A big week in the Columbia Gorge

Mill Creek area cherry orchard with Mt Adams to the North

Our visit to to the Columbia Gorge was so rich in experience not because of the  beauty of the area, but because of the dear friends of ours that live there.      Perhaps a statistician can explain how this small corner of the US became home to some of our closest friends.

We started Sunday with a visit with Kathy Caldwell.  We have known the Caldwell's since the 90s when here late husband Jim fabricated the iron grapevines in Oliver Winery's tasting room.   Jim was a great artist and kindred soul is his adventurism and mischievous love of life.   He passed away more than a year ago and we miss him dearly.      Kathy and sons Luke and Zeke are doing well with great support from friends in Stevenson Washington.  They are working on finishing the home that Jim started and when finished will be one of the most beautiful homes on the Columbia river.

On Monday we caught up with David and Susan Geenberg.    They both worked for us in the early 90s when David was getting his MBA at IU.  We enjoyed a fantastic meal at their Portland home.   For some reason they also opened their very best wine for us!

The visit ended with several days at the home of Lonnie and Linda Wright.    Lonnie grows grapes for us - wonderful fruit from his incredible vineyards.    The Wright family are incredible hosts with a great meal at their home followed by a backyard fire where our children demonstrated the varied uses of coffee creamer. The Wrights live in Mill Creek Valley just south of The Dalles Oregon.   It is a fantasy of agriculture with cherries and wine grapes all growing under the shadow of Mount Hood and Mount Adams.    I am now officially placing Mill Creek Road ahead of Boise Idaho as the places I would most want to live other than Bloomington, Indiana.  

Believe it or not I convinced another airport into renting me an airplane.   Lonnie Wright and I spent two hours touring Washington and Oregon including this area around Mt Hood.

Multnomah Falls - over 600' high

Lonnie Wright shows off his new Pinot Noir vineyard.   Can't wait to get a few cases of  this wine!

Wright neighbor Terry McDuffy offered to give us a tour of his place on the condition we try out a few bottles of his estate Chardonnay.  Twist my arm!  The Lonnie Wright managed fruit turned into amazing wine.