August?

Wow, time flies, I can't believe July is coming to an end, yes, the one with the five weekends!
Of course we had our event and had a great time at the BBQ. We loved the Raptors presentation as well as the Mobil Museum on Mr. Donald MacKenzie's History. The information from the museum was comprehensive and very informative. In the spirit of Oregon with the rain we raised $200.00 for the Cascade Raptor Center.  Brian brought along a Saker Falcon normally from Eastern Europe and Asia captured by falconers until their numbers are now diminished. The wine from Rolling Bay Winery (featured in Seattle's Best) was delightful and full of flavor. Alphonse de Klerk, the Wine Maker produces such a variety of reds as an 09' Cuvee' Aldaro, Syrah and whites with crisp taste like Fusion and a Pinot Gris.  Oakshire Brewery had a wonderful selection of beers. These included Amber Ale, Expresso Stout, Watershed IPA to name a few. Of course the food was right out of a Martha Stewart magazine...tender pork ribs, fried chicken, baked fresh salmon with a savory sauce. The music from Outcry97 featuring young artist Isabelle was well worth coming for. She is studying music with her dad Bert and makes a lot of progress. We definitely hope to do another benefit in the future and looking forward to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the McKenzie River Inn next year (second week of July).

Bert has been steady going with fishing and rafting trips and as well with marketing and management consultancy (www.deklerkconsult.
com) and we sometimes wonder if he ever sleeps.










Mid July we had a photo shoot with Bill duff Photography (www.billduff.com) mainly to enhance our web site with pictures taken from a photographers insight and expertise. We also met with guests that are coming to our place from the get-go and were very please seeing Dick and Marie Akinson from Portland again. But also new friends made it to our neck of the woods like Peter McKinnon and Nadia and Isabelle's class mate Alex Hilt who stayed with us for six day and enjoyed rafting, fishing and a trip over the lava beds on highway 242 to Sisters.

Yeah, a Month with five weekends can bring a lot of activity with it, but what a great way of getting 
to a mid-summer and anticipating an even busier August.........where is the sun-screen?

Time to dine! Hello everyone, We are ready for our next summer season and want to point out that this year is the bi-centennial celebration of Donald MacKenzie, the Hudson Bay fur trapper for which the McKenzie River was named. The Chamber is providing for us a mobile museum with tons of information.  This year our annual BBQ and Wine tasting will be JUNE 30th, with live music from OUTCRY 97. The award winning wines from Rolling Bay Winery of Bainbridge Island Wa., will be accompanied with Oakshire Brewing from Eugene. We welcome our guest Cascades Raptor Center, they will be bringing a bird of prey.  Tickets are $25.00 which incl. $5.00 towards the Center. Hours: 3 PM - 9 PM  Usually this event has been by invite only in previous years. This year we will be open to the public for the first time. We are booked for lodging, but if you want to bring a tent, pop-up camper or small RV, campsites and RV spots are available for $25 a night. Breakfast is on us! Pre-orders are welcomed 541 822 6260 or innkeeper@mckenzieriverinn.com

Spring cleaning?

The Inn is filled up with guests and Ellie is working hard every day to meet everyone needs. The garden is coming alive with flowers and the hummingbird feeders are up.
Bert is getting supplies at River City fly shop in Beaverton for the fishing season kicks off this Saturday April 28th with fishing trips and scenic floats. Eighty degrees last weekend and it's still April!
Were's the badminton set?

Living Social!

Wow, ..since February 27th we sold 217 vouchers through Living Social! What a great success and opportunity for all these people that probably never heard about our place or the McKenzie River for that reason. It's a great way to use the marketing tools of Livings Social and get introduced to a bigger audience. Can't say enough about this! The deal closed yesterday and vouchers need to be redeemed before May 31st. Ellie is taking phone calls and e-mails whole day and goes the extra mile of making it possible for everyone to fill in a spot on the reservations agenda. In this light I would like to publish a response of one of our guests when it was tough to get a room booked for them as well for us:



"Good morning,


 I just wanted to let both of you know that we really appreciate your help in resolving this issue. You could have easily said that you weren’t going to budge and that this was just an unfortunate situation, but you went above and beyond to make everything work. We really appreciate that you were willing to be flexible, and we will definitely remember this in the future.


Looking forward to coming down in April!


Thanks again".


Jason M.

There's something going on!

The day-lilly's are sticking out above the soil for more then 8 inches, fresh green leaves on the Indian Plum, birds are singing their songs around the bird feeders and guests are reserving rooms and cabins or inquire for a having a wedding end of summer. This day in February shows 55 degrees on the thermometer.
Thoughts creeping up in my mind about March last year, when we had waterlogged snowfall taking out trees and many branches. Are we awaiting a similar faith this year? Till so far this winter has been mild in appearance although the mountains are snow loaded caused by the tremendous rain showers in January. La Nina, was said last fall by experts, would cause a cold February and March. Well.., blame it on the girl, if people have a sense of spring and are planning ahead for a stay at our place on the McKenzie, I'll be perfectly fine with it!

No snow, but still a winter wonderland. Temperatures are very reasonable and sun is out every day. Guests are booking for spring and summer and wedding couples have been exploring the grounds for their event. A very good beginning of 2012. What has the Mayan calendar to say about that?

Fall

Ooh Fall, ...the colors are incredible with many sunny days a beautiful sight along the McKenzie river. We just returned from our vacation in Northern  California with absolutely astonishing sunny weather. The splendor of the Redwoods with all it's autumn colors. You can't ask for more. Shall we clean up all those leaves or let them on the floor until after Thanksgiving?