MOON HANDBOOKS COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE
INCLUDING COMPLETE COVERAGE OF PORTLAND

Want to know about visiting Multnomah Falls, windsurfing near Hood River, living it up at the Columbia Gorge Hotel, or pubhopping in nearby Portland? Done. Looking for details on the Bridal Veil Post Office or Lewis and Clark's Rock Fort? You'll find them in here. Big or small, mainstream or obscure, every worthwhile sight and activity along the Gorge is covered in this book.

Moon Handbooks Columbia River Gorge
1st Edition
Stuart Warren & Brian Litt
ISBN 1-56691-367-5
$14.95
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When Stuart Warren dropped out of the University of Oregon's journalism grad school to become a travel agent, tour planner, and tour director, his wanderlust resulted in Moon Handbooks Oregon. This well-received work inspired him to pen a book about his favorite part of the Pacific Northwest, the Columbia River Gorge. He found the perfect collaborator in Brian Litt, a friend from graduate school whose longtime residence and government service in the Gorge would prove invaluable.
   When he isn’t writing, Stuart works for Tauck World Discovery as a tour director. In addition to sharing the most fantastic places in the world with several dozen travelers each trip, he particularly relishes the comedy that seems to accompany this job. While details of such experiences as helping a naked lady catch up to her luggage on a cruise ship will have to await future publication, the following incident best captures the essence of Stuart’s "other vocation."
   It was July 4th in Wasilla, Alaska. Stuart's group had already been delayed en route to the lunch stop there and was eager to break bread at an old hunting lodge. However, several miles from their destination, a holiday parade stopped traffic. A parade marshal informed Stuart that only floats and vintage cars could continue down the road to the restaurant. After a brief negotiation, Stuart donned a moose hat and sunglasses and climbed out the hatch onto the roof of the bus. With a sign saying "Alaska Tourism," the coach joined the parade and headed to lunch, following a school of giant crepe-paper salmon atop several pickup trucks.
   Stuart lives in Portland with Kathleen, another gorge hiking enthusiast. His free time is spent teaching chess in Portland Public Schools and discovering Mexican restaurants with his son Phineas.

Brian Litt lives in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge, in Hood River, Oregon. He has been a Gorge resident and a planner for the Columbia River Gorge Commission since 1988. Moon Handbooks Columbia River Gorge is Brian's first coauthorship of a travel book, though he was a contributing writer to Moon Handbooks Oregon.
   Brian grew up adjacent to an off-ramp of the Long Island Expressway, in the suburbs of New York City. This may help explain his lifelong passions for travel and nature, which led Brian to constantly badger his parents into taking as many vacations as far from home as possible. Early exposure to the wilds of Cape Cod, the Catskill Mountains, and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country fueled Brian's growing wanderlust.
   In recent years, Brian has traveled extensively through western Europe and Brazil. His international experiences were further enhanced by forays into Israel and Thailand. "Each time I return home from overseas, I’m struck by what spectacular beauty I have the privilege of enjoying every day here in the Columbia Gorge," Brian notes.
   Working on this book held some beneficial surprises for Brian. He explains, "I discovered a number of hidden treasures right in my own backyard. This was particularly true with respect to local history. For example, learning that the first "talkies" west of the Mississippi debuted at the now-restored Granada Theater in The Dalles gave me an appreciation of the building’s significance that is a dimension beyond its impressive Moorish architecture."
   Brian is also a guitarist and singer specializing in traditional country blues and rags on his well-worn Gibson acoustic guitar. He regularly performs at various Columbia Gorge venues. He enjoys ethnic cuisine when he can’t actually travel abroad, as well as hiking, symphony concerts, and cooking for loved ones. His faithful black lab, Buddy, can be seen shadowing him often through the back alleys of Hood River.