The ORPCA Northwest Passage Team has put together another great driving tour, and is offering it again twice in 2023, with fun roads, beautiful scenery, great accommodations, delicious food, and an opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones. From majestic rivers, deep canyons, rolling hills, mountain roads to vineyards, the 2023 Northwest Passage route takes us again through some of the most scenic and best driving roads in the Northwest. The 2023 tour will visit the Columbia River Gorge, the canyons of the Columbia Plateau, the rolling hills of the Palouse, the Snake River Canyon, the majestic Wallowa’s and some wineries of Walla Walla.
Porsche of Beaverton will host a pre-tour social event on Wednesday, June 21 early evening in their beautiful showroom. An event not to miss, we will be treated to a tasty selection of hors d’ oeuvres, wine, and beer, amidst beautiful Porsches as we say hello to old friends and greet new tour participants.
The 2023 Northwest Passage begins on Thursday afternoon when participants meet at the Columbia Gorge Hotel. The Northwest Passage Team will host a welcome reception on Thursday evening with hors d’oeuvres, wine, and beer to welcome participants and to provide a time for us to meet and socialize with one another.
Friday morning, we cross the Columbia River and drive along the Klickitat River to Goldendale, then turn south to Maryhill where we cross the river again and zigzag our way to Condon and Hepner for lunch stop. After lunch we head towards Hermiston, then along the Columbia River and finally turn east towards Walla Walla where we reach our accommodation for the next three nights, the Marcus Whitman Hotel. In the evening we will have a hosted dinner at the Yellowhawk Resort.
For Saturday, you have two options: a drive to Lewiston followed by a 5-hour jet boat tour through the Snake River Canyon including lunch, or an exciting driving loop from Walla Walla, to Enterprise, then over twisty mountain roads to Lewiston and back to Walla Walla. Saturday evening, we then meet all again for a hosted reception at the Marcus Whitman hotel.
On Sunday you have two options again: a drive to Joseph and exploration of the Wallowa’s, or a morning drive to the confluence of the Snake and Palouse river through the rolling hills of the Palouse followed by visits to two wineries in the afternoon.
Sunday late afternoon we meet all again for the traditional beer wash. This event gives everybody a chance to wash the road grime off their cars, socialize and just have fun.
Sunday evening, we have a hosted banquet at the Marcus Whitman.
Monday morning, we leave Walla Walla and drive on the Washington side of the Columbia River to The Dalles for the end of the tour.
Like last year, the 2023 NW Passage is again a five-day event. We will have two tours, each with 40 cars.
The cost per car will be $975.
There are two additional tour options to choose from:
What’s included with your registration:
Registration for both NW Passage tours is online at the ORPCA website, and payment will be by credit card at time of registration.
For registration questions, contact Heinz Holzapfel (650)-823-0951. If you have questions about the tour, contact Joe Kelly (562)-587-3090
Pre-Registration:
Copyright © 2025 by PCA Oregon Region | Design by CELA WebDesign
Ads shown on any page of this website do not indicate endorsement of any company or product by the Oregon Region Porsche Club of America
Maintaining Momentum
Oregon Region is marching through the year at a steady pace. March turned out 11 events, which may be a record for this time of year. Even though it is still early, we have seen a couple of new events on our calendar including the new dining event, Road and Fork, and an out-of-town tech session in Tacoma. I was thrilled at the number of new faces attending the New Member Orientation. Be sure to check out stories about each of those later in this edition.
I realize now one of the key elements of having so many events on the calendar is maintaining momentum while not over- burdening our volunteers. The processes and procedures are ever- evolving, and while much of it is becoming routine, keeping all the balls in the air at once is challenging. The Drive Team and the Social Committee have been working overtime, and it shows. If you see any of the drive team or social committee members out and about, be sure give them a thumbs up and a smile – they deserve it!
This year ORPCA is celebrating 65 years and PCA is turning 70! The cars, the people, the clubs have a lot to celebrate. Back in 1955 and 1960, there were no 911s, no 914s, 944s, Boxsters, Caymans, Cayennes, Macans, Panameras or Taycans and very few variations on the models that did exist. There were a handful of regional clubs and not many members. Today there are 148 regions under the national umbrella with over 160,000 members participating in over 4,000 events every year.
In the area of Club history and how PCA and Porsche have evolved in 70 years, there are two great things every Porsche owner should check out if you haven’t already. One is the fantastic history of Porsche Club of America found on the PCA website: https://ww2.pca.org/pca- history (login to PCA.org, drop down the “Membership” tab to “PCA History” near the bottom.) This is a long read, but worth it. The other entertaining and education place to spend some time is PCA’s YouTube Channel: If you have not visited the PCA YouTube Channel, be forewarned, it is an addictive spot. https://www.youtube.com/@ PorscheClubofAmerica/featured
With nine more months of this exacting year ahead, I trust I will bump into many of you more than once and that alone makes it worthwhile. As you know, it’s not just the cars, it’s the people.
Let’s Drive! You can reach me at [email protected].
Let’s Drive!
