Shoulder season in The Dalles, Oregon | Meanderings by Mindy Stern

Walking into the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum (CGDCM) in early November, my eyes were drawn down the long corridor, past towering wooden columns, and out, towards the view from the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. A bevy of quails, some young, some fully grown, scurried around the blackened ground. The Rowena Fire, which started just a few miles away in June 2025, scarred the landscape, revealing wildlife previously hidden in the brush. But the land is showing signs of rebirth. After a brief closure, the museum reopened, debuting a new installation called A Sense of Place, about an environmentally responsible sheep ranch in North Central Oregon whose sheep provide wool for the U.S. Olympic teams’ Made in America uniforms. The ones that Ralph Lauren designs.

The CGDCM is an interpretive center, a history museum, and an archive of historical documents and photos. The 54-acre-site connects to The Dalles Riverfront Trail, a family-friendly, 6.5-mile walk. Fabulous any time of year, from September to November, fall foliage is on display. There are so many reasons to plan a visit to The Dalles (rhymes with pals).

Oregon has 29 officially designated scenic highways. On the 70-mile, Historic Route 30, you’ll see waterfalls, sheer rock cliffs, views of the Columbia River, and marvel at stone guardrails and retaining walls constructed between 1913-22. Drive from Mosier to the western edge of The Dalles, near the CGDCM. From there, Interstate 84 takes you past Google’s controversial data center, and into the city center, where more delights await.

Are you hungry? Stop at the 6th Street Station Food Cart Pod (closed Monday and Tuesday). When I visited, six trucks offered wings, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian foods and Boba, giving entrepreneurs a chance to try out their concepts without the heavy financial investment that brick and mortar restaurants require.

In summer 2022, “The Wall Dogs,” a group of civically-minded volunteers and artists, launched MuralFest, an effort to revitalize downtown. In five days, they completed 15 vibrant murals celebrating The Dalles’ history and culture. Throughout the downtown core, these paintings draw attention to the city’s late 1800s and early 1900s buildings. One of those buildings, the 1910 Colonial-style Elks Temple, is now home to another gem – the National Neon Sign Museum.

David A. Benko, the museum’s director, spent 38 years building enormous neon signs for businesses like McMenamins. He also specialized in restoring theater signs. He’s an expert on everything neon – its history, applications, rise, fall, and rise again. Neon’s first big boom was in the 1920s, with a golden age in the 30s and 40s. During WWII, blackout regulations ordered windows to go dark, and neon signs were destroyed for their metal components, needed for planes and bombs. Meanwhile, technology evolved, making plastic signs with fluorescent lights popular after the war. In the 1960s, LED lights emerged. Today, old neon signs are coveted by collectors and neon is cool again.

This museum is chock full of aesthetically pleasing, whimsical, and historically significant Americana. Almost all of Georges Claude’s signs – the Frenchman who invented neon lighting – were destroyed during the scrapping efforts. But the neon museum has a large, original Claude creation. Children and the young at heart will love the vintage carousel horses. Although not directly connected to neon, carousels were popular in the same era. In 2023, Benko acquired the entire Jantzen Beach Carousel, once the centerpiece of an Oregon amusement park which closed in 1970. Now, it’s being lovingly restored by Benko and a team of volunteers.

Heading west, stop for wine tasting at Tierra de Lobos Winery in Dallesport. Co-owner Adolfo Mollinedo provides extensive background on the region’s viticulture. I left with three bottles, including Pet Nat Rosé, a sparkling Nebbiolo that goes with everything.

Located in the rain shadow of Mount Hood, The Dalles enjoys a drier climate and more days of sunshine than western Oregon. It’s a year-round outdoor playground for hikers, bikers, kayakers, hunters, fly fishers, windsurfers, and whitewater rafters. Shoulder season, in both fall and spring, is a perfect time to explore this region’s natural and cultural attractions.

Meanderings is an award-winning travel column by Mercer Island resident Mindy Stern. For more essays, or to comment, visit www.mindysternauthor.com.