Northwest Magazines

EDITORS NOTES

As I write this, in mid-June, the temperature sits in the 50s and the sky just won't turn blue. I've tried positive thinking, sun dances, de-seeding the clouds, you name it; nothing has worked.

But instead of waiting for sunny days and soft breezes, I'm taking a detour and heading north, to Sitka, Alaska, where I'll get on a 120-foot yacht and cruise around the Inside Passage. We'll spend the week viewing wildlife, kayaking, hiking, and exploring Glacier Bay, ending up in Juneau on summer solstice. More on that in a future issue.

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I spent a weekend in Hood River, Oregon, recently, and I wanted to share what a great experience it was. The weather was (amazingly) sunny, and the wind was blowing really hard. And a strong wind in Hood River means only one thing these days: windsurfers! They were there in force. But the town didn't seem over-crowded, just well-populated by fit, happy-looking people of all ages. Hood River has done a wonderful job of maintaining and restoring its historic buildings while adding businesses that cater to the outdoor crowd, from windsurfing and mountain-biking shops to delightful coffee shops and fine restaurants.

We also drove the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway up to Parkdale, where I spent a couple of months many years ago working in the packing plant during pear season. The town hasn't changed much, thankfully. Its main feature (besides the incredible view of Mt. Hood) is still the packing plant, and it's still surrounded by miles and miles of orchards. It does have a brewpub now, like any respectable Oregon town, and the Elliot Glacier Public House is a fine place to stop for lunch and a pint of hand-crafted ale or homemade root beer.

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In this issue, we debut a new look, which includes higher-quality paper and a "perfect binding" (check out the magazine's spine). Along with these upgrades, you'll find even more great stories and photos.

As always, the July issue focuses on golf, and we're featuring 18 luxurious golf resorts, great courses for women, kids programs, and even courses that are part of the Audubon International Sanctuary program. But we also have an array of ideas for your non-golfing moments, from a weekend in Seattle to a weekend in McCall, Idaho; hiking in Glacier National Park and geocaching on a remote ranch; eating oysters in Portland and plucking huckleberries in Montana; racing down a zipline at Tamarack Resort in Idaho and watching horses zip up and down fields in Puget Sound polo matches. I hope the stories and photos inspire you to further explore the nooks and crannies of our great Northwest.

—Rosemary Camozzi

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