Hood River part III

I know, Hood River must be getting old, but it was such a cool place. We also did some wine tasting which was better than the Southern Oregon wines, but still not particularly wonderful. I wonder if it's just me or if I haven't found the write Oregon wines (I know that the Wilmette valley has some great ones, but i thought we'd find some good columbia Valley wines as well). I ended up trying about 6 wineries (no, I did NOT drag Mom and Asha to six. Only one winerie and one consolidated place that poured from many wineries). Of those six, the best was Phelps but the only wine of theres I thought was truly excellent was their Reserve Pinot, at $42 a bottle (not sure it was worth that). it was rich and full flavored. The rose (made from Syrah, I believe) was good but nothing to write home about (so why am I writing about it . . .)?
the other wines were at this place south of Hood River called "The White House." the experience was marred by the fact that the woman pouring didn't know much about wine (she tried to make up for it with friendliness which was appreciated but I would have liked more knowledge and less cheer). I tried quite a few wines here, including a couple from the eastern Columbia Gorge area. The wine lady explained that for every mile you go east, the rainfall declines one inch (obviously, this cannot go on forever, but it sounds good). Unfortunately, I'm not sure I quite believed her dramatic claim, but the point was clear: good rich reds are going to come from further east. So I did try a five grape mixture that was better but still not particularly great. To Nora Table's credit, they were pouring all oregon and specifically Columbia valley wines, i believe.
The pictures are of Asha reclining on a picnic table at the white House (see how much fun she is having!) and Mom in the background doing her favorite thing (texting).
The other picture is of Phelps which is actually located at a golf course, where we also had lunch.
(Mom is currently texting as I type and I'm listening to this repetitive clicking in the background)

hood river part II

We ate at the best restaurant so far on the trip last night. It was called Nora's Table. Just looking at the menu was exciting, but I've had lots of poor meals from great looking menus, so I tried not to get my hopes up. It was a small plates place but the servings ended up being amazingly large (so we are lucky to have leftovers tonight even if it means running down to the motel lobby to heat the food in the microwave!). We ordered an assortment of things: grilled ceasar salad which made the lettuce have these little caramelized egdes and a smoky taste that went great with the overpowering garlicky, anchovy salad dressing, the copious quantities of shredded parm and the crisp potato crisps. We also ordered the fish tacos which were so tasty with a light chipotle sauce and fresh, crisp cabbage on a homemade corn tortilla with a tasty piece of fish. We savored every bite of these two delicacies. I had ordered a Maryhill winery Sauvignon blanc that I was saving to drink with the main courses (Indian flavors).
Asha ordered the lamb ragout with polenta which probalby would have been fantastic but it paled compared to the first courses and Mom and mine main courses. Mom had chicken coconut curry with naan and rice and asparagus! The curry was slightly sweet with flavors like star anise, and cinnamon and a bit of red pepper. It was rich, fully flavored and tasty. The chicken was shredded. I had lamb kofta with cucumber raita. The raita was excellent, tangy and crispy and sweet with bites of cuke (I usually don't get excited about Raita, but this was great) and the lamb was like a lamb sausage. Great.
the atmosphere was simple with white tableclothes covered with butcher paper that nearby kids were drawing on, and the room only held about 8 tables. I never really got to drink my mine because I was so psyched about the food and Asha and Mom weren't really thrilled about waiting for me to finish it after the meal was over.
Highly recommend this place.

June 21 -- Asha's

Mom got me up waaaaaay too early! We had to get on the road at like 8. We drove all the way to Spokane today. On the way, we went to the Maryhill Museum of Art. There were many pretty pictures there and there were a lot of thrones and things from Queen Marie. It was pretty cool, there was an outside sculpture garden with a bunch of peacocks in it! It would have been more fun if it were hotter out! It was really cold, and I was wearing flip flops, so my feet got wet when we went on the grass. After the museum, we drove to an Indian reservation to have lunch. But when we got there, we found out that they aren't having their traditional meals, because it is Father's Day. So we decided we would just find a picnic table and have lunch there. We drove to Hanford Reach, and had lunch there. I couldn't really see the Bee Reactor, which was the main thing there. I had a whole box of raspberries for lunch, and salami and pickles. Mom and grandma had peanut butter and pickles and hot fries. Then we got back in the car and drove to Spokane! I slept pretty much the whole way there, we listened to our book tape, Lady Elizabeth, but I fell asleep in the middle of it. When we got to Spokane it was raining, but mom & grandma wanted to go take a walk! So they are out walking & I'm here blogging!

June 20th -- Asha's

I got to sleep in to 10 today! Yay! It was great! Mom and grandma got up and did their usual walk. When they came back around 10, Mom decided that we were going to just blog and hang out in the room for a few hours and then go out to lunch. We went to lunch at a great BBQ place. But before that we went to a little pie shop on the side of the road called the Apple Valley pie shop. I got a piece of cherry pie, and it was AMAZING. Almost as good as Aunt Terri’s cherry pie, but not quite! (: Mom and grandma got marionberry pie. It’s one of the berries that grow around here, besides huckleberries. Right next door to the lunch place there was *gasp* a winery, called Phelps Creek. And of course, Mom made us go there and suffer while she tasted wine after wine after wine. It got boring after about the first wine. She had bought a bottle of Brimstone, which was named after a famous preacher in the 1930’s who told everyone “NO drinking or you will go to hell.” He bought a summer home in the gorge and it was named after him. It is a blend of syrah, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. After that winery, grandma and I got dragged to ANOTHER winery. Mom told us they were selling fruit there, but we didn’t see much fruit. She just lies to us so she can go buy wine and make us go broke, (if we don’t already from this crazy trip!) Finally, we were done with the wineries and got to go back to the hotel to get books and then we walked downtown to browse the boutiques and went to a coffee shop and a candy shop. Mom and grandma had walked downtown and back three times today! We’re getting ready to go to dinner, so that will be their fourth time!

Hood River

Hood River
What a great town. I want to live here! It’s like Durango and Moab with spectacular views of a snow covered Mount Hood and the Columbia Gorge with the kite surfers and their colorful kites. The colors are intense. The streets are lined with flowers in full bloom, snap dragons, lavender, columbine, wild roses, sweet peas, coreopsis. And everyone takes good care of them.
Last night we walked downtown for dinner at Brian’s Pourhouse, about .9m from the Sunset motel. Brian’s uses local ingredients and we took advantage of it. I ordered a vanilla, blackberry cream with vodka to start. It was one of the most berry flavored drinks I’ve ordered and I enjoyed every sip of the bright purple concoction. A brie, berry compote and roasted garlic appetizer showcased the intense berries of the region but the toasts were a bit chewy and there were only 7 of tehm. Not nearly enough to scoop up the luscious berry compote. Asha ordered a fresh veg pasta with asparagus, sugar snap peas and spinach (locally grown) and ate every last bite. I took forever to order—so many choices. There was a thai fish dish that sounded great but I often don’t like fish and these smoked salmon pockets (they smoke their own Alaskan salmon) with locally grown mushrooms and the fried calamari looked great (okay, that’s not local!). I decided on the last two. The calamari was too chewy but the batter was light and tasty. The salmon pockets were flavorful and light. Grandma had a salad (like usual). The spinach leaves were the largest I’ve ever seen.
After dinner, we headed further downtown to check out the area. Great downtown; lots of coffee shops and little boutiques with great, crazy clothes and restaurants. We’ll visit there this afternoon to hang ou in the coffee shops. We were going to do the ‘fruit loop” today but decided we just couldn’t do a two to three hour driving tour when we could stay here, but we are going to lunch in the fruit loop area, so we’ll get to see some of that.
Hood River is known for their orchards and a small number of vineyards (I have to say it was not to Brian’s credit that there was not one Oregon wine on their menu). We are also going to a place called The White house which showcases local wines and beers, to do some tasting. Okay, I do the tasting while Mom and Asha eagerly await my tasting comments, hanging on my each and every word. I wouldn’t bother tasting if I didn’t know how much vicarious enjoyment they were getting.
Saturday morning Mary and I took a walk down to the edge of the river- about a mile and a half. There is a nice park down at the waters -edge and regulations for kite sailors and wind surfers. We walked back to the motel and then went back downtown to eat breakfast. After breakfast we walked around window looking in the shops. Many outdoor type stores such as: bike and skateboard and camping, mountain climbing etc. There are so many flowers in bloom everywhere.

Guest Blogger: Crater Lake

We hiked up the south side of the caldera, snapping pictures every 30 feet, the vista was so breathtaking. Picture snow capped mountains with green pines up the sides of the mountain, blue sky and intensely blue water. The walk from the lodge to the top wasn’t quite a mile but with the steepness and many switchbacks it gave us a good workout. The view from the very top made the strenuous hike worth it. They had benches on top to sit and enjoy the view. We climbed down and walked around the west side of the lake as far as we could. As we got around going north there were huge snow drifts so we turned around. This lake is 6 miles across and it is the deepest lake in the US.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake
What a place. We’ve been here before, but it never ceases to amaze me: the deep, intense blue of the lake, contrasted against the white snow lining the caldera with the towering green pines leaning towards the basin and then if that’s not enough, the remains of the volcano, towering black jagged basalt. Of course the blue sky, the white clouds and themountains in the distance make it postcardesque (better than a postcard).
When we arrived we just gazed. It always makes me smile when I get to a place like this. I feel like the luckiest person in the world for getting the opportunity to actually be in such beauty. We quickly checked in to the lodge so we could get out hiking before dinner. The lodge itself has been nicely redone (in 1995 they completed major renovation. The lodge was literally falling apart. One wing had been condemned as unsafe. Engineers believed it would literally fall off its foundation, taking the rest of the lodge with it. It had been built around 1915 by some really bad construction guys (not the people who made the Chateau in Oregon Caves, which apparently fell off its foundation in an flood and was stillin such good shape,they just popped it back on). And, the Lodge had been badly deteriorating since the 1960’s. In fact, the park service was going to demolish it but the resistance to demolishment was so strong, they decided to preserve it. And, it seems well worth it. It’s an expensive night, but the lodge does add to the beauty; it doesn’t detract like it’s sister Manzanita (sp?). Inside, you are greeted by a fireplace and beautiful wood floors, the entrance hall’s floor, in fact, is inlaid wood in a beautiful pattern. The staff here are not as friendly as at the Chateau (something I’ve found to be the case at many Xanterra lodges—perhaps the training trains all the friendliness out of them) but they check us in and we are sent up to our second floor, deluxe lake view room.
This is a splurge, but again, it is so worth it. The room overlooks the lake from all its windows and we have to stop and gaze in awe again before we head out for our hike. Thank heavens for molten lava. Volcanoes seem to form some fantastic geologic formations which we get to thoroughly enjoy. Wouldn’t it be boring to live in a country without natural disasters in our history!
We decide to climb the nearby Garfield mountain (not sure if that name is correct) but it does begin with a G. The trail starts out to the north of the hotel and goes over some snow before it starts climbing. The views over the crater to our left are incredible and we stop lots to look and take pictures. The mountain is actually the remaining side of the volcano.