Friday's Fotos - Friday Night Lights   I know I blog about football a lot and the funny thing is that I'm not even a huge football fan, but when you live in a small town, football is a huge part of the community. It's a social activity as much as a sporting event. Our son, Ben, and I went to the Hood River Valley High School football game tonight. Ben's 11 and plays football himself so can't seem to get enough lately, and tonight I could just see him itching to get out there and play.       10/07/2011

    Wordless Wednesday - Rainbow Gazing   It looks like fall has truly moved into the Pacific Northwest as it has rained for a few days in a row now and the temperature hasn't risen above 60 degrees. Even on such dreary days it's heartwarming to find that silver lining... in this case a surprise rainbow.   10/05/2011

  Wordless Wednesday - A Happy Team... The Underdogs Triumphed   This is a photo I shot after our son, Ben's football game on Saturday when the Hood River Tsunami won against one of the other Hood River teams, the Hood River Blue. They were, in fact, the underdogs, but it was a great game... it does my heart good to see these guys so proud of themselves.   09/27/2011

  No Small Town Is Complete Without It's Bowling Alley: Welcome to Orchard Lanes   We can't really call ourselves bowlers, but do enjoy a game every now and then. Our son, Ben, turned 11 this past weekend so we celebrated with a casual party at Orchard Lanes in Hood River. Seven little boys loved going for strikes, cheering each other on and high-fiving the evening away. Orchard Lanes Bowling Center offers plenty of lanes, an automatic scoring system, video arcade and a snack bar. They offer lots of open play times for all ages, including bumper lanes for the kids, and a wide variety of leagues for all skill levels and at various times of the day. It's a great place for events of all sorts, family night out packages cater to families and Saturday nights feature Thunder Alley... The ligh... 09/27/2011

  5th-6th Grade Football: Hood River Tsunami Faced Hood River Blue Saturday And Blew Them Away   You just can't beat it when the VERY FIRST play of the entire game ends in a 50+ yard run and touchdown by the suppossed underdogs. The crowd was stunned and estatic as Tsunami team quarterback, Patrick Estes, nimbly dodged player after player to run the ball straight to the endzone. The rest of the game was much harder fought. The score remained 8 to 0 through most of the game, as the amazing Tsunami held the Blue at bay, at one point even holding them to their own 2-yard line for FOUR PLAYS. Then within the last two minutes of the game, Tsunami running back Andrew Hall scored a second touchdown to secure the win for his team at 16 to 0. The amazing Tsunami remains undefeated this season. N... 09/26/2011

    Hood River 7th Grade Football Triumphs In 1st Game Of The Season   What a great start to the 2011 season, with Hood River's amazing win over Hermiston, 32 to 14. The team traveled to Hermiston (a three hour drive away) and relied on its many weeks of training to pull off a dazzling win. The team is made up of 7th grade players from Wy'east and Hood River Middle Schools and our son, Sam, plays on the team in various positions. Football camp began the second week of August then practices began the next week and continue four afternoons a week, two hours each day, so these guys have been racking up major hours preparing for the season. It's so wonderful to see all their hard work pay off. Games will continue through late October. Mel took these photos of the game. The first is of our s... 09/25/2011

  Coolest Cloud Photo Ever!   I have no idea what sort of a natural phenomenon would cause such an interesting cloud formation. Maybe some meteorology buffs out there have an idea? I shot this photo this morning (Saturday, Sept. 24th) around 8:00 a.m. at the Hood River Valley High School football field, just before our son, Ben's game. As the sun rose, the clouds disappeared.   09/24/2011

  Wordless Wednesday - A Tricky Trail To The Hood River   I shot this photo last week when we took the short trail down to the Hood River at Tucker Park, just south of the town of Hood River, off the Dee Highway. It was bumpy going and I had to avoid looking at the steep drop off to the right (vertigo!), but the gorgeous scenery was totally worth it. Note: this is Gretchen writing... wouldn't want anyone thinking Mel's so wimpy.   09/21/2011

  Don't Miss The Delta Kappa Home Tour This Sunday In Hood River The Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Delta Kappa Sorority 21st Annual Home Tour will be held on this Sunday Sept. 25, 2011,1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  All proceeds will provide scholarships for seniors at Hood River Valley High School and Horizon Christian School so this is a great community cause. Tickets cost $10.00 per person and can be bought at Tammy's Floral and the Waucoma Bookstore. The tour will include truly lovely homes through our area and are a great source of decorating and updating ideas. For more information, please contact Thelma Burch at 541-387-3402             09/20/2011

  Join The Red Cross Blood Drive At The Hood River Armory Tomorrow   Donating blood is a great way to give back to your community in a deeply personal way. Join the Red Cross tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20, 1-6 p.m. at The Hood River Armory, 1590 12th Street, Hood River, Oregon.  To make a donation appointment visit www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation or call 800-RED-CROSS.     09/19/2011

  Speechless Sunday - A Bridge From A Different Perspective   I have posted the photo to the right before. I took it last winter just off Tucker Road, about 8 miles south of Hood River, right by the Apple Valley store. On Friday, we stopped and hiked down under the bridge and I snapped the photo below which I thought was interesting so I'm sharing.     09/18/2011

  Fall Kiteboarding and Windsurfing In Hood River Is Going Strong!   The weather made a drastic change this week in Hood River, switching from our near-100 degree temperatures last week, to barely making it to 70 degrees this week. But that hasn't slowed down the kiteboarding and windsurfing in the least. The ironic thing about Hood River is that often the best surfing winds come with colder temperatures and the intrepid sports fanatics who come to Hood River for adventure would never let the chill in the air slow them down. In case you haven't hear, Hood River, Oregon is considered by many to be the #1 kiteboarding and surfing site in the continental United States. It's something to do with the shape of the Columbia River Gorge and local weather patterns. Despite the scientific explana... 09/17/2011

  Friday's Foto - Rapids On The Hood River   I took this photo of the Hood River today at Tucker Park just off the Dee Highway, about five miles south of the town of Hood River. We walked out onto the rocks, but didn't take our cameras out in case we slipped off! The roar of the rapids was almost so loud we could barely hear each other talking.   09/16/2011

  Wordless Wednesday - Another Quaint Country Home   If you've read many of my posts, you know I love finding and sharing older, charming homes with classic architecture. This one is located about four miles south of Hood River, just off Highway 35. I don't know the year it was built because it's not a registered historic home, I believe because it hasn't been maintained to standards required for registry. In fact, it looks like there's work currently under way and I'm guessing it was built 1910-ish. I still found it intriguing, so here it is.   09/14/2011

  Hood River Starts The 2011 Youth Football Season With A Bang!   Our 10-year-old son, Ben, plays Gorge Youth Tackle Football for Hood River, 5-6th grades, team #2 and his team started the season brilliantly today with a 36 to 6 victory over Stevenson! The soaring heat didn't slow them down a bit as they made three touch downs in the first quarter alone. It's Ben second year playing and he's working hard as a defensive linebacker and an offensive guard. Practices started three weeks ago and Ben went to football camp for two weeks before that. This team has worked so hard and it shows in the fancy footwork, dazzling speed, solid blocking and power tackles. We love that both our boys play football and many other sports, as well. We strongly feel that the comaraderie they gain, the work et... 09/10/2011

  Attention Pilots & Airplane Enthusiasts: WAAAM Annual Fly-In This Weekend!   The Western Antique Automobile and Aeroplane Museum in Hood River is proud to announce that it's annual "Fly-In" will be this weekend, September 10th and 11th.  This is an event sure to thrill any plane enthusiast as planes will be flying in from all over the country all day each day including experimental aircraft, antiques, bi-planes etc. Plus there will be activities and fun for the whole family. Saturday, September 10th: Pancake Breakfast* 7:00-10:00  Museum Open 9:00-5:00 Special: $10 Adult /$5 child  Best day for the public, lots of activites.   Plane, helicopter, car rides (extra fee) 1:00 p.m. Book Signing by John Trudel author of "God's House" 6:00 p.m. Dinner & Silent Auction Sunday, September 11th:... 09/08/2011

  Fire Update: Mt. Hood Dollar Lake Fire   Compared to the catastrophic wild fires in Texas, our little fire on Mt. Hood seems barely significant. But it is to us. The fire has burned over 4,500 acres and there are currently 700 firefighters working the fire, with support from 6 helicopters and more than a dozen bulldozers, clearing fire lines. Extreme terrain makes the fire especially hard to fight. One of the largest concerns is the fire is just 3 miles from the Bull Run Resevoir, which is the main water provider through the city of Portland. Today, increasing winds were forecast, which could have doubled the fire, but the increase didn't happen, thankfully. Instead, ground was made against the fire, which is now considered to be almost 20% contained. The wind also shifted directions ... 09/07/2011

Paradise In Hood River... Pearadise Creamery! So, the store has been open in Hood River for a year now but I only recently discovered it myself. If you even like frozen yogurt you'll love this place. And your kids will love it even more! With dozens of yogurt flavors that rotate regularly, the store offers six yogurt choices daily. Then the real fun begins. There are tons and tons of toppings... everything from candies like m&ms and gummi worms, to cereals and fruit. The list goes on and on, maybe 40 toppings I would guess. And it's all self serve. You can mix yogurt flavors and get a little or a lot, then add whatever toppings you want and however many you may want because you pay by the weight of your creation. So go on in and go wild! 541-386-7114, 2910 Cascade Ave # 101 Hood River, ... 09/01/2011

  Friday's Foto - The Hand-Off   As August comes to a close, we realize fall is just around the corner. In addition to school, for our family, that also means youth football. Practices started last week and this Saturday is the jamboree for the elementary school-aged kids, where the regional teams are introduced and a scrimmage is played. This is a photo of Ben's team practicing a new play.     08/26/2011

  Friday's Foto - Antique Tractor   I took this photo at Apple Valley, Hood River. It's obviously an antique tractor and I think it shows a lot of character. It's amazing how far tractors have evolved since these days. One of our sons especially likes tractors so has checked out the John Deeres at the local hardware store. The latest ones even have air conditioners!     08/26/2011