Grant’s Getaways – Oregon Birding Trail from Travel Oregon on Vimeo.

There’s a new way to explore Oregon and this one is really for the birds! But it’s designed for people – especially folks who like to explore new destinations where half the fun is in the getting there.

The first “Willamette Valley Birding Trail” is a new partnership between varied birding groups and Travel Oregon. It offers people a chance to explore 130 legitimate birding sites in a region that is home to 70 percent of the state’s population.

Joel Geier and I recently met at William Finley National Wildlife Refuge where he told me that variety is the spice of his birding life along the new Willamette Valley Birding Trail. Geier knows his birding game well! After all, he’s a longtime member of the Oregon Field Ornithologists. His organization along with several others including Travel Oregon joined to identify 130 birding trails in the Willamette Valley.

It’s easy to locate a trail online. A click of your mouse takes you inside one of the dozen different loops where you’ll find directions to the sites plus photos of the species that you’ll see along the way.

Sallie Gentry and Molly Monroe agree that the new Homer Campbell Memorial Boardwalk at William Finley Wildlife Refuge near Corvallis is one of those special places where you can go birding. It’s an astonishing trail that is wheelchair accessible along 1700 feet of elevated boardwalk that leads to an observation blind that overlooks a small pond that attracts many different birds.

“It is a magnet for wildlife,” noted Monroe. “We’ll have thousands upon thousands of ducks and geese and swans here within the next few months.”

Gentry added, “We’re kind of a little known secret right now, but I think we’re going to become more well known because there are such excellent wildlife viewing opportunities here and you can get relatively close without disturbing the wildlife.”

Not only wintering waterfowl, but also raptor species like bald eagles make the Finley Refuge their winter homes.

“It’s one of the easiest birds for most people to identify so it’s fun for them.
Often, you just look out on a tree line of snags and say, ‘Oh, there’s an eagle perched right there.’ Eagles are good because they’re well known by most people and they’re recovery from near extinction is such a success story.”

If you’re eager to learn more about birding, but you’re not sure how to get started, Gentry said that there is good news for the casual first time visitor this Fall season.

Grant’s Getaways – Becoming an Outdoors Woman from Travel Oregon on Vimeo.

Fall has arrived and for many people that signals the start of Oregon’s fall hunting seasons.

This week, I discovered that women who have always wanted to try their hands at hunting have a new way to learn about one of Oregon’s premier recreational pursuits.

When you go hunting for pheasant, be ready to put in your time and lots of energy – often you are pushing through thick, waist high grass. On the EE Wilson Wildlife Area near Corvallis, newcomer Kelly Ruboin is on her toes because the pheasant can launch themselves skyward in a heartbeat.

Kelly joined accomplished hunter Mark Steele, and his hunting dog, “Neela,” for an afternoon in the field. Mark is a volunteer guide who gave his hunting services over for a special day designed for women only. In fact, two-dozen women gathered on the wildlife area to learn what upland bird hunting’s all about.

Ruboin, like many of the other women, has never done anything like this before. But that’s okay because she’s taking a class to learn how it’s done. The EE Wilson Wildlife Area Pheasant Hunt is part of a unique Outdoor Skills program sponsored by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and it is called “Becoming An Outdoors Woman.”

The class was too good a deal for Kelly to pass up. For twenty-five dollars each woman learned hands on gun safety, hunting techniques, proper clothing, plus how to shoot and hit what they aim at.

Experienced instructors from ODFW offered lectures on firearms and led the students through a number of exercises in proper gun handling and safety. They helped to build confidence in the newcomers with an atmosphere of trust that paid off with relaxation and fun.

Tthe agency sells approximately 300,000 hunting licenses and tags each year and women make up just 16 percent of the total.

Rick Hargrave, ODFW spokesperson, said they hope to change that percentage with specific classes that encourage women to participate, “What our outdoor skills program does is plant that seed of interest – if it leads to hunting or fishing, that’s great – but if it leads to getting their families outdoors more often that’s even better too.”

EE Wilson offers nearly 1800 acres for hunters, fishers, hikers and cyclists to explore throughout the year. The area offers wetlands for wildlife, a stocked fishing pond to cast lures and a wildlife exhibit area where you can see many of Oregon’s upland birds on display.

Resources:

How to hunt Upland Bird (pdf)

ODFW Outdoor Skills Program

Editor’s Note: Grant’s Getaways is a production of Travel Oregon brought to you in association with Oregon State Parks, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon State Marine Board. Episodes air Fridays on KGW Newschannel 8 and Saturdays on Northwest Cable News Network

Not only were the views stunning from the hilltop looking over fields of grapes on the
vines below, but they were pressing grapes for chardonnay and the air was permeated with the sweetness of fresh, crisp grapes. A crowd had gathered on the lawn overlooking the vines and we headed inside for a taste. We opted for the $10 special, a fruit white, a chardonnay with hints of subtle pears and two reds covering the palate of pomegranates and berries. Divine.

When you can’t go to Tuscany, an hour outside of Portland hits the spot. We left Tuscany, for Japan and headed down the road to Torii Mor, known for their Pinot Noir and Japanese gardens. After a White flight of three smooth white wines we wandered out into the garden to a table in the shade. The perfect location for a girl’s day conversation and lots of laughter. Before we knew it we were rolling through hills of vineyards on an Indian summer’s day dancing to the radio and anticipating the final winery. We landed at Erath and didn’t even make it inside. We stood in awe at the landscape, the rolling hills in afternoon sun, the smell of warm red dirt and grapes, the whooshing of wind through the leaves. It was utterly breathtaking and the perfect photo opt. We stood taking it all in and for a moment and feeling like the world stood still long enough to let us imagine we were transported to the far away wine country of Europe. A heavenly Saturday.

Sarah McMurray is a wanderlust, a hopeful romantic, an artist, a writer and a passionate connoisseur of coffee and culture. She holds a BA from Seattle Pacific University and has been transitioning from higher education to the non-profit sector. Currently she resides in Bend, Oregon where she feels she is the luckiest girl in the world to call herself a native.

Read this great story by our friends at WineCountry.com. Their “Top 10″ list will have you eagerly planning your next escape to meet the winemakers and explore the quaint towns of Oregon’s wine country.

Wine hasn’t been big in Oregon’s bucolic Willamette Valley for long – in fact, it was only in the 60s that the first plantings were made in what is now considered by many to be some of the most hallowed ground for wine production in the world. With a cool, moist climate that favors Pinot Noir in particular, the region just an hour’s drive from Portland has fast turned into one of the most exciting places to swirl, sip and savor your way through wine country. Read on for my top ten wines tasted on a recent visit. >>Full Story

Ingredients Movie - Play Trailer

You’re invited to be among the first to see the locally made film “ Ingredients” at the Bagdad Theater. This feature-length documentary reveals the people who are leading the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities.  This film illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize the connection between food and the land, while celebrating the farm to table movement with vibrant cinematography and exploring solutions for creating a community based on seasonal food.

Meet the filmmakers at the Sept. 25 screening on Friday. The movie will be followed by a panel discussion with chef Greg Higgins and Anthony and Carol Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston. All proceeds will benefit the Multnomah County Sustainability Program.

And most importantly, follow us on Twitter or Facebook for a chance to win tickets later this week!

Is it time for you to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday city life? Perhaps to unwind on a backcountry byway that will take you into a chapter of Oregon history?

I am a big fan of Oregon’s little roads; you know, the ones without numbers. Linn County has a few and sometimes these roadways let you set your clock back too – on a journey into unexpected bliss!

It feels like a Huck Finn sort-of -world at Shimanek Covered Bridge – a gorgeous beauty decked out in “Navajo Red” colored paint and it spans Thomas Creek.

Safety is important these days because traffic roars past at a shattering pace – a far cry from slower days of the past century. Still, there are other covered bridges that are off the beaten path and hint of bygone times. For example, Hannah Covered Bridge is picture-postcard perfect!

This stunning whitewashed covered bridge was built in 1936 and offers a bit of a Norman Rockwell kind of American moment. As you will see, there is plenty of water running under the Covered Bridges of Linn County, so don’t be surprised if you end up at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s  Roaring River Hatchery. This is a place that raises really whoppers – the kind with fins. Seventy percent of Oregon’s catchable hatchery trout are raised at Roaring River Hatchery.

Last winter, we showed viewers how that energy is put into action when we visited a classroom full of enthusiastic students at Banks Elementary School You see, Roaring River Hatchery donates 100,000 trout eggs to hundreds of Oregon classrooms where the youngsters raise the eggs into baby fish. It’s a successful and unique environmental education program called “Eggs to Fry.”

Not far from the Roaring River Hatchery, you’ll enjoy a chance to relax at Larwood Wayside – only site in the state where a river flows into a creek. It’s called Crabtree Creek and it is where you will find Larwood Covered Bridge and it was built seventy years ago.

Oregon has more (49 authentic) Covered Bridges than anywhere else in the country, so it is something all Oregonians should be proud of so folks should get out to see and enjoy them.

High above the Willamette Valley in the Willamette National Forest, follow the roadway that traces a trail along Fall River, near Lowell, Oregon and you could discover adventure that’s guaranteed to take you to new heights.

I met a group of climbers along this roadway near Fall Creek Reservoir. As I discovered, they were a small corp of climbers that was a breed apart from typical rock or mountain climbers. Just like rock climbers, these folks used gear that included harnesses, ropes, mechanical ascenders and even helmets. A hearty collection of people had gathered to meet guides with the Eugene-based Pacific Tree Climbing Institute who don’t climb tall mountains; rather they ascend Oregon’s tallest trees.

Jason Seppa, co-owner of PTCI and a lead guide in my adventure, coolly showed each of us the correct way to wear the harness and how to handle the ascenders; the main mode of movement up the giant trees.

The team had gathered to climb three of the tallest giants in the forest. Trees that had been nicknamed “The Three Musketeers” because the trio of 600 year-old Doug fir had grown so closely together.

Robb Miron, Seppa’s partner in PTCI, explained the advantages of climbing these big old trees: “They are really climber-friendly with a lot of limbs and a lot of architecture. When you’re up in them, it’s the kind of a feeling that you get being inside a grove of trees.”

PTCI operates under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service and their climbing techniques and equipment do not damage the trees. Seppa and Miron called it “eco-friendly” climbing as they teach both newcomers and experienced how to reach for the tallest heights of the trees without hurting the trees they climb.

They employ the same equipment and skills that each had learned on their jobs as full time arborists in Eugene, Oregon. The trained arborists turned their attention to recreation climbing six years ago and agreed that the forest has much to offer people.

There was a genuine rush of energy and excitement at the doing of the thing and the unmatched view of the surrounding forest.

In June I had the privilege to sit down with Jeff DeSantis one of the owners from 7 Brides Brewing. Talking to DeSantis I could tell that he is very passionate about beer and his local community. In fact his mother’s house is across the street from the brewery and their family has lived in Silverton since 1895. You may have heard of Jeff DeSantis before because he is the owner of Hops2u, a supplier of hops to local breweries including Seven Brides, Laurelwood, Calapooia, and home brew shops.

Currently 7 Brides is offering seven beers. Again one named after each one of their daughters. The beers include: Lauren’s Pale Ale (LPA), Emily’s Ember, Oatmeal Ellie, Abbey’s Apple Ale (AAA), Maggie’s Marzen, Weezin-ator, and Lil’s Pils. I really enjoyed the Oatmeal Ellie, an oatmeal stout that with its coffee and dark chocolate hints. The beer is suprisngly light with a dry smooth finish. Another beer to try is their award winning pilsner the Lil’s Pils that is light and crisp. I look forward to their hoppy pilsner coming out soon. Also check out their bottles soon too in limited release.

7 Brides Brewing is truly a family affair. Next time you are in Silverton stop by and get an education on good local craft beer from 7 Brides founders Josiah Kelley, Phill Knoll, Karl Knoll, Ken DeSantis and Jeff DeSantis.

In fact make a day of it and hike to the beautiful Silver Falls and stay at the Oregon Garden Resort.

Day One: Willamette Valley

I have the toughest job in Oregon: each year I get to travel around the state, meet interesting people in the culinary world, and bring it to you through my “On the Road with Oregon Bounty” blog. This year’s journey begins in the Willamette Valley, at Penner-Ash Wine Cellars at the west end of the Chehalem Valley.

For a petite (5’4”) winemaker, Lynn Penner-Ash fills some big shoes. Lynne spent 14 years crafting nationally-acclaimed wines at Rex Hill Vineyards before leaving in 2002 Lynn to pursue the dream of owning a winery and vineyard in Oregon with her husband Ron. Lynn’s winemaking philosophy comes to life at Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, where sustainable practices meet state-of-the-art design. The gravity flow winery sits atop estate vineyards with views of two Cascade Mountain peaks, and has been showcased in numerous publications. She produces wonderful vineyard-designate Pinot noir, Viognier and Syrah.

Lynn is the winemaker mentor in our Oregon Bounty “Cuisinternship” contest, which will give seven lucky people the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to Oregon for an ultimate foodie getaway (that’s right, you could spend a week as a winemaker, chef, brewmaster, cheesemaker and chocolatier, distiller, rancher or fisherman). Check out a video about Lynn and learn how to enter the contest.

There are so many great foodie finds in the Willamette Valley., like the signature corned beef hash at Word of Mouth Bistro in Salem, Savoring Oregon Dungeness crab cakes and Pinot gris on the veranda at King Estate Winery south of Eugene, or a slice of fresh apple pie straight from the country ovens at French Prairie Gardens in St. Paul. Go to Travel Oregon’s new culinary travel website to plan a Willamette Valley getaway.

Check back on Tuesday… “On the Road” is all about fishing on the Oregon Coast. Cheers!

I was in the town of Monroe, Oregon for a business presentation at the local library, and arrived an hour early. Looking for something to do, I headed south out of town and stumbled upon one of Oregon’s best-kept treasures. Just a mile or two to the south, Benton-Lane Winery prides itself on its organic and earth-friendly approach, and has earned certification under the internationally sanctioned L.I.V.E (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) program, and regionally sanctioned Salmon Safe program. In short, these winery folks take not only pride in the wines that they produce, but care for the land from which the vintages are derived.

I pulled into the driveway and was struck immediately by the surrounding scenery. Entering the tasting room, a foyer to the left directed my attention to a gorgeous and spacious patio outside. What a perfect gathering spot for a wedding, special event or a wine party!

Venturing up to the counter, I was immediately greeted by a friendly wine tasting attendant (Oregon seems to have a lot of these!) and offered tastes of some of the open wines. Oh, delight!

Their 2006 First Class Pinot Noir couldn’t have been more aptly named; it’s first-class and top notch. Wine Spectator gave the wine 92 points and wow, is that ever the truth. I was amazed and immediately bought a bottle.

A few more purchases later, I walked out, marveling at this exquisite family-run winery. To me, as a (almost) native Oregonian, this is what makes the state special. Oregon’s close-knit wine community are so focused on quality and integrity of their product, and Benton-Lane’s connection to the land that they cultivate are true attributes of what makes this such a great state.