Log of Updates for A2ZGorge.Info

I decided it was time to start compiling a list of updates, simply so I can keep track of what's been done when. Uploading files, correcting information that changes as fast as mosquitos reproduce, and adding new pages take a lot of time and organization! And I'm so busy making changes that I make no promises that this list itself is updated!

This list is in chronological order, from most recent to earliest.

2003

July 26
I have finally succeeded in finishing the entries for The Dalles Businesses... a herculean task which took several weeks. Much of the time consuming effort has been in cross-checking references when various phone directories conflict with each other, or with my knowledge of the area. I never cease to be amazed at how inaccurate the Sprint Directory (also known as the Big Red Book) is.

Major Updates: I've updated the page of Government Services for Oregon. While I know there are many more agencies to be added, these are all the ones listed in the phone directories. I have begun going onto state and county websites to find all the little pockets of information that don't show up in the phone books. I've updated the Wasco County and Sherman County pages.

I have also completely revised the HEALTH INDEX page, and added significant resources, including:

These updates do not include a complete list of Hood River Medical resources, but I have The Dalles entered as completely as the previously mentioned incomplete Big Red Book provides. (I shake my head when seeing things like GPs and Osteopaths listed in the Sprint directory as "Neurologists" but the actual Neurologists are lucky to get listed. No wonder plain folks like you and me get confused so easily!) At some point I plan to phone each and every one of these MD's offices to verify their specialty. But for now, it's a relief to get this huge section revamped.

July 23
I have begun receiving contacts from other areas, and am pleased to see my visitor count is going up at a pretty brisk clip. I was contacted by the Portland office of the Small Business Administration office, who wanted me to be sure to link into the Sherman County business site, which I have added to the Sherman County page. My advertising for the site is beginning to pay off.

July 16
I'm still plugging away at the database. As of the moment, I have 2607 business names and contact numbers in the database. While the website doesn't seem to have a lot of visible changes, the additions are pretty significant. Tonight I updated the site statistics, as well as this page and the Smart Marketing page. And I have updated the home page with new photos and a few new links. I'll try to keep the home page fairly fresh, with changes every week or so. Once I get this #$%@ database done, I'll have more leisure to work on the design of pages. I know several pages have graphics that are a mite too big for slower dial-up modems, and older computers, so my long-term plans over the next few months include going back over every page (big job) and compressing the graphics files down to a more manageable size.

July 12
Participated in the Jammin' July Streetfest in Downtown The Dalles. I spoke to folks about the A2ZGorge.Info site, as well as sold gemstone necklaces, which is my other creative pursuit. The advantage of getting ready to sell direct to the public is that I was forced into sitting down and creating my own marketing materials. It's always harder to do it for yourself than for others. I've noticed that about the businesses I've done freelance work for - the business owner has a hard time being emotionally detatched enough to fully recognize that some of those "no big deal" services they do for the customer can be a major selling point!

July 10
Began advertising A2ZGorge.Info for the first time in the local newspaper. I truly believe in the power of advertising, and know that using a combination of advertising media is the best way to advertise a start-up business. It's exciting to finally cross this important threshold!

June-July
I've been updating my database. My goal is to list every business in the Mid Columbia in the business directories. I view this as a community service, and my effort to support our local economy.

June 24
Uploaded photos and revised community pages for Antelope, Bickleton, Grass Valley, Kent, Fossil, and Condon. Entered data into database for Kent. Need to put businesses listed on Bickleton and Fossil pages into the database. Looking forward to revising the Shaniko page. This past weekend was the first time I've been to this little ghost town and I was quite impressed with how cute everything is!

June 20-22
Drove to Prineville via Moro, Grass Valley, Kent, Shaniko, and Antelope. On the way back visited the John Day Fossil Beds and passed through the communities of Kimberly, Spray, Mitchell, Fossil, Condon, and Wasco. Visited Land's Inn Bed and Breakfast in Kimberly. While some of these communities are in Wheeler and Grant counties, the unique area is so rich with geological wonders that it's impossible to pass up the chance to visit them and include them on the site. Took lots of pictures!

June 8
Created a page for Roosevelt, Washington, and uploaded the Cascade Gorge Fish Hatcheries page, the Roosevelt Community Page, and the Wind River Falls State Park Page. Uploaded this page for the first time, to help folks keep abreast of all the changes I'm making.

June 7
We took a field trip today to take photos of the far corners of Klickitat County. We stopped by the Maryhill Winery to check out the new amphitheater that is nearly ready to open. Then we traveled up to Goldendale and headed east to visit the communities of Cleveland, Bickleton, and Roosevelt. The drive to the Bickleton area was gorgeous as we traveled on a windy road that gave us alternating rocky gorge vistas and views of the mountains. We found an old pioneer cemetery that is overgrown with weeds in Cleveland. We stopped in at the Bluebird Tavern in Bickleton which claims to be the oldest tavern in the State of Washington. The entire area is festooned with bluebird houses on fenceposts (and their bluebird tenants). We saw an old abandoned schoolhouse in a field with three deer that appeared to be late for school. In Roosevelt there was a large rock called the Apollo Rock. On a plaque in tiny letters there is an explanation that the rock was unearthed by the Apollo Construction Company. Nearby is Roosevelt Park, with a nice grassy lawn, clean bathrooms, and good access to the Columbia River.

June 6
Drove shuttle for some friends who were going white-water rafting on the Deschutes River. They put in at Beavercreek Park, just south of Mack's Canyon, with plans to float out to the mouth. Took some great photos for A2Z of the Deschutes and White River Falls State Park. I met a great Camp Host, Chris, who was extremely helpful and provided me some useful information about rafting and the Oregon Camping experience that I'll be integrating into these pages soon. I promised her to post the recipe for Skunk Deodorizer on these pages! It was hotter than the Hubs of Hades, and the car I was driving had no air conditioning. You know it's bad when you get out of the car in 100 degree weather and are standing on the hot asphalt next to rock cliffs that are radiating the afternoon heat, and you think "Boy, it's sure cooler here than it is in the car!"

June 1

Created a Columbia Gorge Waterfalls Page.

Updated the Corbett, Bridal Veil, Warrendale, & Dodson community page.

Started this Updates Page to attempt to track all the changes I've been making.

May 31

Spent most of the day in the gorge traveling the Historic Highway and taking pictures of the Waterfalls. I learned that there is a wonderful park-like camping area at Wyeth, and enjoyed re-visiting the fish hatchery at Bonneville Dam.

I took so many pictures that I got the "disk full" message on my digital camera. The gorge was hazy, so some of my hoped-for scenic shots will have to be taken another day. I did get a chance to take a spectacular sunset over the top of Wind Mountain, and the haze added some lovely pink shading to the evening sky.

May 27-28

Worked on a major revision to the A2ZGorge.Info home page to give some added visual pizzaz to the site, and to provide links to some more obscure areas. My hope is that folks will take pleasure in exploring the site and find out interesting things they never knew about the Columbia Gorge.

Created a page for the Guler Ice Caves near Trout Lake.

May 27

Worked on a FAQ page for people just setting up their website.

May 24

On my way to Silver Falls for a family reunion, we decided to drive over Mt. Hood. I took the opportunity to get some photos of Government Camp when we stopped to eat at the Huckleberry Inn.

May 14

Created a page for the Mosier Twin tunnels.

April 1

This was my target date for "going live." While technically a website is "live" the moment you begin uploading pages and images, this was the day I've had targeted as a start date. One of the reasons I wanted April 1 as a deadline is that I've taken out an ad in The Little Red Book, the local telephone directory published by Eagle Publishing, the parent company to The Dalles Chronicle, and that phone directory is due to be on the streets the end of April. I'm still feeling the site is in a very rough draft form. But I've checked most of the links, and fixed the identified cases of link rot. It's amazing how fast links go dead!

March 30

Worked feverishly on getting things fine tuned on the site.

March 17

Added a lot of information to the Marketing section, particularly the Internet Usage statistics.

March 18

Been working heavily on the Violence Prevention section. One of my main reasons for making this site was to provide information to the community about child abuse prevention and domestic violence prevention. My resources from the Violence Prevention Program while I worked at Multnomah County Health Department have come in handy for this section.

February

I've finally uploaded my first files! And revised them, and reuploaded them, and revised them and reuploaded them yet again... and again... I've been like a dog chasing my tail for the past couple of weeks. The problem with creating a website with "everything you need to know in the Mid Columbia River Gorge" is that it is, by nature, a pretty large and daunting task. Organizing the site into a few main "hubs" seems to be the key. There needs to be a hub for the local area (history, hiking, scenic beauty), local businesses, the local communities, health information, violence prevention, marketing, calendar of schedules & events, recreation, restaurants, government services, and of course information about Thunderbolt Designs, my graphic designs business, and about A2ZGorge.Info and how people can put their business or non-profit online.

January 5, 2003

A2ZGorge.Info was launched as a business! I've officially registered the name with the State of Oregon.

Nov. 2002
A2ZGorge.Info is one step closer to becoming a reality. I registered the domain name and established a webhost with a local service provided by Matt Seckora.

This page was last updated on July 26, 2003

This site is maintained by THUNDERBOLT DESIGNS
P.O. BOX 294 " THE DALLES, OREGON 97058 USA " 541-980-4832
Email the Web Concierge at:
WEB SITE URL: http://a2zgorge.info

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