Another suggestion we were given by Helen at the Dalles Dam for our tour of the Columbia River and Hood River area, was the ‘Fruit Loop’ tour just outside the town of Hood River. We make our way back through town to the highway. Not really sure where it will take us, we decide to see what the Fruit Loop offers; our mouths watering at the thought of fresh fruit.

Just as we are turning onto the highway outside of town, we encounter another VW camper, newer with a full pop-top, and a friendly driver waving and grinning.  We pass a couple of fruit stands and some small signs suggesting others off the main road, but continue on, wondering what else there is.  Around one turn, we are thrilled as we get a brief peek at the peak of Mt Hood looking majestic on this beautiful clear day.

One of the signs we see points to a Lavender Farm. Intrigued, we turn off, but can’t figure out which way to go from here. Feeling very confused by this crossroads and the apparent maze of roads and signs, we decide to take the easy way and just go back the way we came to shop at one of the stands specifically advertising cherries

Nothing fancy, this one has a few choices of cherries as well as some other products. It also has cute picture boards of the history and generational owners of this particular orchard. The lady who checks us out is one of the owners and is quite informative, explaining that since the weather has been cool, the cherries and other fruits are late ripening making the selection small. She also shares with us about the different varieties of cherries. We didn’t know there are so many different kinds.  She claims that most of the cherries in the grocery stores are sold as ‘Bing’ Cherries but could be any of the others varieties. Perhaps this is why the store-bought cherries are never quite the same throughout the season. We buy a small bag of cherries from her – Vans or something, but specifically not Bings, just to make sure we try something different!

Here also, we pick up a ‘Fruit Loop’ map, remembering Helen specifically said to get one.  It is a tremendous help in guiding us through the maze of roads connecting all the orchards in the ‘loop’.  The map also offers descriptions of the orchard, their hours operation and their specialty. This helps us decide which ones we want to visit.

At this point, rather than travel the full 35 mile loop, we opt to cut through to the Apple Orchard which advertises fresh fruit pies….hmmm – yummy!  Stepping inside, we recognize some of the different varieties of cherries for sale and see a few crafty items, but NO PIES. There is also NO SERVICE. The one man behind the counter when we first walk in disappears into the back and never returns, so we leave the shop, get back into our VW and head on to the next spot on the map.