Brides on Broadway

This event in downtown Eugene introducing aspiring wedding couples to vendors and venue's was attended by Bert representing the McKenzie River Inn. Beautiful sunny weather outside and a great atmosphere inside. I was asked many questions mainly by brides and/or their Moms who sometimes were very surprised (weddings at the McKenzie river must be very expensive) to hear how affordable a wedding venue at the McKenzie river as ours can be, especially when comparing it to other venue's in the Eugene area. 
I noticed that many wedding couples are often not enough informed about what we have to offer and the great value we are. Understanding that we help to plan their wedding through all the steps from the introduction to the place and to the clean up after the wedding was an eyeopener for many young couples. How about connecting wedding couples to other vendors for their special needs, like helicopter flights to and from the venue, arriving in a guided McKenzie Driftboat, wine tasting events, to name a few. I also presented a picture how I would be involved in their wedding for about 40 to 45 hours on average. Next to preparing the site, marketing, attending shows like this one in Eugene, ordering flowers etc. and aside of other employees putting in their time, it creates a better perspective for them of what is involved to create lifetime memories and make your wedding a memorable one. All in all I made many attendees aware of the endless possibilities and had them leave the show with a handful of brochures and a smile on their face.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Last weekend we celebrated Valentines Day with dinner. Hubertina and Ellie prepared the dining room in the Lodge with special decorations and ambience. These are some of the reviews guests left: "Very special, intimate and lovely. “This place is a dream away from home. We will be back. The Atrium room was romantic and perfect. Thank you for the serenity and the delicious homemade breakfast.” Our guest staying in the West Room were celebrating their anniversary and loved the intimacy of the dinner and the beautiful decorations. Keep looking out for our March event hosted by Hubertina.

Floating down the McKenzie river in Oregon

Great January weather, an astonishing 52 degrees! Okay it was 22 degrees when I came up this morning and I slept in until 7.30 AM! Yesterday a really nice fishing trip on the lower part, below the Leaburg dam, with water levels below average, but great hatches of aquatic insects as the Blue Winged, Midges, Little Brown Stonefly. Had two wonderful clients from Veneta on board, one celebrating his 40 birthday, congrats Walt! Besides of a handful of serious bites the fishing was slow ...but the weather and scenery and great company made up for it. This is a very enjoyable way to get out on the water in the death of winter and experience the McKenzie with no crowds and plenty of wildlife as we watched a river otter foraging along the riverbank and several Osprey and even a few trouts jumping out of the water.  2013 was a very good season for bertsguideservice.com and 2014 made a great start for another.

There's something to say about the holidays in general and Thanksgiving above all. To me it's the jumping board into December and we all know, especially children, that Christmas is around the corner.
This year we decided to do Thanksgiving dinner with guests and family at the McKenzie River Inn. Hubertina alongside Ellie prepared great dishes and a great atmosphere. Crackling fire in the back ground and astonishing weather. Couldn't ask for more....

Lovely weather..T-shirt and shorts, humming birds buzzing and spring flowers all around. We are booking up for this spring pretty quick and this summer looks good too. See if we can squeeze in a couple of projects in the meantime. Project one: - New gravel on the driveway (75.000 lbs), double filling those put holes, parking lot and spot for the Osprey Cottage. Next is a perk up of the river lawn and patio in front of the lodge... due in May. I just remodeled the Pioneers shed to accommodate all the gear used for my guiding business www.bertsguidingservice.com which keeps growing. What started out has an extended hobby is now a business in full swing. April 27th. is the kick off for the fishing season and with the snowpack in the Cascades averaging on 115% we anticipate good fishing and rafting conditions for spring and summer.

In the meantime Alphonse de Klerk at www.rollingbaywinery.com is racking his wine this upcoming weekend and is bottling on April 13th and 14th. As always we are awaiting the results as Alphonse was able to gather another Golden Award for his wines in San Francisco this year. Way to go Al!
We are also looking forward to the Weinberg/Reppert family reunion in July this year. This great event bring family members over from all over the country to our place and days will be filled with Baggi ball, badminton, golf and many other fun activities.

We are all excited about our annual BBQ on June 29th which commemorates the 35th anniversary of the McKenzie River Inn. Book now if you want to be part of it, it's for guests, colleagues, family and friends only.

If you couldn't get away during spring break, try to see if there are any cancellations and join us on our spot on the McKenzie and enjoy our spring garden (see picture below)!  Call 541 822 6260 and ask for Ellie or e-mail her at innkeeper@mckenzieriverinn.com Don't miss out!

Autumn leaves?

      It has been an incredible busy summer with absolute gorgeous weather at the McKenzie River Inn as well for Bert's Guide Service. This summer has been filled with new and familiar faces, events and classes and above all the wonderful world of hospitality. What a great way to meet so many people from all over the world and from so many backgrounds. Ellie was tremendous in hosting all of our Living Social guests last spring and cooking all those delicious breakfasts. Thanks to her we have great reviews from all of you!

      If there is a time to reminisce we wouldn't miss out of any of you visiting us time after time or meet those for the first time. There's not always the occasion to talk and thank anyone of you for coming to our spot on this magnificent river as well to those who did rafting and fishing with Bert and his guide service, so we like to take this opportunity to say thank you!

    This last weekend we did have our annual fruit fest. We haven't had apples and pears from our orchard to roll out the apple press to squeeze gallons of juice in the previous two years and had to grab apples from a local farm. But this year we had the fruit. Friends, family and neighbors came over to help out with putting apples in the hopper, to handle the press or to filter the coarse particles out of the cider or just to want a taste of the fresh pressed juice. 2012 gave us 67 gallons and Hubertina spent days in the kitchen canning pears that will find their way to the breakfast table in the winter time and next spring. The following day we did rafting with Bert's Guide Service on the upper McKenzie from Paradise to Bruckart boat landing and everyone had a blast soaking up the sun and get splashed on with the McKenzie's pristine water. 
    Currently we have two pair of King salmon spawning in front of our Inn and many guest are in awe watching these magnificent species. It's biology at it's best. All in all a great way to end a perfect September weekend.

    October is starting off with the same sunny conditions, now all we need to do is hope for an Indian summer.............are those autumn leaves falling?

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?