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| Columbia Gorge Hotel |
We arrived at the Columbia Gorge Hotel on July 25 and left
on July 27. It is a beautiful historic hotel in Hood River, Oregon and it is
situated right on the Columbia River. The hotel was originally developed in 1904, by a pioneer
named Bobby Rand and in 1920 Rand sold it to Simon Benson who had helped
complete the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway, about 30 miles down the road from
the hotel. We had been on the scenic highway before: it essentially parallels
Highway 84 to Portland. If you are ever
traveling that stretch of highway, you MUST take the scenic divergence. It is
well worth it! We do recommend though, that you try to avoid a weekend during
prime time (morning and early afternoon) as there is limited parking to stop
and see the various falls. This stretch of gorgeous road (pun intended) consists
of leafy tree-lined road alongside which are a series of waterfalls. It has
been claimed that the most beautiful time of year to visit is in the spring
when the waterfalls are replete with winter run-off from mountain snows and the
banks are replete with wild flowers. We have been there twice and not in the
spring, but I can attest that it is still lovely, whenever you decide to visit.
The geologic history of the gorge itself is absolutely
fascinating and if you decide to delve into it, you will be amazed by the
magnitude of the volume of water from ice-melt that carved out the entire gorge
in a relatively short period of time, unlike the Grand Canyon which was formed
over many years.
There is a sign board along Highway 200 , “Glacial Lake
Missoula and the Floods That Shaped the Northwest”, which we stopped and read on
our way OUT of Coeur D'Alene as we were headed towards Whitefish, Montana, which
pictorially depicts and describes what happened geologically to
form the gorge
and the rivers of the area. These were catastrophic physical events in Earth’s
history. On the signboard: “Glaciers
advanced and retreated a dozen times or more, damming Lake Missoula, bursting with
gargantuan force, flooding areas miles away, shaping today’s landscape in
Idaho, Washington and Oregon”. It also stated: “The force of energy unleashed
was hundreds of times the explosive energy of Mt. St. Helens.” Also, Glacial
ice above lake level (was as) tall as a 200 story building above lake level,
rose 4 times as tall as Seattle’s 605
ft. Space Needle, (and the) total depth of glacial ice may have exceeded 3,500
feet when reaching to the lake’s rock bed.”
Our waterfall viewing drive along the scenic highway will be
better described in the next blog post. Here, I am setting the geological
scene.
So Simon Benson, who was originally born in Norway, had had
work as a farm hand, and later worked in sawmills and logging camps. Ultimately
the logging industry allowed him to build his fortune. His philanthropy
included financially supporting the construction of the scenic route mentioned
above and ensuring that the land was designated public park land. He also owned
the Columbia Gorge Hotel and intended for it to be an opulent place to stay for
travelers who had completed the scenic tour. The 208 foot “Wah Gwin Gwin”
waterfall is on the hotel grounds. Famous people who have supposedly stayed
there include President Roosevelt and Rudolph Valentino. During the depression,
the hotel became a retirement home and this remained so until 1977 when it
became a hotel again and was restored. “Simon’s Cliff House” is the hotel’s
restaurant and the food is very good. It is a beautiful well appointed hotel
and weddings and other events are often held there, especially outside in their
beautiful gardens. There is also a spa.
But the Columbia Gorge Hotel has another facet to its
history that is NOT mentioned on its website. It is reputed to be haunted.
Having stayed in an exquisitely haunted castle in Wales and
having taken part in ghost séances there, we were keen to learn more about the
Gorge Hotel’s ghosts. We asked numerous staff people about the resident ghosts.
Half of the people we asked said they had not worked there long enough to have
any first hand knowledge of ghosts, but one employee who has been there a few
years, was more than eager to tell us about the ghosts. One resident ghost is a
man the hotel staff have named “Oscar”
and he likes to smoke pipes and cigars. He also wears a top hat. Guests have
reported smelling the smoke even though the hotel has a no smoking policy
throughout. Another ghost is a woman who is reported to move furniture in front
of the door so outsiders cannot get into the room. But the employee also told
us of the sounds of children playing above the 3rd floor. On
different occasions, guests have phoned the front desk to ask them to ask the
guests on the 4th floor to ask their children to be quieter. There
are no guest rooms on the 4th floor. That is the attic. In our short
stay there we did not see or hear ghosts, but at one point, when I had my
dowsing crystal out and was checking rooms in the 3rd floor hallway,
I got a very intense tingling up and down my spine outside one door. It was
literally chilling. In Wales, they told us that this sensation occurred when
ghosts attempt to attach to you and the tingling is their attempt to suck some
energy from you. They try to enter from the back so you are less aware of them
at first. I have found that stomping my feet and saying in a stern voice: “Stop
that! I am queen of this realm and you have no power over me!” Most ghosts are not that invasive, however
and leave well enough alone but if you seek out what they wish for, they will
communicate that to you. Most times, it is just being acknowledged. We have had
several ghost visitations at home and one in particular, knocked the exact same
books off of the exact same shelf upstairs in the kitchen and the family room
for 3 days in a row at exactly 5:00 a.m. She just wanted to be acknowledged and
after I lit a candle in the kitchen at 5:00 a.m. for 3 days in a row and
acknowledged her for ½ hour each day, she stopped knocking books around.
Ultimately we were a little sad to leave our ghosts,
waterfalls and the fabulous food and people of this Hood River area, but read
on as the next posting will describe our enjoyable drive around the “Fruit Loop
Tour” where we visited the local growers and artisans of this area.
Some links for more information on the above: The second link provides a very useful map.
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