There is a saying in Grants Pass, Oregon: “It’s The Climate.” While there can be no doubt that this small town in southern Oregon offers the perfect balance of distinct seasons with cool wet winters yielding to hot dry summers, after my recent visit hosted by Visit Grants Pass, I would add another saying: “It’s the People.” The growers, the makers, the shop owners, and all the people that make Grants Pass a community worth visiting again and again.
Main Street Stroll
You can tell a lot about the heart of any small community by walking the main drag. As our small group strolled along SE 6th Street, Grants Pass’ equivalent of Main Street, I could tell this was a town that took pride in supporting their own. The tree-lined streets were full of locally-owned shops like Apothi-Crow where Felicia and her husband Thomas sell jewelry, handknitted items, bath and body products, and so much more, all of which are made solely by southern Oregon artisans and producers.
Around the corner, a passion for community investment was on display at Grants Pass Pharmacy and Historic Soda Fountain. Owner and pharmacist Michele Belcher purchased this 1933 pharmacy and soda fountain several years ago so that it would continue to be a place of health and wellness for the community. It’s also the place for a mighty tasty old-fashioned phosphate made with care by Tye, soda jerk extraordinaire. My dayglo green phosphate, dubbed the Toxic Waste, was incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day.
The day ended basking in the setting sun on the rooftop of The Bohemian enjoying a flaky filet of pan-seared halibut, no doubt caught just over the tree tops of the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest which separates Grants Pass from the Oregon Coast. The Lavendar Lemon Drop cocktail certainly didn’t hinder my sense of peace.
Farm Favorites
My second day in Grants Pass filled my tummy and my heart with love for the Applegate Valley. Blue skies and sunshine framed a perfect morning visiting Pennington Farms where owners Cathy and Sam, with the help of their talented team, grow over 60 varieties of berries including marionberries and a Scottish berry called “tayberry” that tastes like a strawberry and a blackberry fell in love and bore delectable children. I made an absolute fool of myself after Cathy suggested I try a fig right off the tree. I pranced around with a half-eaten fig in my hand exclaiming it to be the best thing I ever tasted.
I thought the “tasting” couldn’t get any better, and then Cathy brought out the savory hand pies. Forget diamonds being a girls’ best friend. The way to my heart is through pastries, so it was hard to tear myself away from the flaky pies at Pennington’s full of green chilis, cheese, mushrooms, and the best damn chicken pot pie I have ever had.
Other stops we made along the fertile tour of the Applegate Valley included Whistling Duck Farm and Mama Bees Flower Farm where I surprised myself by creating a lovely vase of fresh-cut flowers. I wish I had the space to write more in depth about both of these, but I would risk this blog turning into a book. To make up for it, here are some pictures.
Liquid Delights
Just when I thought my visit to Grants Pass couldn’t get any better, we stopped at Troon Vineyard and Farm, the world’s only Regenerative Organic Gold Certified winery and farm. It would take a lot of space to explain what all that impressive accolade entails so to sum it up, I will quote their website. “We are dedicated to healing our planet while crafting complex, land-to-table wines that clearly speak to our place in Oregon’s Applegate Valley.”
Our visit began with Nate Winters, Troon’s Director of Sales, giving us a tour while explaining how everyone there works tirelessly to protect the land, the animals, each other, and even the insects. The wine we tasted in their lush outdoor seating area was delicious and knowing the work put into producing it simply added to the delightful experience.
Our wonderful visit to Grants Pass wrapped up with a warm summer evening and a cold craft brew at Weekend Beer Co. It just happened to be co-owner Ashley’s birthday and it seemed as if the entire town was there to celebrate. The festive atmosphere spilled outside of their tasting room and onto the lawn where food trucks offered choices for dinner and a live band kept everyone’s toes tapping. My beer of choice was a Wochenende Alt, a malty German amber ale with notes of fruit that make for easy sipping. Other choices at Weekend include a cream ale, a hazy IPD, and raspberry golden ale dubbed “Hippo Kisses.”
Exhausted yet fulfilled from the last 48 hours, I retired to my comfy room at The Lodge at Riverside. As I sat the balcony overlooking the Willamette River, I reflected on my time in Grants Pass and felt grateful for all the new friends I had made while already planning my return.
