Hood River, OR is a small town about an hour east of Portland. The town has a huge windsurfing community and caters to skiers looking to get up to Mt. Hood, which is always within clear view from the town. Additionally, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens are both within site and the Columbia River separates Hood River and Bingen on the Washington side.
The landscape here is absolutely beautiful. Nearly the entire drive down I-84 runs parallel with the river as it snakes through the Columbia River Gorge. The nearer hills extend out, transitioning into the mountains in the distance. There are waterfalls nearly every few miles and the aspen trees shoot straight out of the ground into the sky, which has been blue nearly the whole time I've been here.
The people are all very laid back and extremely active. I was out driving yesterday morning and saw dozens of bikers, runners and walkers. Groups of cyclists riding passed families with strollers. I haven't seen so many people taking part in so much physical activity in a long time.
To cater to all the outside activity there are dozens of stores that sell outdoor gear. The 5 block downtown has at least 3 bike shops, and 4 outdoor gear stores. It's like I've died and gone to heaven. As long as I make it back from the sand alive I may try to get a job here, so lets just call it a little bit of heaven on earth.
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