BY: JOSIAH DEAN Owning a boutique destination inn means we meet a lot of interesting folks from near and far. Just this week, guests from France, Germany and Italy. And that was just Wednesday! Closer to home, I met Ayleen Crotty of ORBike and Heidi Bierle from Enroute Transport in Portland, about developing cycling tours here — and they …
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A quickly fading slice of life?
BY: JOSIAH DEAN It’s full-on summer, so most of us are “busy” relaxing and exploring near and far. Claire is on a pilgrimage to southern France as you read this, furthering her training on The Magdalene Path. Closer to home, however, we near Vintage Dufur Days (August 11-12) a charming 2-day celebration of our rural farming roots. (We …
Avoid the the Pop and Sizzle
BY: JOSIAH DEAN If you’re like many right now, you might find this an interesting time to be patriotic in this country. And there are many ways to express it. I used to love all the color, sizzle and spark of a good fireworks display but this year, my heart isn’t in it. So how …
What can we Dufur you?
BY: JOSIAH DEAN Often when you check in you have a harried, glazed look on your face. Happy to arrive, yet road weary even after the short, breathtaking drive through the Columbia River Gorge. We understand, it took a lot to get here. Not everybody gets to come to Dufur. But you might wonder “What we …
Awaken Your Sense of Aliveness
BY: JOSIAH DEAN Happy May Day, We’re enjoying a getaway from the hotel as I write this. As a hotelier, that’s interesting because “home” for us is a place where other people get away to, yet for us, we get away from. Traveling always brings challenges, but gifts too. Whether its exploring new territory, or …
Wild Creative Adventures Await You
BY: JOSIAH DEAN Spring is Blossoming! The shift from Winter to Spring seems swift and effortless. While the skiing is still great up on the mountain, (and we have a great deal on ski passes) around here, it’s all about green hills and Spring blooms. Change is in the air and it stirs a process …
Retreat And Reconnect With What Really Matters to You
BY: JOSIAH DEAN Winter made a brief appearance. Fields were dusted with snow, the roads are clear and the mountain is out! The sunny, dry weather has been a blessing after the snowy deluge last year. Josiah calls it, “the perfect snow”: just enough to look beautiful but not enough to make getting here difficult. …
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Turn Christmas into Blissmas
BY: JOSIAH DEAN It’s just after Thanksgiving, with Solstice, Christmas, and Hanukah holidays just ahead, so the feeling of gratitude and fullness is still running strong within me. This year more than most it seems we have so much to be grateful for. With all that is going on around us in the world, our …
Events: Here and Near
BY: JOSIAH DEAN Balch Bounty: Super Saturday Supper Series for December: We’re excited about the menu, it sounds stupendous. Chef Jason Barwikowski (formerly of Vintage Grill at Hood River Hotel and The Woodsman in Portland) is putting together a fantastic farm to table feast. Start with a glass of wine from our local wineries, and …
October Balch Banter
BY: JOSIAH DEAN Greetings, Fall is gorgeous around here. The warm crisp sunny days and cool nights. The hills are warm and golden–with harvest complete it’s a great time for a drive. The air is crisp as you wind through roads lined with turning leaves of crimson and gold. It’s delicious. Speaking of delicious, …
