‘Bachelorette’ leaves lasting impact on Gorge economy

The group stayed at the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson. Director of Sales and Marketing Jack Hansen said the network came to do some site visits before officially choosing the lodge as homebase for the bachelors.

“They came out and did a few site visits, and just really fell in love with the Gorge and what they were looking to portray in this particular season,” Hansen said.

Lawson chose Dotun Olubeko for her first one-on-one date where they traveled north to Amboy, Wash., visiting Bungee Masters for a tandem bungee jump that sits 200 feet in the air — the highest jump site in the United States. The pair overcame their fears and made the jump successfully. Olubeko and Lawson then shared a romantic campfire, recapping their activity.

Soon after it was a group date with eight of the bachelors vying for an opportunity at love. They took a hike out to the Skamania wilderness where they caught up with Charity and a few other tour guides. With the help of the Skamania Scouts, the boys were tasked to find something to eat within a five minute time limit. The scouts judged the pickings and chose Aaron Bryant as the winner. He and Charity headed to the “Kissing Tree” for a little one-on-one time.

Next, Lawson and Xavier Bonner traveled to Hood River — which was incorrectly labeled as Stevenson in the episode. Together they took the train to Pine Grove and had fun on the Mt. Hood Railroad and at The Fruit Company and Mt. Hood Winery. Fruit Company Owner Scott Webster recalls hosting the couple.

“Charity was so gracious. She went around to every person and introduced both herself and Xavier. I got to meet him kind of one-on-one and thanked them for coming. They were really charming,” Webster said.

Together they played games and enjoyed The Fruit Fest. While in Hood River they also visited Hope Lavender Farms and Hood Crest Winery. Webster says he is thankful for his gracious neighbors at the Mount Hood Winery for hosting the event, despite receiving little air time.

“They had this great shot of them sipping wine in their winery. And in fact, Charity even said in the shot, ‘Oh, I love this wine.’ Unfortunately, that didn’t make the cut. And I was really bummed for Steve Bickford because he was so generous with his time and his property,” Webster said.

The impact from the season has been apparent from the start and will continue to see lasting influences beyond the air date. Hansen stated that when the film crew arrived earlier this year in March, it is usually a down time for the lodge. But because “The Bachelorette” came to town, they could offer more employees more hours.

“There were people in banquets, there were people in the kitchen, there were people in housekeeping, there were people at the front desk, that otherwise might not have had hours over that time period,” Hansen said.

Webster added that the episode set new highs for business for The Fruit Company.

“We had a lot of people sign up for email and an SMS texting. It was a record breaker for the tourism season so far this year,” Webster said.

Viewers can watch the Episode No. 5 on ABC Network’s website or Hulu. “The Bachelorette” airs live every Monday night at 9/8 central and can be watched the day after on Hulu.