The Dalles

By the time we arrived in The Dalles it was lunch time. We had Googled to find that The Dalles does indeed have a Thai restaurant. The place is named for the owner, Montira Spitzer who with her partner Ken Sommerfelt opened the restaurant in March of 2010. We had a nice visit with Montira and found that she moved to The Dalles from Eugene where she managed Sweet Basil Restaurant.

When I try a new Thai restaurant I usually order Pad Thai. Besides being a tasty entree it is one that is on most every Thai menu so a good item to compare with other restaurants. The Pad Thai was yummy. Montira’s is located at 302 W 2^nd at the west end of The Dalles where the main east-west street splits into two one-way routes through the city. Montira’s is a definite “must stop”.

After lunch we drove south on Mount Hood Avenue which took up hill on out of town up a lovely little valley whose sides were covered with fruit orchards. The green was quite a contrast to the brown areas visible just beyond the valley's edges. At the head of the valley and in the distance was Mount Hood, covered with white snow. I would have liked to continue south to see jusst where the road ended but after several miles we turned around and headed back into the city. Before reaching downtown we turned headed up the hill behind the town and finally ended up at Sorosis Park, a large grassy area and rose garden war memorial looking down upon the city of The Dalles and Mt. Adams in the distance. I asked at the city visitor center about where the park got its name but the clerk did not know the background. Something else to research.

The warm temp (97) required that we stop for ice cream before we headed back toward Goldendale. As I was enjoying my chocolate chip mint at the ice cream shop and discussing the heat with the guy sitting next to me, I found out a little more about the town. He mentioned that his son owns a building in town that is next to the old mint. Evidently the government was prepared to mint coins at this location when the local mines ran out of gold. So the building was never put into use. A place to explore next time we are in town. The Dalles is a very interesting town. The location offers lots of variety from mountains to deserts to water; all nearby. There's lots of history to study in town and the surrounding area and historical commercial and residential buildings abound too. It is fun to drive around town enjoying the interesting homes, both large and small. Shopping is good here and Portland is just a little more than an hour away.

All in all, The Dalles is a very interesting town for visiting and possibly even retirement.