heritage Commission
MADE POSSIBLE BY
highdesertmuseum.org
what i’m working on
An Oasis for Cyclists Spoke’n Hostel in Mitchell is a welcome sight and bunk written by Grant Stringer
I WAS EXHAUSTED and emotional when I finally made it to Spoke’n Hostel in the small Central Oregon community of Mitchell. It was a blazing afternoon in July 2021, and I was riding a bicycle across the country. The record-breaking heat dome the week before hadn’t abated much and the mercury was in the upper 90s. That day, I set out early from Prineville to beat the heat and within hours climbed Ochoco Pass on Highway 26. The high desert views were gorgeous. But karma dictated that I would suffer the first flat tire of my nearly 5,000 mile trip on the steep descent. It was a mysterious leak that I couldn’t patch out there on the baking asphalt. I began a long limp to Mitchell, the next town, stopping every mile or two to pump in some air. I was running out of water and frying on the desert floor. I remember it well. Incredibly, Jalet Farrell also remembers my arrival to Mitchell. “You were pretty over it,” she said, sympathetic but laughing nonetheless. For the last seven years, Farrell has run Spoke’n Hostel, a renovated church that’s become legendary among long-distance cyclists. The hostel sits on a remote stretch of the main crosscountry cycling route, between Astoria and Yorktown, Virginia. There’s no cell service for 50 miles in either direction from Spoke’n. Yet Farrell estimates 5,000 visitors have bunked there since she and her husband, Patrick, opened their doors in 2016. It was obvious why other cyclists described Spoke’n as an oasis. A bunk costs a suggested donation of $35 and the space has full amenities: as I recall, a big TV, showers, free wifi, a communal kitchen and plush beds. 48
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I was one of maybe half a dozen staying there that night, along with a friendly volunteer and a burnt-out New York City investor cycling to the East Coast who helped pull a shard from my tire. A grizzled cyclist heading the other direction gave me sage advice on avoiding “saddle sores”—look it up. The magic lies in this community and an atmosphere of serendipity that Farrell cultivates. Farrell, 61, is perpetually optimistic and resourceful. I was one of hundreds who bunked at Spoke’n for a night that summer. It’s possible Farrell remembers me because I arrived particularly sweaty and dejected; what’s more likely is that she invests deeply in each of her guests. “Radical generosity” is what she calls her ethos, or “a generous spirit of giving.” Spiritual, indeed: the hostel is a branch of the Praise Assembly network of Christian churches in Oregon, which Jalet and Patrick belong to, although you wouldn’t know it staying there. Farrell doesn’t bring up the religious connection unless asked, she said. The sun dipped below the canyon walls that evening. I settled into a chair and traded stories with new friends. Farrell, meanwhile, coordinated the after-hours arrival of another cyclist who was long delayed. It’s hard work keeping track of the comings and goings of wayward travelers, and she takes the job very seriously. We cyclists recognize this. To her knowledge, no traveler has stiffed her a donation or failed to make themselves available to work a bit in exchange for a spot to sleep. I left early the next morning rejuvenated and inspired. Drivers and motorcyclists are also welcome at Spoke’n. To book a stay, read the guidelines at www.spokenhostel.org. Check-in hours are between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., but Farrell also accommodates late arrivals. Call at 541-462-3333 or contact@spokenhostel.org.
Photos: Spoke’n Hostel
AT LEFT Jalet Farrell runs Spoke’n Hostel in Mitchell. ABOVE Spoke’n Hostel is a great model for through-cyclists and has a cool factor.
my workspace
When he was just a small lad, Alan Thornton was given his first camera: an old Brownie Hawkeye to play with and see if photography could become a hobby. His interest soared, to the point of taking college-level photo illustration courses in Rochester, New York, in the 1990s followed by working as an assistant for several years while living on the East Coast. As his love for the craft grew, so did his technical and business skills. While working as a producer and assistant, Thornton readily could see marketing and creative problem-solving were vital to securing a professional career in photography in addition to finely honed technical skills.
Fire + Light A photographer’s dangerous mission to bring greater awareness around wildfires written by Joni Kabana
Thornton is known for his environmental portrait illustration for commercial editorial and advertising clientele, a genre of photography that illustrates the spirit of a person in their surrounding environment. His natural and strobe lighting skills, prop selection and detailed attention to the environment have earned him accolades, and he is a well-sought instructor. Thornton especially likes “the teamwork involved in creating something that everyone would be proud of while showing something distinct about the subject.”
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my workspace
Photos: Alan M. Thornton
Having grown up in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania, Thornton also has a love for the outdoors, especially forests. Witnessing seasonal changes gives him great joy, and it was a natural course for him to become interested in protecting lush forests from ravaging fire after seeing its devastating effects. At the age of 42, Thornton embarked on a secondary career in firefighting with the U.S. Forest Service. “I’ll be honest: I really thought there was no way I would be able to hack it,” he said. “And it all turned into: if no one else is going to tell me ‘no,’ then I guess I need to keep going. And I have.” Supportive family and friends encouraged Thornton’s new foray, which gave him the confidence needed to give firefighting his best shot.
Through extensive training and fitness readiness, Thornton immerses himself into the firefighter culture and describes a camaraderie that is expansive and intensely devoted. From forest rangers to dispatchers to public information officers and beyond, a large constituency of staff members collaborative to prevent, respond and assist with fires and their impact. “It makes no logical sense to want and feel propelled to run AT a fire, but that is what it feels like emotionally,” he said. “Physically, you feel a little invincible, a little scared, a little amped up. You want to attack it and get up that hill to be around the fire and keep it small.”
Thornton still teaches photography, works on assignments and mentors others during firefighting off season, but he acknowledges he is never off the job. “I think it’s important to acknowledge that fire will put each person in their worst and best moments of their entire lives, sometimes happening in the same day, even down to the same hour,” Thornton said. “Our bond, our camaraderie is what ensures that we look out for one another, protect one another, care for and about one another to safely gain control of a wildfire, and get home safely. We help each other through not only simple things like tough hikes when we aren’t feeling our best, to break ups or deaths of family or friends. We feed one another, and we nurture one another. Certainly we don’t all get along, and we don’t all like everyone all the time … but at the core we are all fighting the same fight, and fighting the same fire.”
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game changer
Viva the Arts! Beaverton’s new art center completes a missing piece in the local cultural scene written by James Sinks SOME OF the best stories start with a simple question: What if? More than two decades ago, Beaverton civic leaders and longtime local schoolteacher Patricia Reser—who also is the widow of the founder of Reser’s Fine Foods, Al Reser, who passed away in 2010—wondered why the fast-growing, diverse city couldn’t have its own performing arts center. In those days, local performers staged shows in churches, small theaters or at larger venues across the hill in Portland. They asked: What if an auditorium was built locally? What if Beaverton could bring the arts home? And thinking bigger, what if they could showcase the world, in Washington County? In March 2022, after a multiyear odyssey of imagining, planning and fundraising, the question of “what if ” was answered in an airy, angular, art-filled facility that gazes over Beaverton 52
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Jason DeSomer/Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
The new Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton lures big acts and Portlanders, too.
Creek on the edge of the city’s downtown, a stone’s throw from the Max transit stop at the Round. The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts—better known as The Reser—is just as visually dramatic as the eclectic lineup of shows and performances it hosts. From the lobby to the 550seat theater to an open-daily art gallery, the walls are warmed by beaver-dam-evoking wooden paneling. Four massive art pieces anchor the property, including a spinning metallic dandelion wish called puff (rearviewmirrorball) that dangles in the atrium. The $55 million, 43,000-square-foot center is more than a pretty venue, however. It has become a catalyst for new artistic passion in the state’s most diverse county, said Chris Ayzoukian, executive director of the nonprofit that runs the facility. Based on ticket sales and survey answers from the first year, the new facility is giving Washington County show-goers a shorter drive, and some people are coming the other way from Portland. And, gratifyingly for the nonprofit, a substantial number of attendees are residents of westside suburbs like Tigard and Hillsboro who are patronizing the arts for the first time.
game changer
Jeremy Bittermann/Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
The $55 million, 43,000square-foot arts center includes a 550-seat theater and an art gallery.
How diverse is the area? More than 100 languages are spoken coupled with performances of original, commissioned music usin Beaverton and roughly 20 percent of city residents were born ing instruments from other countries, has used the space twice and plans to continue to do so, said founder and board presoutside of the United States. ident Sankar Raman, an immigrant from India. “We are in the connection business,” said Ayzoukian, “It is a beautiful facility, the lobby is spacious, and who worked for the Los Angeles Philharmonic bethere is parking,” Raman said. “On the west side, it fore coming to help lead the development of the is the only show in town.” Washington County arts center. “It’s a beautiful The acoustics are top-notch and the sound sysbuilding but at the end of the day, if nobody is tem is state-of-the-art, he said. He also said the inside, there is no connection.” nonprofit is grateful for the financial support The Reser operates as a public-private partnerthat allows for it to use such a dynamic space. ship. The city owns the property and building “Washington County and the city have someand steers a portion of local lodging taxes to help thing wonderful,” he said. cover the budget, while the nonprofit manages Ayzoukian said the timing of the opening the space, books performances and fundraises. The sculpture puff (rearviewmirrorball), designed by Jacqueline Metz and of The Reser was angsty, at a moment in hisThe nonprofit’s board is led by Patricia Reser, Nancy Chew, hangs in The Reser. (photo: Josh Partee/Patricia Reser tory when a pandemic had conditioned people who also was the lead donor. Center for the Arts) to avoid crowds. Yet encouraging attendance The formal mission for the center is to foster joy, imagination, connection and understanding by presenting so far shows that organizers and community groups are doing artistic, cultural, educational and entertainment opportunities something right. “We know we are competing with the couch.” People crave the local connectivity the place is making posfor all. The lineup to date has included international musicians, theatrical productions, local dance troupes and even the time- sible, he said, and that portends good things for the future, nearterm and distant. less folk group the Kingston Trio. Far from being finished, it is a “what if ” story that’s really just As part of The Reser’s mission of inclusivity, the theater allows local nonprofit groups—often subsidized with grants—to rent beginning. the space based on the number of seats they fill. The Immigrant Story, a Hillsboro education nonprofit that MORE ONLINE To learn more and see upcoming events, visit www.thereser.org stages TED-style talks featuring arrivals telling their own stories, JULY | AUGUST 2023
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The outdoors are also a restorative meditation for dogs, as well as people. (photo: Robin Loznak)
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CELEBRATE THE
D G DAYS OF SUMMER
FIVE OREGON DAY TRIPS TO TAKE WITH YOUR DOG written by Jean Chen Smith
SUMMER IS a great time for getting outside with your four-legged buddy. The state has a plethora of state parks and eleven national forests, all with their own ecosystems and wildlife, ripe for exploring. In urban areas such as Portland and Ashland, there are huge parcels of verdant land for hiking, trail running or throwing a Frisbee. When traveling with your dog, be mindful of the leash regulations specific to the area. Some places call for leashing your dog because of sensitive wildlife and plant life. Additionally, make sure to carry some doggie bags and leave no trace. Here are our five picks for a summer of fun—choose one or do them all. We have even given you an overnight option should you choose to make a weekend trip out of it.
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A 3-mile hike along the Deschutes River in Bend is a great one for people and pooches, or take a stroll through the Old Mill District. (photo: Gwen Shoemaker)
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ABOVE There are some spots in Central Oregon where pups can roam free. AT LEFT Tumalo State Park outside of Bend is another favorite for people and their dogs. (photos, from top: Nate Wyeth/ Visit Bend, Oregon State Parks)
a short fourteen-minute drive from downtown Bend and provides many outdoor activities including hiking, running, mountain biking and floating. The park has year-round camping sites and rustic yurts, some of which are dog friendly. Surrounded
by towering ponderosa pine and juniper trees, 2.4 miles of the park intersects with the Deschutes River Trail, which eventually leads to Riley Ranch Nature Reserve. Because of the sensitive wildlife on the reserve, dogs are prohibited at Riley Ranch.
MAKE IT AN OVERNIGHT TRIP The Alliance is a beautifully restored twentieth-century church that is now a rental for vacationers. Nestled in the Old Bend district, it is centrally located to many restaurants and shops. Run by Portland management company Vacasa, the rental process is smooth with easy check-in and checkout, along with assurance of cleanliness and comfort. The house’s open-concept floor plan allows for spacious bedrooms and a cute loft for kids, it also welcomes up to two dogs. The kitchen provides high-end appliances with all the necessities to cook up a delicious meal. The private backyard ensures safety for your pets to explore, and humans will enjoy lounging on the outdoor furniture and relaxing. Additional amenities include a washer and dryer, gas grill and hot tub. // www.vacasa.com
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Photo: Vacasa
Riverbend Park is an idyllic place to spend the afternoon with your dog. Completed in 2009, the park meanders along the banks of the Deschutes River in the Old Mill District with lawns for picnicking, lounging, playing ball and throwing a Frisbee. For an easy stroll, opt for the Deschutes River South Canyon Trail, a 3.1-mile loop that can be accessed at Riverbend Park or Farewell Bend Park, depending on where you start. This is a popular route, where you will see other hikers, bikers and dog walkers. There is an offleash dog area where friendly dogs can romp and play. A picnic pavilion offers shade on sunny days. The Old Mill District is a great place to stop, browse shops and grab a bite to eat. Many of the restaurants, such as Anthony’s at the Old Mill District, have nice outdoor seating to accommodate your dog. Tumalo State Park is in Tumalo, not Bend, but this is one of my favorite places to visit with our dogs. It is
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Haystack Rock, an iconic landmark at Cannon Beach, is a must for all. The 4-mile-long beach is beautiful on misty mornings, and you will find many dogs both on a leash and off-leash meandering about. Because the sand is compact, it is easy to walk or jog. If you have a fourlegged companion that enjoys running, this is a great spot to do so. The beach is wide, and although it is a popular spot, especially in the summer, it never feels too crowded. There are many birds, especially tufted puffins from early spring throughout summer, so if you are an avid birdwatcher, bring your binoculars. It can get windy and hot, so be sure to bring water for your buddy and yourself, too. Neahkahnie Mountain Trail is a twentyminute drive from Cannon Beach. If accessed through the south trailhead it is considered a moderate 2.5-mile loop and sees an elevation gain of 885 feet. For a more challenging adventure, you can start at the north trailhead, which is a 5-mile out-and-back with an elevation gain of 1,450 feet. Either entryway allows for spectacular views of Nehalem Bay and the Pacific Ocean as you ascend the ridge. Dogs must be leashed on this trail.
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MAKE IT AN OVERNIGHT TRIP The best part about Cannon Beach is the many dog-friendly hotel options. One of our favorite places to stay is Surfsand Resort because of its proximity to beach access and restaurants. Rooms are spacious with comfortable beds, modern bathrooms and amenities such as coffeemakers, minifridges and microwaves. Depending on which room you choose, some face the beautiful oceanfront, which makes waking up a sight to see. The team sets out a bowl and some treats for your dog, so they are dog friendly for sure. // www.surfsand.com
Photo: Surfsand Resort
CANNON BEACH
If your breed loves water, head to the Oregon Coast and Cannon Beach for a win-win. (photo: Don Frank)
There are the spectacular moments when you’re hiking on the coast and you stumble into great vistas like this one on the Neahkahnie Mountain Trail. (photo: Ashley Mersereau/TandemStock.com)
Either entryway to the Neahkahnie Mountain Trail allows for spectacular views of Nehalem Bay and the Pacific Ocean as you ascend the ridge.
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meander, you might discover brightly colored wildflowers, pines and some alpine firs along the way. Once at the summit, you will be rewarded with spectacular views of Wallowa Lake and Chief Joseph Mountain. Falls Creek Trail to Legore Mine hike is a twenty-minute drive from Joseph and is a challenging 5.8-mile outand-back with an elevation gain of 3,024 feet. Though a popular trail in the summer, it is a dependable route for seeing wildflowers and native wildlife. Dogs are allowed to be off-leash in some areas.
MAKE IT AN OVERNIGHT TRIP Eagle Cap Chalets at the nearby Wallowa Lake has a variety of options that include condos, chalets and cozy cabins. Only certain units allow dogs, so be sure to check in advance. All accommodations have air conditioning and heat, flat-screen TVs, coffee makers and free wifi. Daily housekeeping is also available. The property offers a barbeque area and picnic tables, a hot tub and an outdoor swimming pool. There is a seasonal snack shop along with an espresso bar. // www.eaglecapchalets.com
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Photo: Eagle Cap Chalets
The historic town of Joseph has a quaint downtown with small shops and many dining selections. If both you and your furry pal are active and up for a challenge, check out the Chief Joseph Mountain Trail, an 8.1-mile roundtrip with an elevation gain of 1,715 feet. Set within the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, this trail is not as popular as some of the other paths because of how challenging it is, but this is a great choice if you prefer some solitude. As you
ABOVE, FROM TOP Wallowa Lake in Joseph is a grand getaway for people and dogs. The Joseph downtown is eminently walkable and pet friendly. A push into Eagle Cap Wilderness is on every dog’s bucket list. (photos, from top: Gwen Shoemaker, Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce, Allison Bye)
Hogback Mountain, an outand-back moderately challenging hike is a great option for both you and your buddy because it is a secluded trail. The total length is 3.4 miles with an elevation gain of 1,768 feet. The interesting name is derived from the fact that from above the hill resembles a pig’s shoulders. The land is private property, but open for hiking and trail running. Some areas are designated off-leash for dogs to wander. Owners should keep dogs away from fenced-off areas due to livestock. It is closed during certain times of the year in autumn due to deer hunting, so be sure to check ahead of time. Otherwise, you will find this an enjoyable trek with rewarding views.
Link River Trailhead, an out-and-back trail approximately 2.7 miles long, is a gravel maintenance road that runs parallel to the Klamath River. The path is not shaded, so make sure to dress appropriately with a hat, use sunscreen and bring water for both you and your pup. There is a small, 5-foot waterfall to view before turning back in the direction from which you came. For a longer stretch, the challenging Varney Creek Trail to Lake Como is about 9.6 miles and takes at least four and a half hours to finish. With an elevation gain of 1,620 feet, it is popular with locals and tourists. The trail is great for hiking, jogging and birding with several meadows, which might be blooming with wildflowers, depending on the time of your visit. Dogs may be off-leash in some areas.
MAKE IT AN OVERNIGHT TRIP Stay at Running Y Ranch Resort, which is a pleasant resort with a spa and golf course. The 3,600-acre property offers a range of accommodations, with options ranging from rooms in their main lodge or private vacation rental homes. Main lodge rooms provide all the comforts of home, with air conditioning, comfortable pillow-top mattresses and refrigerators. For your vacation home, choose from deluxe chalets or spacious townhomes, all with fully equipped kitchens, washers and dryers. The property has a fitness center, pool and hot tub. Book their signature massage at the Sandhill Spa after a day of hiking with Fido. The onsite restaurant Ruddy Duck has plenty of outdoor patio seating, which is dog friendly. // www.runningy.com
ABOVE Head south to Klamath Falls and Link River for solitude. BELOW Hogback Mountain is a moderate hike for you and your pup. (photos: Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau)
Photo: Running Y Ranch Resort
KLAMATH FALLS
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Sometimes all it takes is getting out of the house in Portland, where most businesses are dog friendly. (photo: NASHCO Photo)
Photo: The Hotel Zags
It is hard to believe that Forest Park is larger than New York’s famous Central Park, but at 5,200 acres of forested land, it is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Officially open to the public in 1876, this historic park has more than 80 miles of trails for exploration. Surrounded by a canopy of Douglas firs, western hemlock and western red cedars, you can spend hours enjoying the outdoors. One of the most
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popular trails is the Wildwood Trail, which is recognized as a National Recreation Trail. It snakes for a lengthy 29.6 miles throughout the park, so if you opt for this, make sure to bring plenty of treats, water and snacks. Another well-known trail starts from Lower Macleay Park upward to Pittock Mansion, with an elevation gain of about 700 feet. It is a 5-mile out-andback. Leashes are required throughout the park.
Tryon Creek State Natural Area is a well-maintained state park that is fifteen minutes from Portland’s downtown. Approximately 658 acres, this lush, forested land has abundant wildlife such as woodpeckers and squirrels. There are 8 miles of hiking trails, over 3 miles of horse trails and a paved bike path. There are eight bridges, several viewing decks and restrooms. Dogs on leashes are welcome.
MAKE IT AN OVERNIGHT TRIP Stay at The Hotel Zags, a chic and dog-friendly hotel within walking distance to Pioneer Square, the Portland Art Museum and Waterfront Park. The 174-room hotel has standard rooms as well as suites, which offer a separate sitting room with a pull-out sofa that converts to a bed. The lobby is decorated with eclectic bright colors, and the courtyard features lush gardens and fire pits. Zags Restaurant & Patio offers happy hour and dinners every day of the week except Sundays and Mondays. It is an ideal outdoor space to dine and hang out with your pup. // www.thehotelzags.com
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Forest Park in Portland is yet another way to get your dog a much-needed outdoors break. (photo: NASHCO Photo)
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The Eagle Creek Fire redrew, but did not ruin, the view around Multnomah Falls. Historically, fire scars would always have figured on the Gorge landscape.
TRIAL BY FIRE written and photographed by Daniel O’Neil
THE FIRST DAYS of September 2017 caught the Columbia River Gorge by surprise. A wildfire rode gusty east winds from ridge to ridge on the Oregon side, down each drainage, through extremely dry forests full of beloved hiking trails and deep into the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness, 48,861 acres in total. One careless teenager with a firework on the Eagle Creek trail had left a state stunned and devastated. But that was six years ago. Today along Eagle Creek, ferns, maples, and grasses grow green. Surviving conifers stand weighty with pinecones, and foot-tall Douglas-firs bask in the sunlight of an open canopy that provides hikers with new views. Wildflowers, rare in the cathedral-like pre-fire forest, now flourish along the re-opened trails, attracting bumblebees and butterflies. The charred trunks have brought in blackbacked woodpeckers, and even bald eagles have returned above Eagle Creek. 64 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Late-afternoon sunlight finds green canopy along Eagle Creek. This mosaic pattern of live and fire-killed trees expands in all directions.
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it’s been blotted out for the most part. To have some of these new forests come in is actually really healthy.” The iconic Eagle Creek blaze awoke all of Oregon to the reality of wildfire, and how it isn’t entirely destructive. That fire in the Gorge revealed nature’s inherent resiliency, a trait that some Oregon communities would soon require as they dealt with their own catastrophic wildfires.
A
S THE 2020 fire season dawned, Oregon’s forests invited fire on a massive scale. A century of fire suppression had allowed dangerous amounts of biomass to accumulate. With high temperatures and extended drought, the changed climate helped make the woods extra flammable. Only a spark was lacking, and by Labor Day there were so many sparks, accompanied by a historic wind storm, that the state couldn’t keep track. One million acres burned that summer, destroying more than 4,000 homes and killing nine people. Six of the year’s major fires ravaged more than 100,000 acres each. John Giller led the response that year with 3,000 firefighters under his command. “A lot of things came to a head in 2020,” he said. “The term that was often used was, ‘This is unprecedented,’ and that was for good reason. But towards the end of the season, I wanted to remind folks that this was unprecedented, but it’s not anymore.” Several fires stood out for their devastation. The Almeda Fire only touched some 3,200 acres between Ashland and Medford. But within 48 hours it had devoured over 3,000 structures and caused three fatalities. Part wildfire, part city-sized structure fire, the flames followed the Bear Creek greenway like a fuse through the towns of Talent and Phoenix, erratically leaving homes and businesses burnt or unscathed.
Barbara Lee Giller
John Giller knows wildfire, and he likes what he sees in the Gorge. Giller spent the last forty years fighting fire with the Forest Service, ending his time there as director of fire and aviation for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Lately, he’s changed his perspective on forest fires. “Fire ripping through the Gorge like that is natural,” Giller said. “It’s occurred many times throughout history there. It might take a little longer than we want to see some places recover, but in the scheme of things, fire’s not bad. It’s fixing the landscape.” Since the Eagle Creek Fire, wildfires of alarming magnitude have raged through forests and communities across Oregon. Fueled by a mania for suppressing forest fires and by a hotter, drier climate, today’s fires burn more intensely than ever recorded. Some of the affected areas are recovering faster than others. All offer lessons on how Oregon and the West can and must coexist with this ancient ally of the woods. “People should understand that these fires are not oneoff tragedies,” said Kevin Gorman, president of Friends of the Columbia Gorge. “They’re part of a constellation of changing climate and the natural role that fire plays in forests. We have to figure out how to live with it, how to adapt to it, and how to do what we can to minimize the impacts, whether it’s in how we build houses, how we build trails, or how we allow people to recreate in those areas.” Only 15 percent of the Eagle Creek burn zone suffered a high-intensity burn. Just over half of it burned at low intensity or didn’t burn at all, helping to create a mosaic pattern that biologists, sightseers, and wildlife all appreciate. The new forest now hosts more biodiversity than it did pre-fire. “A lot of ecological benefits came out of that fire,” Gorman said. “Fire is supposed to be part of the landscape, and
ABOVE, LEFT As former head of firefighting for the Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, John Giller thought he was saving the forest from fire. Now he’s applying his experience to save the forest with fire, by means of pro-active prescribed burns. ABOVE, RIGHT The Almeda Fire spread from Ashland to Medford during the Labor Day windstorm of 2020. In Talent and Phoenix, neighborhoods and trailer parks burned, but residents found strength in community and resilience.
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Some of the neighborhoods in Talent and Phoenix look as though nothing ever happened. Others still bear witness to the fire of 2020.
“THERE’S A RENEWAL IN FAITH, IN PEOPLE, WHEN YOU SEE A COMMUNITY THAT’S HAD DESTRUCTION TO THE MEASURE THAT WE’VE HAD COME TOGETHER.”
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In Talent the fire claimed around 700 residences and wiped out 60 percent of the town’s brick-and-mortar commercial properties. Today, Talent’s downtown commercial district remains a mix of untouched, fully-operational buildings and grassy lots with remnant foundations. So far, about 75 percent of the town’s housing has been rebuilt or is in the process, while less than 20 percent of the commercial area has returned. According to Talent mayor Darby Ayers-Flood, recovery is moving at a good pace. But full recovery, she figures, will take a decade. The city’s urban renewal plan has sparked controversy due to funding and other concerns, but when a town is asked to rebuild itself from the ashes, opinions on how to do so quickly divide. Still, Ayers-Flood remains impressed by the sense of community that has emerged from Jackson County’s worst disaster to date. “There’s a renewal in faith, in people, when you see a community that’s had destruction to the measure that we’ve had come together,” she said. “People who don’t even know each other are holding their hand out to one another, trying to figure out what everybody needs and how they can help. It’s a remarkable thing to witness.”
ABOVE Built in 1924, the Malmgren Garage in Talent has housed a variety of businesses and served as a landmark. Scott English helps inform the public about the building’s reincarnation, which will offer retail space and two apartments. AT LEFT, FROM TOP As residents rebuild their homes, local restoration efforts have replanted Coalman Creek and others that flow through Talent and Phoenix. Matthew Farrington, owner of Biscuits & Vinyl record shop, lost some irreplaceable posters and albums in the Almeda Fire, but he relocated across the street in Talent and quickly restocked his bins thanks to community support. After the Almeda Fire, longtime members of Phoenix’s Blue Heron Community Garden, like Eisa Tiaatutu, rebuilt and replanted in time to harvest again the next year.
Matthew Farrington benefitted from Talent’s tight-knit community after he lost his record shop, Biscuits & Vinyl, to the Almeda Fire. He reopened in February 2021, across the street from his former location, in a retail building left unharmed by the flames. Insurance did not cover the full extent of Farrington’s inventory, but locals and other record fans stepped in, donating albums and buying new finds. “It was devastating and kind of uplifting,” Farrington said. “It’s sad to lose all the inventory and some cool personal stuff, but it’s very reassuring that people appreciate what I’m doing. That made it easier to come back and keep going.” Farrington’s business has grown since the fire, but his current space is smaller than before. He’s making do, though. “I haven’t heard about anybody rebuilding these spaces anytime soon, so I’m just sitting where I’m at, happy to be up and running again,” he said. Up the road in Phoenix, where the Almeda Fire ravaged homes and trailer parks and businesses like in Talent, a group of committed green thumbs has Blue Heron Community Garden producing food again. The garden lies along the greenway, and it burned completely—even the tools melted. But donations and grants supplied wood to rebuild the fence and raised beds, and Phoenix highschoolers built the new sheds. “There are a lot of stories of resilience here,” said Sandra Wine, a Blue Heron board member and gardener. “We survived that fire. We can pull a few weeds.” JULY | AUGUST 2023
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Manufactured and custom-built homes have begun to reoccupy neighborhoods in Detroit, three years after the devastating Labor Day firestorm of 2020. AT LEFT Michele and Don Tesdal have persevered through the complicated rebuild process, happy to be back home in their Detroit neighborhood, yet still with work to do.
T
HE DRIVE into the Santiam Canyon still reminds of disaster. Forest roads remain closed, houses and businesses lie in various states of completion—rebuilt, gone, rebuilding, or untouched by fire—and many of the mountainsides, once evergreen, stand gray and skeletal now. But underneath those incinerated trees, communities pound nails, plant trees, and plan for their future, nonstop since the gale and flames of Labor Day 2020 finally died away. Wildfire had its way with the string of towns from Lyons to Idanha, up to the North Fork and Breitenbush communities, and deep into the woods. The Lionshead and Beachie Creek fires each burned about 200,000 acres, and they combined near Detroit Lake, leaving the town there the hardest hit. Michele Tesdal, her husband, and their four kids lost most everything in the fire. Their Detroit neighborhood, once forested, now lies exposed like a clearcut. In exchange, they got views of the surrounding, albeit torched, mountains, and they developed relationships with neighbors they hardly knew. As they rebuild their home, the Tesdals, like many others, continue to live full-time on their lot in an RV.
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“I get choked up talking about a few things, but we’re past the emotional part of the fire,” Tesdal said. “It’s ax to the grindstone now, get this done because no one’s going to do it for you.” In the year after the fire, the Tesdals tried to rebuild, but pandemic-era prices were too high and contractors were in short supply. They considered selling their lot and moving away, but even that had become unaffordable. As was common after Oregon’s recent wildfires, insurance didn’t cover the total cost to rebuild. Without charitable labor and grant money from donations, Tesdal said they couldn’t have rebuilt. This scenario plays out up and down the Santiam Canyon as life returns. Luckily, the area had services in place pre-fire that were quickly able to establish a recovery fund from nationwide donations and help full-time residents navigate red tape. Santiam Disaster Services, organized by Santiam Hospital, has distributed about $3 million so far, helping some 250 households fully rebuild. Almost 100 cases, including the Tesdals’, remain open, and two dozen households still need to find a rental. Marion County recently secured another $12 million for the rebuild effort. “We don’t like to say pre-fire status because nobody gets back to that emotionally,” said Melissa Baurer, who leads the Santiam Disaster Services case managers. “But, for structures, we’re working to get households back to the status they had before, making sure people feel comfortable and have as much as they had before the fire. We’re trained for that, but we also take a lot of pride in our area.”
The Tesdals’ neighborhood above Detroit lay thick with second-growth Douglas firs until the 2020 fires. Volunteers helped the Tesdals mill their dead trees, and the wood has provided floors, trim and a ceiling in their new home, along with a rebuilt chicken coop.
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The flames spared the Canyon’s school buildings, in Mill City, but scattered its students into temporary housing across the area. Many will not return, their families having decided to relocate instead of rebuild, and the loss of elementary students could mean funding shortages for years to come. But enrollment is up as new families come to the Canyon, and school buses still fetch displaced students from as far as Salem and Lebanon. “I think we’ll be feeling the effects of this for many years to come,” said schools superintendent Todd Miller. Miller grew up in the Canyon, so he’s reassured by the nature of his mountain community. “The people up here are resilient and self-reliant. They’re fighters. There’s a determination not to let this take anybody down.” As Canyon towns grapple with issues like water treatment and a lack of businesses, as tax revenues decline and tourists stop only for a bathroom break, another unforeseen dilemma polarizes Detroit in particular. Newcomers who bought burned-out residential lots have parked RVs there as second homes, remaking the character of neighborhoods and forcing Detroit’s city council to respond with regulations. “It’s very complex,” said Tesdal, who is also a city council member. She likens Detroit’s issues to whack-a-mole. “You hit one, and they keep popping up. As a council, we never expected to problem-solve bringing back a city.” The 2020 fire reshaped the Santiam Canyon for generations. Just like ridgetops visible in the Eagle Creek area, the forest here will need decades to regrow, a grave reminder of fire’s wide reach. Like in Talent and Phoenix, the fire has built character and camaraderie in the Canyon. As life recovers, other take-aways from the 2020 fires remain obscure. “One of the biggest disasters in the State of Oregon happened, and we’re not able to fully talk about it,” Giller said, referring to the analysis reports normally completed by government agencies to learn from incidents that don’t turn out as planned. “So much happened in 2020 that nobody even knows where to start. I think there are some lessons to be learned, but people are human, and this one was too much.” One point does stand clear for Giller. “The only thing that would’ve made a difference with those 2020 wildfires is if 50 years ago we’d have realized that wildfires weren’t doing as much harm as we thought,” he said.
D
ON GENTRY has mapped the forests east of Klamath Falls with memories. Here he hunted deer with his dad and brother. Over there, his people used to camp on the river and fish, and up on that ridge, they prayed. The Bootleg Fire, which burned extraordinarily hot and torched 413,000 acres in 2021, severely altered that map. As with all fires, silver linings exist somewhere in the ashes of the Bootleg Fire. Gentry, the Klamath Tribes’ natural
“IT MAY TAKE A LONG TIME BECAUSE OF THE DEVASTATION, THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE FOREST FROM THE FIRES THAT CAME, BUT THERE IS OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE
TO MOVE THINGS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.” Don Gentry knows the lands affected by the Bootleg Fire by heart and through instinct. His Klamath ancestors lived with wildfire, an element Gentry and the Klamath Tribes’ fire program are reintroducing with care.
resources specialist and former tribal chairman, finds a few. “It may take a long time because of the devastation, the complete destruction of the forest from the fires that came, but there is opportunity to continue to move things in the right direction,” he said. “There’s a better understanding, by the public and by the legislators, of what the problems are.” In Southern Oregon’s hot, arid forests, fires historically burned frequently, every three to fifteen years, but at low intensity. The regular flare-ups would clear the ground of flammable Ponderosa pine needles and burn out the understory. The Klamath Tribes even used fire to improve areas for hunting and gathering. But the Forest Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs extinguished the natural fire regime almost a century ago, mainly to protect timber revenue. Aided by climate change, megafires like the Bootleg erupt as a result. Attuned to their land, Klamath Tribes have begun reasserting themselves as co-stewards in forest management. Their approach involves thinning undergrowth in the Ponderosa pine forest, which includes removal of species like lodgepole pine and white fir that natural fires would have controlled, and then, crucially, reintroducing fire to let it creep around and consume the fuel load. The technique works. Several stands treated in this way survived the Bootleg Fire. Today they resemble oases of green in the charred landscape. The Klamath Tribes have an agreement with the Forest Service to continue treating the land with fire like this, and government funding has allowed
the Klamath Tribes to develop their own fire program and hire experts like Tim Sexton to manage their fire program. Sexton, a five-decade veteran in fire management, sees several culprits behind the state’s recent fires: the fuel accumulation in Oregon’s forests, caused by fire suppression and dense plantations, and extreme drought. “With climate change, we need to make our forests as resilient and sustainable as we can,” he said. “Modern science suggests that you need to put fire on the landscape if you want to inoculate it from a severe fire.” Until then, fire will put itself on the landscape in ways even fire behavior specialists cannot predict or comprehend. But recovery and lessons from Oregon’s latest infernos give hope. The Eagle Creek burn demonstrates how well a forest can recover from wildfire. Communities in Talent, Phoenix, the Santiam Canyon, and other fire-affected Oregon towns all prove how people can survive, rebuild and prepare for future incidents—that humans can live with fire. Now, following the Bootleg Fire and the many others that have lately ravaged the state, a new path forward has emerged from the haze. “Smokey Bear was very effective,” Giller said. “We’ve got to change the public’s perception about fire. There are consequences to us living with fire. So we’ll have to come up with bigger ideas of how to protect communities and let them know they’re safe. It’s a compromise on a lot of different levels. But the other side of that is we just keep doing this battle we lose every summer.” JULY | AUGUST 2023
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Ted Olson, Green Ridge, oil on panel Ted Olson’s paintings are based on observations made over a lifetime exploring the American West. From color palette to textures to landforms, skies, flowers and more, his work documents a fascination with the broad horizons and infinite possibilities that embody the West.
301 GALLERY IN HOOD RIVER
A SENSE OF PLACE written by Kerry Newberry
FIVE YEARS AGO in July, a group of accomplished Gorge artists gathered to create a pop-up gallery in Hood River’s historic Butler Bank Building. Located in the heart of downtown, 301 Gallery swiftly became a success—and is now on the map for collectors and enthusiasts from around the world seeking the most diverse collection of fine art in the region. “A sense of place permeates the artwork by our artists and has become the overarching aesthetic of the gallery,” said Ted Olson, one of the founding members of 301. Set up as a co-op with fifteen member artists, many pieces illuminate the striking natural beauty of the Columbia River Gorge—from serene oil paintings by Sally Reichmuth to ethereal photography by Brian Chambers, a former local veterinarian.
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301 Gallery hosts opening night receptions for featured artists on the First Friday of each month from April through December and often uses those evenings as an opportunity to partner with other local businesses. For example, their “Sugar Show” featured local confectioners Édeske Patisserie, Ingrid’s Cheesecakes and Canyon Road Chocolate paired with the ceramic work of Polly Wood and several other member artists. For the July show, the gallery teamed up with Waucoma Books to spotlight tomes about famous writers and artists alongside the work of guest artist Tom Callos, a printmaker who has captivating portraits of authors and artists ranging from John Steinbeck to Helen Frankenthaler. Check out the show at 301 Oak Street in Hood River and visit www.301gallery.com for more information.
Michelle Yamamoto, Tribe, acrylic on canvas Michelle Yamamoto is known for acrylic paintings that utilize imaginative storytelling with references to contemporary culture as well as her foreign travels. She also applies the art of story to her work as a muralist: you can see her public murals on fruit-packing warehouses in Odell, the Hood River History Museum and Henkle Middle School in White Salmon.
Brian Chambers, Memaloose Sunset Brian Chambers, a longtime veterinarian-turned-landscape photographer, captures the immense beauty and natural wonders of the Columbia Gorge with a Nikon digital camera, always in pursuit of the perfect light that brings a scene to life.
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Sue Sutherland, New Day, oil on canvas Sue Sutherland was captivated by the natural beauty of the Gorge after her first visit in 1988. Her impressionistic landscape paintings and semi-abstract monotypes express her love of the area as well as a strong sense of design honed by her former career as landscape designer.
Scott MacDonald, sterling silver jewelry with both found and semiprecious stones Scott MacDonald makes jewelry that reflects a connection between culture and the natural world, approaching his work as wearable sculpture. His silversmithing and lapidary work result in jewelry that is an intimate vehicle of memory, meaning and self-expression for the wearer.
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Joseph Rastovich utilizes welders, plasma cutters, angle grinders, shears, brakes and torches to form raw steel. He is known for his public sculpture installations throughout the region and his gallery work includes steel sculpture, furniture and wall pieces with the impact of strong design.
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TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT 80 ADVENTURE 82 LODGING 84 TRIP PLANNER 86
pg. 86 Recreation in the Klamath Basin area includes top-notch mountain biking.
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
NORTHWEST DESTINATION 92
travel spotlight
Sleeping in the Trees Once weekend play for kids, treehouses are now fit for even picky parents written by Joni Kabana LOOKING FOR someplace unique to get away from it all? Many know Southern Oregon boasts one of the largest concentrations of old-growth trees in the nation, but did you know that this region in Oregon also is home to one of the largest concentrations of treehouses in the world? Out ‘N’ About Treehouse Treesort in Cave Junction is a collection of treehouses that can be rented for a bird’seye chance to sleep high up in a mighty old tree. Staying at one of these treehouses will catapult you back to your good old backyard treehouse childhood days or satisfy your best Robinson Crusoe lifestyle fantasy. With names such as the Serendipitree and the Tree Room Schoolhouse Suite, each treehouse was built with fun and adventure, and a bit of humor in mind. The land upon which Treesort rests was purchased in 1973 by owner Michael Garnier a few years after he landed in Oregon from Gary, Indiana. He built the first treehouse in 1990, and it took him eight years to secure permits. Garnier soon found himself becoming a “treehouse pioneer,” designing layouts and assisting others with their own treehouse build. He even invented the Garnier Limb, an innovative fastener that strengthens the joints of a treehouse build. While listening to night sounds and feeling leafy breezes will surely give you a remarkable getaway feeling, consider also signing up for some of the fun “activitrees” on site and nearby. From ziplining to horseback riding to arts and crafts, Treesort has something for everyone. Rafting on the Klamath River is an adventure within itself. For more information, see www.treehouses.com. AT LEFT Out ‘N’ About Treehouse Treesort features an assemblage of unusual stays perfect for a memorable summer getaway. (photo: Travel Southern Oregon)
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DISCOVER NEWPORT The Dungeness Crab Capital of the World
Adventure
Three Gravel Tours to Do in Oregon This Summer From multi-day challenges to shorter routes, gravel biking takes you beyond the known written by Jen Sotolongo OVER THE past decade or so, gravel riding has emerged as an alluring cycling discipline. The draw of riding along oft-traveled dirt roads through remote areas filled with towering trees and breathtaking landscapes entices riders seeking a quieter and mostly car-free alternative to pavement without the skills required for mountain biking. With more than 71,000 miles of unpaved roads throughout the state, Oregon stands out as a veritable haven for twowheeled off-road adventure. Gravel bikes typically resemble road bikes, only accommodate wider tires and a more upright and longer frame for stability on the slippery gravel. Ranging from hard-packed dirt to more humbling steep climbs and descents over loose rock, beginners and advanced riders alike can find a suitable gravel ride that meets their skill level. From single-day grinds to multi-day backcountry tours, here are three routes to entice you to consider exploring Oregon’s dirt roads.
45 MILES
Tidbits This point-to-point ride starts and ends at two different lakes, has more elevation loss than it has gain, and contains a hidden waterfall. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that Tidbits is an easy ride! Tidbits is a 45-mile mostly gravel ride that starts at Clear Lake just off of Santiam Pass, where the famous McKenzie River Trail begins. Rather than follow the path, you’ll cross the highway and follow mainly Forest Service roads to Blue River Lake. The first 15 miles climb gradually over packed gravel roads through the Willamette National Forest sprinkled with intermittent views of surrounding mountains, rhododendrons and bear grass. From there, the going gets tougher with 2,000 feet of elevation gain over the next 20 miles thanks to a grueling series of short, but steep, hills, many with pitches more than 10 percent. The remaining miles introduce significant downhill portions before ending on pavement at Blue River Lake. Wider tires are ideal for this ride, due to the steep pitches. Aim for 50mm or wider. www.bit.ly/tidbitsroute Linda English cycles past flowers along the Tidbits ride. (photo: Kevin English/Dirty Freehub)
IN FO
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124 MILES
www.bit.ly/stampederoute
Linda English/Dirty Freehub
Known as one of the original and best bike routes in all of Oregon, the Oregon Stampede ascends more than 9,000 feet of vertical gain in a 124-mile loop over some of the most remote and beautiful gravel roads in the state. The route begins and ends at the confluence of the Deschutes and Columbia Rivers in the Deschutes River State Recreation Area just east of The Dalles. The initial climb up Old Moody Road to the ridge above the river pays off with views of Mount Rainier and the Three Sisters in Central Oregon. Most of the route is easy riding over hard-packed dirt and gravel. Treat yourself to a cozy bed at the historic Balch Hotel in the small town of Dufur where you can refuel at the on-site bistro. You’ll thank yourself for the indulgence in preparation for day two before dropping into the Tygh Valley, where you’ll encounter the toughest miles of the route: four rocky and steep hike-a-bike miles through the White River Wildlife Area, the pain of which will subside once you take in the roar of White River Falls. Once you cross the Deschutes at Sherar’s Bridge, you’ll experience the Deschutes from the drier, more expansive eastern side with wide open skies and plenty of tumbleweeds dancing across the road, an homage to the western culture of that part of Oregon. A standard gravel bike or cross or touring bike with 32-37C tires should work for most people embarking on this route. If you’re planning to bike pack, wider tires in the 40c range will make the jaunt more enjoyable.
Kevin English/Dirty Freehub
The Oregon Stampede
ABOVE, FROM TOP Find wide-open views on the Oregon Stampede bike route. Cyclists roll into Dufur for a well-earned water stop.
Linda English/Dirty Freehub
56 MILES
Corvallis to the Sea Trail The Corvallis to the Sea Trail (C2C) is the culmination of a nearly a half century-long vision that connects the Willamette Valley to the Oregon Coast, thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers, sponsors and private landowners. The 56-mile route begins in downtown Corvallis and ends at Ona Beach, just south of Newport. The trail consists of a biking and hiking route, some of which overlaps as it descends over remote logging roads, through picturesque countryside and navigates the rolling hills of the Coastal Range. Most bike packers split the trip into two days, camping at the midway point at Big Elk Campground, which has a $5 hiker/biker camp. Either a gravel bike or hardtail mountain bike would suffice for the adventure, provided the setup includes wide tubeless tires, disc brakes and low gearing for the loose gravel and steep climbs. Bikers must obtain a free permit from Starker Forests in order to pass through certain sections of the trail. The trail is open yearround, except for special or temporary restrictions imposed by the Forest Service or private landowners. www.bit.ly/C2Croute
MORE ONLINE
Byron Oberst on the C2C Trail, which stretches from Corvallis to Ona Beach.
For even more gravel ride routes, check out Dirty Freehub at www.dirtyfreehub.org. The Bend nonprofit features curated guides for more than 8,000 miles of gravel riding across Oregon (and beyond!).
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Photos: TenZen Springs & Cabins
CABINS Nature is the star in these minimalist but warm and modern cabins. A wall of windows floods each space with natural light along with calming forest views. While compact, the cabins feel spacious thanks to 14-foot ceilings and an additional 600-square feet of outdoor space that includes an open-air infinity tub, Japanese-inspired outdoor shower and wraparound deck.
FEATURES Each cabin has a beautiful cedarframed geothermal soaking tub that overlooks a stretch of forest. Sourced from an underground aquifer 3,000 feet below the Wind River, you can adjust the water to your ideal temperature. Add in the perk of the indoor steam-sauna shower and you have complete hydro-bliss.
Lodging
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP TenZen Springs + Cabins features six contemporary cabins. Each cabin includes a private infinity tub. Find solace in nature right outside your door.
TenZen Springs + Cabins written by Kerry Newberry PERCHED ON a bluff that overlooks the serpentine Wind River, this all-season retreat is the perfect place to spend time soaking in nature. Home to six contemporary cabins and surrounded by expansive meadows and evergreen trees in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge, there’s a quiet solace and restorative spirit that prevails here. In part, that’s due to the prime attraction. All six private cabins have an open-air infinity tub along with a Japanese-inspired outdoor shower and deck. Sourced from an underground aquifer 3,000 feet below the Wind River, pure geothermal spring water continuously and sustainably flows through each cabin’s private tub—a reminder of how water is a balm. But a stay at TenZen also proves that less is more. Set on 100 acres in a minimalist setting, it’s easy to unplug. Open the French doors to the soaking room early in the morning and you can catch the sunrise to the sound of birdsong. Opt for an evening soak and you’ll hear the hoot of owls while watching the famous Gorge winds rustle leafy oak trees and stately Douglas firs. With each dip in the spring waters, your daily stresses float farther away. 932 BERGE RD. STEVENSON, WA www.tenzensprings.com
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DINING Head to the nearby town of Stevenson for dining options. For excellent espresso drinks, stop by Big Foot Coffee Roasters, a boutique micro-roaster. Walking Man Brewing spotlights local ingredients in traditional pub fare including a Bavarian-style sourdough pretzel from the upstart bakery Bran & Ash. Above the brewery, check out Traverse PNW Market for gourmet provisions including Gorge wines, baked goods, chocolate, olive oil, crackers and more.
AMENITIES The ease with this serene stay begins with contactless check-in/ check-out. Each cabin also has dedicated parking, complimentary guest wifi, a waterproof bluetooth speaker and a kitchenette with either a microwave or stovetop and a Keurig. Thoughtful additions include a birding guide, chess set and sketch book.
THE SKY ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN SEA STARS
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trip planner
Recreational opportunities abound in the Klamath area.
Klamath Basin Boxes get checked with ziplines, world-class bird watching, the pristine Crater Lake and a destination resort
BOY, WAS I mistaken. Growing up in Klamath Falls, I’d routinely complain there was nothing to do. A teenager thing, sure, but sort of ridiculous in retrospect when—as an adult—you’re attempting to narrow lengthy lists of potential adventure ideas. Adrenaline-fueled bouncing on the Klamath River and soaring among treetops on ziplines. Golfing the state’s only Arnold Palmer-designed links. Paddling creeks and among otters. Exploring conflict-laden history. Disappearing into volcanic caves. Fishing on more than sixty lakes. Getting a people’s-eye view of migratory birds. And that doesn’t even count the region’s crown jewel: Crater Lake, where you can easily lose an entire day, and then some. Turns out, there’s almost too much to do. (Mom was right.) While officially a high desert at 4,200 feet, the Klamath Basin— straddling the Oregon-California border on the eastern flank of the Cascades—is defined by water, and the tug-of-war over it. At roughly 30 miles long and 8 miles wide, the centerpiece Upper Klamath Lake is the largest inland freshwater lake in the West. The promise of abundant irrigation helped drive the not-alwayspeaceful white settlement of the Basin, crisscrossed by canals dug 86 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation more than a century ago. But years of droughts mean there’s not enough nowadays to meet the needs of both endangered fish and thirsty cropland. Beginning in 2024, several dams will be breached to buoy fish health along the Klamath River, which empties from the Basin to the Pacific. As a result, the rafting season will be more seasonal through a rollicking section of legendary canyon with rapids called Satan’s Gate and Hell’s Corner, but fishing is supposed to be better. Also because of water and wetlands, the Basin is a way station for millions of sky-filling migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway, including white pelicans. You’ll also find flocks of birdwatchers, and duck hunters come fall. As you plot your own migration here, resist the urge to pack lightly. Bikes, boats, binoculars, boots, golf clubs, headlamps, and curiosity? It you’ve got it, bring it. And when you spread your wings in the Basin, it’s not uncommon—after tackling far-flung adventures—to find yourself in a restaurant named after a bird. While there, maybe raise a glass to mom, who wisely advised to get out of the house.
Photo: Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
written by James Sinks
TravelOregon.com
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
trip planner
ABOVE, FROM LEFT Wizard Island at Crater Lake National Park. Klamath Falls from Lake Ewauna.
CRATER LAKE • HISTORY • KICKING BACK From the “you gasp every time” department, Crater Lake is reliably a stunner, and a perfect entryway to the Klamath Basin. Hop the boat to Wizard Island, enjoy snacks and views at Crater Lake Lodge, or cruise the scenic 35-mile rim road encircling the water-filled caldera. Then, head southeast. Oregon Route 62 winds first to historic Fort Klamath, established in 1863 as an Army outpost to assert control over tribes and quell conflicts with settlers. Then, if you’re accompanied by rail buffs eager to get their cabooses into the action, full-size train cars and rideable miniatures await at Train Mountain Railroad, near the town of Chiloquin. Billed as the world’s largest model railroad, the place has an incredible 35 miles of track. Chiloquin is part of the Klamath Indian Reservation, which today is home to the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, and in yesteryear was a starting point for one of the sadder chapters of Western expansion, the Modoc War of 1872-73. In the early days of statehood, a band of Modocs sought their own reservation—partly because they’d been forced onto the same reservation with a rival Klamath tribe. The U.S. government refused, and ensuing battles killed civilians, Modocs, soldiers, an Army general during a truce, and ultimately led to the execution of four people including the insurrection’s leader, Captain Jack, at Fort Klamath. While some local native history is somber, much of the indigenous culture in the Klamath is striking and beautiful. Browse a celebration of art plus 12,000-year old artifacts at Favell Museum, at the end of Main Street in Klamath Falls. And where are the falls? Nearby. From the parking lot, it’s a short nature trail walk to the city’s namesake, a series of rapidlike waterfalls along the 1.5-mile-long Link River. Previously known as Linkville after the river, Klamath Falls is home to almost 22,000 and was the birthplace of forestry giant 88 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Jeld-Wen, once the state’s largest private company. With an eye toward the future and a boost from Jeld-Wen’s visionary late founder, Richard Wendt, local university Oregon Institute of Technology—which sits atop geothermal wells—is a renewable energy hotspot. Hoping to kindle some of the tourism magic that helped transform Central Oregon to the north, Jeld-Wen developed a destination resort at a Klamath Lake-bordering cattle and hay ranch whose historical owners included Roy Disney, the son of Walt Disney. Sold to new investors in 2014, the sprawling Running Y Ranch has a spa, lodge, wintertime ice arena, Arnold Palmer-designed golf links and—for pre-dinner wagers—a grass mini-golf course. The resort’s don’t-miss restaurant is aptly bird-named, the Ruddy Duck. Afterward, soak up happy vibes downtown—plus spellbinding spicy mango margaritas—at the NiteOwl Bar. Three blocks away, get in the queue for the 15 pool tables and choose among 26 drinks on tap at Black Dog Billiards, where country music and the crack of balls will echo late into the night.
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
Day
Favell Museum on Main Street in Klamath Falls tells some of the area’s history.
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
Day MOUNTAIN BIKING • ZIPLINES • CANOE TRAIL
ABOVE Spence Mountain trails on a Klamath Lake peninsula are some of the region’s best. BELOW Rent kayaks or canoes to paddle the Upper Klamath Canoe Trail with beautiful views.
Rocky Point serves as the gateway to the Upper Klamath Canoe Trail, and the Roes would be happy to send you on paddling tours with clear plastic kayaks if you didn’t bring your own boats. You also can rent kayaks, stand up paddleboards, and even pontoon boats nearby at the Rocky Point Resort. The 9-mile meandering canoe trail follows clear spring-fed creeks before they empty into Klamath Lake, which can be murky. Along the way, the local otters might give you paddling advice. Or strange looks. Crater Lake Zipline also leads nighttime moon- and starlit kayak tours. Back in town, for old-fashioned ambience and flavorful Chinese fare, try Wong’s Café, a downtown Klamath Falls mainstay since 1940. Sticking with the avian eatery theme? Grab steak at Rooster’s Chop House. Or if you’d prefer cocktails and coziness, unwind at the Basin Martini Bar, where the expansive menu includes tapas, seafood, tacos, cheesy pasta, and crème brulee for dessert. After a few hours on the water, a dry martini sort of hits the spot.
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
Marshy wetlands around Klamath Lake don’t just attract birds. In summer and fall, you’ll be greeted by green, non-biting gnats known locally as “midgies.” During your morning run, it’s a good idea to hold your breath if you see them. With any luck, your first taste of the day will instead be rich organic coffee at artisan Gathering Grounds Roasters. Then, if music is your grind, head across the street to Klamath Commons Park, where you can make melodies on an assortment of outdoor xylophones. With 330 days of sun annually, Klamath Falls has earned the deserved moniker as the Sun City of Oregon. It also gets superlative nicknames from mountain bikers, especially those who navigate nearby Spence Mountain, with a rollercoaster of trails on a Klamath Lake peninsula. On two legs instead of two wheels? The 7,400-acre site also has miles of hiking trails. After years of negotiations with the U.S. Forest Service, Darren and Jenifer Roe in 2015 opened Crater Lake Zipline at the former low-elevation Tomahawk ski hill near Rocky Point, along Highway 140 toward Medford. It’s the country’s first zipline course on Forest Service property, they say—and it’s a dopamine doozy, with nine runs between tree platforms and some a quarter mile long. Also find a kids’ zipline park and non-kids’ axe throwing. “We heard all the time that there is nothing to do,” said Darren Roe, who also runs a river and hunting outfitter business. “We thought, let’s help.” (Internal voice: Where were they in the 1980s?)
JULY | AUGUST 2023
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 89
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
EAT Basin Martini Bar www.basinmartinibar.com Gathering Grounds Café & Roastery www.facebook.com/ggroastery Mermaid Garden Cafe (541) 882-3671 Nibbley’s www.nibbleys.com
Discover Klamath Visitor and Convention Bureau
KLAMATH BASIN, OREGON
trip planner
NiteOwl www.niteowlbarklamathfalls.com Rooster’s www.facebook.com/roosters.steaks Ruddy Duck www.runningy.com/dining The Falls Taphouse www.facebook.com/ thefallstaphouse Wong’s Cafe www.wongscafeklamath.com
Day
STAY
LAVA BEDS • CAVES • FOOD TRUCKS
Fairfield Inn & Suites www.marriott.com Running Y Ranch Resort www.runningy.com
PLAY Arnold Palmer Signature Golf www.runningy.com/golf Bird Watching www.klamathbirdingtrails.com Black Dog Billiards www.facebook.com/ BlackDogBilliards Crater Lake National Park www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm Crater Lake Ziplines and axe-throwing www.craterlakezipline.com Favell Museum www.favellmuseum.org Kla-Mo-Ya Casino www.klamoyacasino.com Lava Beds National Monument www.nps.gov/labe/index.htm Rocky Point Resort www.rockypointoregon.com/ boat-rental Spence Mountain www.discoverklamath.com Train Mountain Railroad www.trainmtn.org
After a history punctuated with conflict and racism, resiliency and rebound are recurring themes in Klamath country. During World War II, the West Coast’s most notorious internment camp for Japanese Americans was built near Tulelake, south of Klamath Falls. And over the years, regional economic shocks came not just from water shutoffs, but also the timber-supply war and mill closures of the late twentieth century (“Cream of Spotted Owl Soup” T-shirts were best-sellers at the former Shell station on Main Street). Generations later, the Modoc War still echoes. You can walk in the footsteps of the tribal leader Keintpoos, better known as Captain Jack, in the rugged basalt outcroppings where his small band of warriors held off the Army for months. The onetime hideout is now known as Captain Jack’s Stronghold, and located in the Lava Beds National Monument, just across the California border. But first thing first. Breakfast is calling and Nibbley’s is the answer. The venerable eatery tops local favorite lists, and for good reasons such as eleven omelets and French toast stuffed with marmalade cream cheese. The rural roads southward slice through pastures and irrigated fields to farm towns like Merrill, near a battle site and also home to an
90 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Every year, the sky fills along the Pacific Flyway as birds return to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. The Falls Taphouse is another way to consume local culture. A cave entrance to volcanic flows at Lava Beds National Monument.
annual fall Potato Festival. At the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, wave to whatever birds are visiting. You also can nod and say: “I strongly suspected we had one of these” at the Oregon Drain, a canal gate at the stateline. The Lava Beds are an otherworldy craggy landscape made up of volcanic flows from 70,000 years ago, under which sit some 900 lava tubes and caves. At Petroglyph Point, admire multi-thousand-year-old rock drawings. At the National Park Service office, get a free cave permit—and also, get shoes sanitized to protect the local bat population. The office also lends flashlights if you didn’t bring one: Only one of the caves is illuminated. They’re also not warm places and, as if to reinforce that point, Skull Cave has a frozen pond at the bottom. To dispatch post-exploring appetites, The Falls Taphouse near the college campus offers mouth-watering choices at a trio of popular food trucks. As a bonus, take in the blushing evening skyshow from the rooftop deck, if the midgies are busy elsewhere. It’s an apt finale for a mom-was-right adventure trek in Oregon’s Sun City. And, maybe, to hear echoes of a Modoc prayer: “How good I have felt when the sun has shown and warmed me on a cold day. You are a great sun. Thank you for your care.”
Olympic Peninsula + Forks In the Olympic National Forest, enjoy the silence (among other things) written by James Sinks
92
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
Adam McKibben/Visit Port Angeles
northwest destination
HOLD COMPLETELY STILL. Listen. And you will hear absolutely nothing. And that is precisely the point. Like following a map to hidden treasure, we’d ventured 3 miles on the Hoh River Trail into the fern-filled temperate rainforest in Washington’s Olympic National Park. In the shade of towering giants, we crawled under fallen trees, sidestepped through an arch formed by a Sitka Spruce, balanced on makeshift bridges over bogs, and waved hello to a family of pheasant, not knowing who was more surprised. And then, on an overgrown carpet of moss on a massive log, there was the place. The One Square Inch of Silence. The spot—marked by a red-painted stone, about one inch across—helps to draw a remarkable contrast to the world elsewhere, and how relentlessly noisy it can be. Here, in this place, the volume is most often zero. So quiet, it’s almost deafening. It’s magic, my hiking partner whispered, understatedly. An acoustical ecologist named Gordon Hempton designated the One Inch of Silence on Earth Day in 2005, based on microphone measurements showing it to be the quietest place in the continental United States, thanks to sound-muffling vegetation and the distance from roads and—at the time—no air traffic. “Silence is not the absence of something, but the presence of everything,” he said. The world hasn’t gotten any quieter since. Four hours by car and a world away from Portland, the lush Olympic Peninsula beckons with a bounty of recreation and often mystical, mist-shrouded options, from historic lodges to fish-laden rivers to hot springs to trails everyplace and to rocky, driftwood-decorated beaches. For movie magic buffs, there’s the added appeal of following in the footsteps of vampires and werewolves around the former logging town of Forks, the setting for Stephanie Meyer’s otherworldly Twilight series. You can rub elbows with fellow fans at a Twilight-themed museum, step across the “treaty line” that separated the dueling AT LEFT Sol Duc Falls is one of the most photographed spots in the Olympic Peninsula.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Another Instagram moment at Hole-in-the-Wall at Rialto Beach. Hurricane Ridge is a scenic point from which many trails lead. The popular movie and book series Twilight is set in the town of Forks.
camps, or even head to an annual fan festival in town, staged on the weekend closest to the protagonist Bella’s Sept. 13 birthday. But if you’re hoping to avoid hubbub, unglue from computer screens, and find peace amid nature’s majesty, there are few places more suited than Washington’s stunning northwest corner, said Ellen Falconer, who leads meditation tours into the rainforest from her business, Olympic Peninsula Mindfulness. “It’s a beautiful place, a quiet place, a remote place, where you can connect with being alive without your mind going 100 miles per hour,” she said. Increasingly popular are her daylong, talk-free “forest bathing” treks. Also known as Shinrin-yoku in Japanese, the practice of being silent among the trees has been shown to bolster preventative health, while also decluttering your brain, she said. It only takes a few minutes to get lost in the vibrant beauty of the Olympic, she said. “It’s a Kodakcolor world, if you remember what Kodakcolor is.” Speaking of photos, Instagram-worthy vistas wait around almost every bend, from the Hole-in-the-Wall stone archway on Rialto Beach, to glacier-carved Lake Crescent, to the kitschy John’s Beachcombing Museum in Forks. One of the peninsula’s
most photographed places—and for good reason—is Sol Duc Falls, in which the river splits into several separate waterfalls before cascading into a ravine. There are two hikes to access the falls through massive old growth. The more direct route is a 1.5-mile roundtrip from the parking lot and trailhead. Or you can start downstream (maybe with your honey) on the Lovers Lane Trail, which is a 6-mile roundtrip. It’s lovely. Relaxation awaits at nearby Sol Duc Hot Springs, where a National Park lodge is the entryway and your tension will exit in sulfurous-smelling tiled pools of varying temperatures, the warmest at 104 degrees. Suits are required, and it’s $18 per adult per ninety-minute swim session. If nightfall is approaching and the weather is clear, the magic of the Olympic Peninsula’s skyscape is on full, awe-inducing display at often-breezy Hurricane Ridge, on the north side of Mount Olympus. There’s even an astronomer program with telescopes during summer months that allows you star- and planet-gaze, for free. Hold completely still. Listen. Under a tapestry of stars and like so much of the stunning Olympic Peninsula, it’s an apt place to stop, to sigh, and to enjoy the beauty, and the silence.
OLYMPIC PENINSULA + FORKS, WASHINGTON
Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau
Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau
northwest destination
JULY | AUGUST 2023
EAT Bella Italia www.bellaitaliapa.com BBG Blakeslee Bar & Grill www.facebook.com/bbgforkswa Creekside www.thekalalochlodge.com Lake Quinault Lodge/ Roosevelt Room www.olympicnationalparks.com Plaza Jalisco (360) 374-3108 The In Place (360) 374-4004 Three Rivers Resort www.3riversresort.net
STAY Forks Olympic Suites Inn www.olympicsuitesinn.com Kalaloch Lodge www.thekalalochlodge.com Lake Crescent Lodge www.olympicnationalparks.com Lake Quinault Lodge www.olympicnationalparks.com Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort www.olympicnationalparks.com
PLAY Hole in the Wall www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/ rialto-beach-hole-in-the-wall Hoh River Trail www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/ hoh-river-trail.htm Hurricane Ridge Astronomy Program www.olympictelescope.com John’s Beachcombing Museum (360) 640-0320 Lake Quinault Paddleboard rentals www.olympicnationalparks.com Olympic Peninsula Mindfulness www.olympicpeninsula mindfulness.com One Square inch of Silence www.onesquareinch.org Sol Duc Hot Springs www.olympicnationalparks.com Twilight Museum www.forkswa.com/twilight/ the-collection
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 93
1859 MAPPED
The points of interest below are culled from stories and events in this edition of 1859.
Astoria Seaside
Milton-Freewater Hood River Portland Tillamook Gresham
Pendleton
The Dalles La Grande
Maupin Government Camp
Pacific City Lincoln City
Baker City
Salem Newport
Madras
Albany Corvallis
Prineville
Eugene Springfield
John Day
Redmond
Sisters Florence
Joseph
Ontario
Bend Sunriver Burns
Oakridge Coos Bay Bandon
Roseburg
Grants Pass Brookings
Jacksonville
Paisley
Medford Ashland
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
Live
Think
Explore
24 Sakari Farms
46 Oregon State University
80
Out ‘N’ About Treehouse Treesort
25 Heavenly Creatures
48 Spoke’n Hostel
82
Corvallis to the Sea Trail
26 Hood River Cherry Company
52 Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
84
TenZen Springs + Cabins
34 Black Butte Ranch
86
Upper Klamath Lake
42 Wolf Ceramics
92
Olympic Peninsula, Washington
94 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2023
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Until Next Time A lightning storm whips through the Columbia River Gorge. photo by Armand Nour
Continue for Special Insert
6 AVAcations in Oregon & Washington
FOUR NORTHWEST TASTING ROOMS FEATURING FULL BISTRO MENUS
2022 “MVP” MOST VALUABLE PRODUCER
2022 Plaanum Awards Leader 103 Career Plaanums
3 X W I N E RY O F T H E Y E A R & 3 X W I N E M A K E R O F T H E Y E A R Ma r y h i l l s h o w c a s e s re g i o n a l l y i n s p i re d fo o d a l o n g w i t h a p p ro a c h a b l e , a w a rd - w i n n i n g w i n e s i n G o l d e n d a l e , S p o k a n e , Va n c o u ve r a n d Wo o d i n v i l l e , Wa s h i n g t o n . Fa m i l y o w n e d s i n c e 1 9 9 9 , Ma r y h i l l i s p ro u d t o s h o w c a s e t h e r i c h a n d d i ve r s e fl a vo r s o f Wa s h i n g t o n s t a t e w i n e w i t h p a s s i o n , p a a e n c e a n d b a l a n c e . V i s i t o n e o f Ma r y h i l l ’s d e s s n a a o n t a s s n g ro o m s a n d e x p e r i e n c e a w a rd - w i n n i n g w i n e s a l o n g w i t h s t u n n i n g l o c a a o n s a n d f u l l B i s t ro m e n u s t o e n h a n c e yo u r w i n e t a s s n g e x p e r i e n c e .
Succession Wines
SIX AVACATIONS in Oregon & Washington
Vacations are most effective when there is a general plan without being overly prescriptive, allowing something to chance. It’s when that latter period is allowed in your travel plans—the unprescribed—that unexpected and good things can happen. It opens your world to others and other experiences, and expands your understanding of the universe. We take the same approach to outings in wine country. We provide some structure for rambling tastings through some of the world’s best small wine regions, or AVAs (American Viticultural Areas), so designated for their subtle differences in the characteristics of the soil, temperature and environs of the wine that area produces. We help get you started with a general outline of the places to go, where to stay and the wines to sip in the Pacific Northwest’s top AVAs in what we call AVAcations, each one subtly different from the next. Each one has its own terroir and taste. Breathe in deeply, and let these ideas swirl in your mouth before committing.
A publication of Statehood Media
Cover: Domaine Drouhin, Oregon
www.1859oregonmagazine.com www.1889mag.com
photo, above: Succession Wines; cover: Domaine Drouhin
2023
PNW Wine Guide
3
OREGON
Oregon is known internationally for one of its pinot noirs that emerged from obscurity when it miraculously placed third among the world’s best pinot noirs in the 1979 Wine Olympics held in France. Incredulous, the French came over and bought land, and the Californians came up and bought more, but a small crew of pioneering Oregon winemakers were already tilling soil and making great wine in what would become one of Oregon’s distinguishing products. Oregon has twenty-three federally designated AVAs, all of them distinct enough to earn their own branding, all of them worth their own AVAcation. For this guide, we center on three top AVAs whose terroir produces wine that will engage your sense of taste in subtly different ways and take you to places of extraordinary beauty along the way.
Bites & Nights DINING Tina’s
www.tinasdundee.com
Dundee Bistro
www.dundeebistro.com
Ruddick Wood
www.ruddickwood.com
LODGING Dundee Hotel
www.thedundee.com
The Allison Inn & Spa www.theallison.com
Atticus Hotel
www.atticushotel.com
4
PNW Wine Guide 2023
Dundee Hills Nearly 26 miles southwest of Portland, the Dundee Hills AVA is where Oregon wine launched into the limelight. The jory soil and maritime climate with hot days and cool nights create the perfect growing conditions for Oregon’s foundational wine—pinot noir. One notable winery in Oregon history is Domaine Drouhin. The Drouhin family from France’s Burgundy region quickly bought land in Oregon after Oregon’s Eyrie Vineyards took third at the 1979 Wine Olympics. Their Oregon winery, Domaine Drouhin in the Dundee Hills, offers the opportunity to decide for yourself how French Burgundy wines compare with Oregon’s pinots through tastings of Drouhin wines from vineyards in France and the Dundee Hills. Book this experience ahead of time at Domaine Drouhin’s beautiful tasting room overlooking the vines that produce some of Oregon’s best wine. Just a few miles away, is another storied name in Oregon pinots—
Sokol Blosser Winery
Sokol Blosser. Founded by Bill and Susan Sokol Blosser in 1971, Susan was the driving force behind this sustainable winery and prominent in the local industry. Go underground to Sokol Blosser’s LEED certified barrel tasting room in the fall as last year’s vintages are coming of age. Finally, head over to Torii Mor Winery for another luscious pinot
noir experience in a Japanese garden setting. Like many of its neighbors, Torii Mor strives to meet the highest standards of sustainable production. If you’re looking for one location to sit down and sip in many wines from this AVA, try the Dundee Bistro, a white tablecloth dining experience with the region’s best wines at your table.
photos, from left: The Allison Inn & Spa, Andrea Johnson/Sokol Blosser Winery
OREGON
Bites & Nights DINING Jacksonville Inn www.jacksonville inn.com
Larks Home Kitchen
www.larksashland.com
Irvine & Roberts Vineyards
Hearsay Restaurant www.hearsay ashland.com
Rogue Valley Though the Willamette Valley is commonly known as the heart of Oregon’s wine country, the Rogue Valley has the claim of being the earliest acreage devoted to winemaking in Oregon. Photographer Peter Britt first planted wine grapes in the Rogue Valley in the 1850s at his home, which is now the site of the famed Britt Music Festival. Others, including August Petard, also grew wine grapes in the area, but, at least in Petard’s case, were shut down for bootlegging during Prohibition. Today Rogue Valley AVA has 180 wineries that grow 50 varietals in a beautiful region that is also close to the Oregon Coast and Crater Lake National Park for recreation. One nice way to start your Rogue AVAcation is at Irvine & Roberts Vineyards a few miles southeast of Ashland proper. A terraced outdoor tasting room with gas fire pits overlooks the soft colors of the rolling hills whose soil
LODGING Jacksonville Inn www.jacksonville inn.com
Ashland Springs Hotel
www.ashlandsprings hotel.com
Ashland Hills
www.ashlandhills hotel.com
DANCIN Vineyards
Today Rogue Valley AVA has 180 wineries that grow 50 varietals in a beautiful region.
photos, from top: Gregor Halenda Photo/Irvine & Roberts, Andrea Johnson/DANCIN Vineyards
creates a pinot worthy of comparison with its Dundee counterparts and a fantastic mourvedre, from a grape known to the Rhone and Provence regions of France. RoxyAnn Winery is a wonderfully different experience, inside of a vaulted historic barn with a state-of-the-art kitchen and a country-meets-sophistication feel. Here, you’ll want to sip RoxyAnn’s best clarets and tempranillos. To be truly transported to another place and time, finish your night at DANCIN Vineyards in Medford.
Dan and Cindy Marca came together to make bold and beautiful Italian wines in a place and time where no one else was doing it. Today their sangiovese and barberas are as Old World as the Tuscan-style outdoor tasting room that feels like a little piazza in Italy. Many of the best wines from the region can be found and tasted at The Urban Cork in Medford. This tasting room features all of the wines that are customers of Pallet Wine Company, a custom crush facility next door.
2023
PNW Wine Guide
5
Bites & Nights DINING
Hood River / Columbia Gorge
Celilo Restaurant www.celilo restaurant.com
Cathedral Ridge Winery
Stonehenge Gardens www.stonehedge weddings.com/ rehearsal-dinners
3 Rivers Grill
www.threerivers grill.com
LODGING
Hood River Hotel www.hoodriver hotel.com
Columbia Gorge Hotel
www.columbiagorge hotel.com
The Society Hotel
www.thesocietyhotel. com/bingen
Hiyu Wine Farm
End the day at Hiyu, in the rolling hills above Hood River. The wine here is made the same way it was hundreds of years ago, by hand and foot and in small batches. 6
PNW Wine Guide 2023
An emerging wine growing region in Oregon is the Hood River area of the Columbia Gorge AVA. While most of the vines are not as old and set in their ways as those of the Willamette Valley and some in the Rogue Valley, there are many reasons to put Hood River on your summer or fall calendar. Start the day under the sun on the patio of Cathedral Ridge. Opt for the reserve reds such as the Winemaker’s Reserve blend or the Barbera Reserve. Sip in the work of winemaker Michael Sebastiani and the views of the surrounding vineyard and Hood River Valley. After many years in the wine industry, Franco Marchesi from Northern Italy found that the terroir of Hood River was much
like his childhood home. In 2003, he bought an old apple orchard and planted Italian grapes. At Marchesi Vineyards, find a table next to the same Italian varietals you will love—barbera, sangiovese and pinot grigio. End the day at Hiyu, in the rolling hills above Hood River. The wine here is made the same way it was hundreds of years ago, by hand and foot and in small batches. Much of the food served is also either grown on the farm or foraged nearby. The overall experience: exquisite. Bundle the best of the region’s wines with a reservation at Celilo Restaurant in Hood River. Serving dishes made from the surrounding farms, Celilo also has an extensive selection of local wines for pairing.
photos, clockwise from top left: Aubrie LeGault, Cathedral Ridge Winery, Marielle Dezurick/Hiyu Wine Farm, Hood River Hotel
WCVA_
Tualatin Valley
Sip, Stay, Repeat!
Visit the wineries of Oregon’s Tualatin Valley, the closest wine country to Portland.
Blizzard Wines Hillsboro, Oregon
Plan a wine country excursion today at tualatinvalley.org
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Vines, Wines, and Views Amaterra (meaning for the love of the earth) is a Willamette Valley winery experience in the West Hills of Portland, Oregon. Sip, savor, and enjoy the bounty from one of the country’s most unique gravity-flow winemaking facilities and wine terroirs.
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Northwest Farm Credit Services is now AgWest Farm Credit. Providing agricultural financial services, backed by a century of experience—to help you grow your legacy. Contact your local branch or visit AgWestFC.com to learn more.
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WASHINGTON
You might not know this, but Washington is the second-largest wine-producing state in the country, with more than 60,000 acres in production. Like Oregon, Washington can draw straight lines around the world to the top wine-growing regions in France, putting it on latitude with the wines of the Old World. The basalt bedrock of both Oregon and Washington comes from a deep volcanic past and present and makes for great New World wines.
Bites & Nights DINING Andante Restaurant www.andante chelan.com
The Bistro at Lake Chelan
www.chelanbistro.com
Campbell’s Pub
www.campbellsresort. com/dining
LODGING Lakeside Lodge & Suites
www.lakesidelodge andsuites.com
Driftin Cabanas www.driftin cabanas.com
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PNW Wine Guide 2023
Lake Chelan One favorite summer spot for many Washingtonians is Lake Chelan. It is also one of the more fertile growing regions in the state. Doubtfully those who designate new AVAs take into account the views, but if they did, Lake Chelan would be among the finest. The Italian spelling of Mellison is Mellisoni. And so after a life-inspiring trip to Tuscany in 2002 and taking part in the manual labor of a winery, they decided to bring that experience back to friends and family in Lake Chelan. Mellisoni Vineyards was established soon after returning from Italy, and now Mellisoni serves elegant cab francs and syrahs with live music every Monday during the summer and on a green, green lawn overlooking the lake. Succession. Instead of an awful and corrupt world with more wealth than moral compass, think of a gorgeous winery on the shore of Lake Chelan. Such is the case with Succession Wines in Manson. This name is derived from the notion of picking yourself up and going on after misfortune has struck. Indeed, Succession is about healing. The 2020 Oscar merlot will help the process as will
Mellisoni Vineyards
Succession Wines
the 2021 chardonnay, six months in oak, all on the north shore of Lake Chelan. Nefarious, just a scenic 10mile drive around the southern horn of Lake Chelan, is another experience with a slightly different mouthfeel than others. On a hot day, bring the strawberry, rhubarb and lemon zest all to bear with a
Lake Chelan
bottle of the 2022 rosé while kicking back in an Adirondack chair on a patio above the blue Lake Chelan below. Take in all of the region’s wines in over homemade lasagna or Tuscan stew at Andante’s Italian restaurant in Chelan. The wine list nicely covers Lake Chelan, as well as the rest of the world.
photos, clockwise from left: The Bistro at Lake Chelan, Altanto Vino, Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce, Succession Wines
WASHINGTON
STATE
Live Music Event at J.Bell Cellars
YAKIMA VALLEY
Cowiche Creek Brewing Co.
Catch the Crush 10/7-8/2023
DON’T MISS CATCH THE CRUSH EVENT WEEKEND OCTOBER 7TH-8TH
GET A FREE VISITOR GUIDE AT VISITYAKIMA.COM
Foundry Vineyards
Canvasback Winery
Walla Walla For emerging AVAs, Bites & Nights net with fruit from Red Mountain. Travel there is none better DINING a little without leaving than the distinct wines your table by comparthat come from Walla Passatempo Taverna www.passatempo ing Canvasback’s Red Walla. The sweet wallawalla.com Mountain cabernet onion capital of the sauvignon with its world peeled back layWalla Walla cab sauv. ers in 1978 and began In 1978, the planting wine grapes. Leonetti and FigSince then, the region gins family reap the has grown to 120 bounty of the first wineries and include wine grapes planted in some of the state’s Walla Walla, cabernet top winemakers who and riesling. Today planted acres rather Brasserie Four Leonetti Cellars is than missing the boat www.brasseriefour.com widely known and its and getting counseling wines highly coveted. for ongoing Walla The Marc @ Marcus Whitman Though its wines are Walla FOMO. www.marcuswhitman made to cellar for Foundry Vineyards hotel.com/wine-dine years, who really has brings together art and that kind of time and wine in a spectacular LODGING patience? Dive into marriage. The Gallery The Marcus Whitman the luscious cabernet at Foundry hosts the www.marcuswhitman sauvignons that put work of such artists as hotel.com Walla Walla on the Deborah Butterfield, The Finch wine map and marks James Lavadour and Ai www.finch the cornerstone of this Weiwei. Add bold reds wallawalla.com AVAcation. and sparkling wines for If the weather is inclement or a Walla Walla AVA immersion. you’re wanting a more concentratTake a flight of Canvasback ed Walla Walla wine experience, Winery’s cabernet sauvignon under umbrella-ed picnic tables on you can either stroll the thirty downtown tasting rooms or take its back lawn. Canvasback began a seat at The Vineyard Lounge at tasting and testing cab sauv wines The Marcus Whitman Hotel and in Napa and Washington before indulge in wines from the area. jumping in with their own caber-
If the weather is inclement or you’re wanting a more concentrated Walla Walla wine experience, you can either stroll the thirty downtown tasting rooms or take a seat at The Vineyard Lounge at The Marcus Whitman Hotel and indulge in wines from the area. 12
PNW Wine Guide 2023
photos, clockwise from top left: Ilana Freddye/Foundry Vineyards, Ben Lindbloom/Passatempo Taverna, Richard Duval/The Duckhorn Portfolio
WASHINGTON
Palouse Winery
photos, from left: Palouse Winery, Gravy
Vashon Island The artsy community of Vashon Island also is home to a small, but engaging, wine scene. The Puget Sound island, south of Seattle but connected by a short ferry ride, is quietly making the case for oenophiles to hop that ferry. Vashon Winery was the first to market with an all-Vashon-grown pinot noir in 2008. Even today the winery still calls itself a “garagiste” operation, making approximately 600 cases per year. The Vashon terroir comes through in its pinot noir and a Chasselas Doré, a white wine from a grape originally grown in the Alps. In and among its barrels, Palouse Winery pours a few wines that are worth this stop. If the day is cool
and cloudy, opt for the Pure Velvet petit verdot or the Black Pearl petit sirah, two such rare wines. If your day is sunny and warm, try Palouse’s 2020 Cloud 9 riesling, which won a double gold award in the 2021 Seattle Wine Awards.
Bites & Nights DINING Gravy
www.gravyvashon.com
The Puget Sound island, south of Seattle but connected by a short ferry ride, is quietly making the case for oenophiles to hop that ferry.
Wild Mermaid
The Wild Mermaid on Facebook
LODGING The Lodges on Vashon
www.lodgeson vashon.com
2023
PNW Wine Guide
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UNWIND AT A WINE FARM IN THE
W I L L AMETTE VALLEY The perfect way to experience this wine region is with the new Mt. Hood Territory Wine Trail. This free mobile passport guides you through The Territory’s boutique, family owned wineries. An in-pass map makes it easy to find a winery near your location. Check in at each location to earn fantastic prizes, plus discover exclusive discounts, all while supporting our local winemakers.
SIGN UP TODAY! omht.us/winetrail
The farms and vineyards in the Willamette Valley region of Mt. Hood Territory provide an escape from other wine regions’ crowds and create a more intimate experience. These tasting rooms are often staffed by one of the owners or the winemaker — and in most cases, they are one and the same. On-farm wineries allow guests to enjoy the peacefulness of the fields and the chance to see where the grapes are grown and harvested. They also provide visitors an opportunity to chat with the winemakers and hear firsthand how their passion became their career. Located in the north Willamette Valley, Hanson Vineyards is a four generation family farm. They grow nine grape varieties at their vineyard and focus on a hands-on style, believing the grape grower’s role is as vital as the winemaker’s. Wooden Shoe Vineyards is a five-minute drive down the road at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. Their rustic tasting room is the perfect place to sample wines while soaking in views of the tulip farm, gardens and vineyards.
Campbell Lane Winery might be one of West Linn’s newest wineries, but it is also home to some of Oregon’s oldest pinot gris vines. Planted in the 1980s, the vineyard — at that time — had the largest pinot gris planting in the U.S. at 2.65 acres. They now have 21 acres, and their tasting room features great views of Mt. Hood. On Parrett Mountain in Wilsonville sits the family owned Terra Vina Wines. Enjoy their “La Famiglia” label featuring all estate grown fruit while taking in beautiful views of Mt. Hood over the vineyard. Oswego Hills Vineyard and Winery’s farm history dates back to the 1850s. Fun fact: During the 1940s, the farm was a world-class equestrian center that hosted Roy Roger’s horses Trigger and Buttercup while on Pacific Northwest trips. The tasting room features old photos that celebrate the farm’s past. This is your invitation to reconnect with nature over a glass of wine.
Now Open in the Dundee Hills Enjoy Oregon hospitality with wine and food pairings, stunning views, educational tours and beautiful gardens overlooking the Dundee Hills.
Learn more and plan your visit at DomaineWillamette.com OPEN DAILY 11 am – 6 pm 19255 N HWY 99W Dayton, OR 97114 | (971) 545 - 4200 | info@domainewillamette.com Jim Bernau, Founder/CEO
Wine Tasting & Food Pairings Our Tasting Room & Restaurant locations feature barrel booth seating, indoor/outdoor dining, cozy fireplaces and full menus including curated wine and food pairings. Learn more at: wvv.com/visit
Lake Oswego | Vancouver | Happy Valley | Bend (Opening Fall 2023!)
Oregon’s AVAs 22 20
19
21
1
11
4
5
12
2
200
23
3
15
16
7
8
14
6
9 10
13
17 18
Source: Oregon Wine Board
1.
16
Willamette Valley
7.
Dundee Hills
13. Southern Oregon
19. Columbia Gorge
2. Yamhill-Carlton
8. McMinnville
14. Umpqua Valley
20. Columbia Valley
3. Chehalem Mountains
9. Eola-Amity Hills
15. Red Hill Douglas County
21.
4. Tualatin Hills
10. Van Duzer Corridor
16. Elkton Oregon
5. Laurelwood District
11. Mount Pisgah
17.
22. The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater
6. Ribbon Ridge
12. Lower Long Tom
18. Applegate Valley
PNW Wine Guide 2023
Rogue Valley
Walla Walla Valley
23. Snake River Valley
EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE THE THE ROGUE ROGUE
MUSIC FOOD DRINK ART Oct Oct 13th, 13th, 2023 2023
FREE | OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FREE | OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 3:00PM-9:00PM | PEAR BLOSSOM PARK 3:00PM-9:00PM | PEAR BLOSSOM PARK
Experience the Rogue Valley in Experience the Rogue Valley in Downtown Medford. The Heart of the Downtown Medford. The Heart of the Rogue Festival is a confluence of all Rogue Festival is a confluence of all that the Rogue Valley is through our that the Rogue Valley is through our community of artists, musicians, community of artists, musicians, makers, growers, and experiences. makers, growers, and experiences. Bringing everything and everyone the Bringing everything and everyone the Rogue Valley has to offer to downtown Rogue Valley has to offer to downtown Medford for a vibrant two-day Medford for a vibrant two-day celebration. celebration.
3pm-9pm Blossom Lounge + Festival Open 3pm-9pm Blossom Lounge + Festival Open 4pm-7pm Bikes N Brews Pre-Registration Packet Pickup 4pm-7pm Bikes N Brews Pre-Registration Packet Pickup 4pm-8pm Rogue Marathon Pre-Registration Packet Pickup 4pm-8pm Rogue Marathon Pre-Registration Packet Pickup 3:30pm-9pm Live Music, Entertainment & Vendors 3:30pm-9pm Live Music, Entertainment & Vendors 9pm Festival Closes 9pm Festival Closes MUSIC | FOOD TRUCKS | GAMES | WINE & BEER MUSIC | FOOD TRUCKS | GAMES | WINE & BEER
Oct Oct 14th, 14th, 2023 2023
FREE | OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FREE | OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 7am Rogue Run Marathon ( Boston Qualifier) 7am Rogue Run Marathon ( Boston Qualifier) 8am-10am Start Times for Bikes N Brews 8am-10am Start Times for Bikes N Brews 9am Bikes N Brews Entertainment + Activities 9am Bikes N Brews Entertainment + Activities 9am Marathon Runners Reception + Recovery 9am Marathon Runners Reception + Recovery 11am-5pm Blossom Lounge + Festival Opens 11am-5pm Blossom Lounge + Festival Opens 12pm-5pm Live Music + Entertainment 12pm-5pm Live Music + Entertainment 5pm Festival Closes 5pm Festival Closes
HEARTOFTHEROGUEFESTIVAL.COM HEARTOFTHEROGUEFESTIVAL.COM
Washington’s AVAs 20
19
18
1
17
14
15 16
12 13
11
7
6
10 8
4
2 3
5 Source: Washington State Wine Commission
1. Puget Sound
6. Lewis-Clark Valley
12. Rattlesnake Hills
18. Ancient Lakes
2. Columbia Gorge
7.
Columbia Valley
13. Snipes Mountain
19. Rocky Reach
3. The Burn of Columbia Valley
8. Candy Mountain
14. Naches Heights
20. Lake Chelan
4. Horse Heaven Hills
9. Goose Gap
15. Wahluke Slope
10. Red Mountain
16. White Bluffs
11. Yakima Valley
17. Royal Slope
5. Walla Walla Valley
18
9
PNW Wine Guide 2023
Just five miles from the heart of downtown Ashland, Irvine & Roberts offers some of Oregon’s most thrilling Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in a panoramic setting. Visit our tasting room, enjoy local small plates and take in the view that changed our lives.
Extraordinary WINES
FROM AN
Extraordinary PLACE
1614 Emigrant Creek Rd. Ashland, Oregon 541.482.9383 irvinerobertsvineyards.com
Please Drink Responsibly. ©2023 King Estate Winery, Eugene, Oregon
