Aaron

Aaron

Don’t miss the Idaho Potato Museum, located in an old train depot and exploring the history and cultivation of the area’s claim to fame.
Explore Oregon, Northwest Destination

Blackfoot, Idaho: Get Fried and Baked (Potatoes)

Eastern Idaho’s Blackfoot celebrates tantalizing taters, and the outdoors written by James Sinks As the saying goes, it’s like the other vegetables aren’t even trying. A veritable vestige of versatility, potatoes can be enjoyed baked, boiled, shredded and browned. Tater Totted and curly fried. They make chips addicting, mashers magical, gnocchi noshable and latkes luscious. And the tour de force? Hello, vodka. The friendly potato also helps stave off scurvy thanks to abundant vitamin C. And as a good source of fiber, they’ll keep you on the go. Because they do so much to improve our earthly lives, you’ll be pleased to know there’s a place to celebrate the tubular tubers. Appropriately enough, it’s in Idaho. The city of Blackfoot, which dubs itself the Potato Capital of the World, invites visitors to prowl the Idaho Potato Museum, an homage in a 5,500-square-foot former train depot. You’ll know you’ve arrived because…

Agriculture and ranching in Central Oregon owe their existence to water from rivers like the Deschutes and Crooked.
Featured

All Around the Water Table

Collaborative water management in the Deschutes Basin helps keep the region afloat written and photographed by Daniel O’Neil Collaboration comes naturally to Central Oregon. With a wall of mountains to the west, and relative isolation heading in all other directions, the Deschutes Basin has to fend for itself. In such an arid landscape, one that’s also known for agriculture, ecosystems and fast-growing cities, negotiation and compromise become especially critical when water is involved. “Whiskey’s for drinking, and water’s for fighting,” or so they say in the world of water resource management. While Central Oregon has fought over water in the past, during the last three decades the region has discovered that water, too, makes for a fine drink between friends. Such an approach to water serves the Deschutes Basin and all of its inhabitants, making sure there’s just enough to go around for today and tomorrow. In 1987, a group…

The Wild and Scenic Metolius River is one of the area’s top attractions, especially for those who fly-fish.
Explore Oregon, Trip Planners

Camp Sherman & Sisters Adventure Guide

Adventures beckon in Black Butte country written by James Sinks It is a transcendent place, where Central Oregon’s Metolius River materializes out of nowhere. So it was no surprise to Sam Johnson on a day in the 1960s that a woman had set up an easel near the riverbank on his family’s property, and was brushing an oil painting. The Johnsons allowed free access to share the wonder where the water, crystalline and always 48 degrees, gushes from basalt springs. Johnson, like he often did, was gathering trash, his daughter Betsy Johnson recalled. One of her childhood chores was picking up tourists’ cigarette butts. Then, a bus arrived and lurched to a stop, and the artist—and her painting—were engulfed in a cloud of dust. “He said, ‘We need to do something about this, it’s getting loved to death,’ and that was when he first started talking about giving it away,”…

Rafters paddle by Stair Creek Falls during a Momentum River Expeditions trip on the Rogue River.
Adventure, Explore Oregon

Rogue River Rafting & Glamping Adventure

Four days of rafting and glamping on a legendary Oregon wild river written by Cathy Carroll The wide ribbon of clear, teal water is picking up speed, and the four women in the raft glance back at guide Katie Duffie as she tells just how they’re going to ride Horseshoe Bend rapids. Duffie, wielding two oars—each twice the length of the paddlers’ single, lightweight models—scans the white peaks boiling over a jumble of boulders ahead. “OK, ladies, give me two strokes forward!” she commands. The women lean, digging into the gurgling Rogue River, swirling eddies giving way to a turbulent roar and thwap! It raises its great, ice-cold liquid hand, slapping the front two squarely in the face, an age-old prank of this ancient river of snowmelt. Momentarily stunned, their eyes squeeze tightly shut before opening simultaneously with a giant belly laugh that’s joined in by the river and fellow…

Aji Fish Butchery
Food+Drink, Live Oregon

Aji Fish Butchery

written by Kerry Newberry | photography by Aji Fish Butchery With a sense of calm and artistry, Jeffrey Kim smoothly scales a piece of sea bream behind the bar at Zilla Sake—a destination sushi restaurant in Portland. “I use the sukibiki method,” he said. “It’s a traditional Japanese technique where you delicately slice instead of scrape the scales away, which prevents damage to the fish.” For the past two decades, Kim has worked in seafood with stints at Katsuya in Los Angeles and Portland’s Bamboo Sushi. He’s currently the head chef at Zilla Sake and runs Aji Fish Butchery on the side. About five years ago, he became interested in dry-aging fish, the intricate process of removing excess moisture to concentrate flavor and enhance texture. “I love the unique textures and flavor profiles of dry-aged fish because it highlights each fish differently,” said Kim. As the fish is stored in…

DIY Horseshoe Pit
DIY, Home + Design, Live Oregon

DIY Backyard Horseshoe Pit Guide

illustration by Kate Wong Come summer, we’re ready to play lawn games. Horseshoes are a classic, and a horseshoe pit court can be as simple, or complicated, as you like, as well as a straightforward weekend project to build. Here are our tips: 1. PLOT THE COURT A regulation court requires the metal stakes to be 40 feet apart. To keep this simple, measure the distance across a relatively flat plane, and pound a metal stake in the ground at either end. However, to create a cushioned area for the horseshoes to land, prevent bounce and foster fair play, it’s best to build a pit. Build two pits across from each other, or a single one that players will take turns on. To get really fancy, add a backstop to the pit to contain the flying shoes. 2. PLAN THE PIT Each pit will be 3 x 4 feet, with…

Cascada’s silent sanctuary with mineral pools, a sauna, a steam room and a cold plunge.
Explore Oregon, Lodging

Cascada: Portland’s Eco-Luxury Hotel & Spa

written by Kerry Newberry | photography by Cascada At Cascada, Portland’s newest luxury hotel and spa, every design detail is rooted in sustainability and serenity. Located in the heart of the Alberta Arts District, the 100-room property is a LEED Platinum-certified building, only the second one on the West Coast. The highest level of certification, Platinum is granted to projects that adhere to exceptional energy efficiency, minimal water usage and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. You’ll see all that on display here and more—from the avant-garde thermal springs and spa to the stately rooms. In the lobby lounge, stylish furniture is covered with Portuguese cork and filled with natural latex. (There’s no petroleum foams or animal skins on the property.) Natural materials and wood anchor all the spaces. But the most memorable details are rooted in biophilic design from lush and leafy plant walls to the soft glimmers of circadian lighting…

Author Alison Jean Cole is redefining rockhounding for a new generation.
Bibliophile, Live Oregon, Notebook

Modern Rockhounds

Portland author’s new book harnesses fresh energy and ethics around rockhounding interview by Cathy Carroll Alison Jean Cole is at the forefront of a new interest in the Northwest that’s no longer your granduncle’s pastime—rockhounding. Her second book on the topic, A Rockhound’s Guide to Oregon & Washington, has just been released amid a growing, youthful enthusiasm for the hobby that promises another way to connect with nature. The book covers rockhounding basics, sustainable collecting, Leave No Trace principles and, for sixty sites, the geologic history along with what types of rocks and fossils you may find. The region is a treasure trove for rockhounds who can explore ancient seafloors, epic lava flows, glacier-carved landscapes and evidence of 200 million years of tectonic action. This guide helps beginners find agates and jaspers in the volcanic Cascade Range, marine fossils along the Coast, petrified wood in the Owyhee Uplands and more….

Oregon sunshine in a jar – strawberry jam.
Farm to Table, Live Oregon, Oregon Home Grown Chef

Oregon Strawberry Jam With Vanilla Bean

written by Thor Erickson | photography by Tambi Lane “I hope you’ve got a plan for all these berries,” said Tom, the strawberry farmer helping me load six flats of strawberries into my truck. “Tomorrow these won’t be the same,” he added as he wiped the sweat from his brow with a bandana. “Oregon strawberries are delicate little babies. You gotta use ’em or lose ’em. This May heatwave will spoil ’em.” “Uh, yeah,” I replied, having absolutely no idea what I would do with them. “Uh, I’ll make jam,” I said as I got into the overheated cab of my truck and rolled down the window. “There’s a feed store back in Dundee; you can get your canning supplies there,” Tom said with a smile as I pulled away. Following Tom’s advice, I bought canning jars and lids at the feed store, and upon arriving home, began making jam….