Our EV Test Drive & Information Expos are our largest events each year, held in April for Drive Electric Earth Month and in September for National Drive Electric Month. Experience test drives from among a wide range of EV models provided by local dealers, see local EV owner's vehicles on display and get real answers from the lived experience of real owners, watch half-hour presentations for beginners to experienced owners, and meet local companies offering helpful EV services. Get lunch at the on-site food carts with discounts for registered guests. There are gas to electric conversions, antique EVs, and more. It's a fun day!

We volunteer to help other organizations with EV education, the largest being the Drive Electric featured exhibit at the Oregon International Auto Show where our many OEVA volunteers share their EV experience with the visitors. And we help out at smaller events too, like the Lake Oswego Home & Vehicle Electrification Fair, and at EV events put on by PGE and Pacific Power. For fun and to let more people hear about the OEVA, we participate in Community Events like the 82nd Avenue of the Roses parade, and the Hillsboro Rotary 4th of July parade. 

In the summer of 2024, we added several Special Events where we invite all local EV clubs and EV owners to join in to bring the local EV community together. This started with the All-EVs Picnic at Tigard's Summerlake Park (July 11th, 2024), Group Drive to Hood River Taqueria and the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (July 27th, 2024), and Group Drive and Picnic at Wildwood Recreation Site (August 17th, 2024). We'll hold similar EV community events in 2025. This year the Summerlake picnic will be on Thursday July 10th, 2025.

We hold General Meetings on the second Thursday of every month, at EV business in the Portland area. We'll post details below early in the month. Our General Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month and are open to the public. The OEVA Board meets at 6:30 PM, immediately before the General Meeting, and board meetings are open to all OEVA members. General Meetings begin at 7 PM with food and socializing. The informational program begins at 7:30 and runs about an hour, followed by more informal conversation. Festivities conclude by 9 PM.

To keep up with all our activities, subscribe to our email announcements here.

June Meeting at Trimet Powell Garage

Thursday June 12th, 7 to 9 PM (Board Meeting 6:30)

TriMet Powell Garage is at 9900 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97266
Park on street in the neighborhood off of SE 99th Ave. Enter through the 99th Ave gate.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to see inside electrification at TriMet!

Thanks to OEVA Treasurer Bill Meyer, who set up this meeting and provided this information:

Fleet Electrification at TriMet:

On June 12th, we’ll have an opportunity to see big-league electric transportation. TriMet (Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon) started with five battery electric buses in 2019 and added five more in 2021. Their first bulk purchase of 24 battery electric buses began arriving in early 2024.  These next-generation e-buses from Gillig are like the one displayed in Electric Avenue at the 2024 Portland Auto Show (last year). This YouTube video  (photo below) shows an electric bus driver’s perspective.

June EV group Drive to the Dalles

Saturday June 14th, departing Columbia Gorge Outlet Mall at 10 AM
Or meet up with us at Bargeway Pub in The Dalles at 11:00 AM

We'll have lunch on the pub's patio a few yards from the Columbia River
After lunch we'll do a group tour of the amazing National Neon Sign Museum
And there are many more interesting and scenic attractions to experience!

Sign up now using this link: https://signup.com/go/aKuaOPE

Our First Fun Drive of 2025!

We started doing group drives last summer, and they've been popular, so we're starting this summer with a really unique destination. These drives are open to all electric vehicle people. You don't need to be an OEVA member. Our goal is to bring the local EV community together with fun and interesting activities. Bring along friends who are curious if EVs are up to more than just driving in town. Show them you can have a lot of fun with travel in your EV. Please sign up now using the link above so we can let our destinations know how many of us to expect.

The Dalles has put a lot of effort into becoming a tourist destination, and it really shows. There are many things to do in The Dalles: fascinating museums, arts, history, spectacular scenery, hikes in the Columbia Gorge and along the paved Riverfront Trail in town. There is far more than one can do in an afternoon. My wife and I plan to reserve a motel room for a night or two and make a mini-vacation out of it. We spent several days in The Dalles this spring and left with still more things we wanted to do, and places we want to revisit. I'll cover many of them here.

Group Drive to the Bargeway Pub for lunch

Part of the fun is driving as a convoy of EVs, leaving gas car drivers wondering why they are seeing so many EVs on the road. We'll meet at the Columbia Gorge Outlet Mall, 450 NW 257th Way, Troutdale, between 9 AM and 10 AM. We'll gather near the Tesla Superchargers. There are also Electrify America chargers nearby. We'll depart, convoy style, at 10 AM to arrive at the Bargeway Pub, 1535 Bargeway Rd, The Dalles, shortly after they open at 11 AM. Or, if it is more convenient for you, meet us at the Bargeway Pub at 11 AM and let them know you're with the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association group.

If the weather cooperates we'll be able to eat on the patio a few yards from the Columbia River, and watch the boats and barges go by. The paved trail between the patio and the river is part of the 6.5 mile Riverfront Trail (more about that later). There are a variety of food choices with salads, burgers, sandwiches, pub fare, steaks, and pasta. Prices were reasonable, and portions were ample. The Steak Salad with Chimichurri that I had was excellent.

The National Neon Sign Museum

After lunch we'll drive the 1.6 miles from the Bargeway Pub to the highlight of our day, a group tour of the unique and fascinating National Neon Sign Museum, presenting the history, technology, and artistry of neon. The building that houses the museum has a history too. It was built in 1910 as an Elks Lodge. In 2015 the city provided the building for the National Neon Sign Museum, and in 2019 the museum opened to the public.

I found it very interesting when we visited. After a short video presenting the art of neon tube creation, we toured several galleries where we saw unique historical artifacts from the earliest days, before incandescent lights, when neon was used for interior lighting. When Karla and I visited, our tour was given by David Benko (he's holding the "#thedalles" sign in the Neon Museum photo above). David is a neon sign artist, lifelong collector of all things neon, and along with his wife Kirsten Benko founder and owner of the museum.

Besides the huge range of signs of all types representing the artistry of the medium, I was particularly interested in the rare historical artifacts from the earliest days, before the incandescent light bulb, as scientists and inventors struggled to create a practical means of turning the new discoveries of electricity into useful illumination. For an engineer like me, this was really cool. And for a keen appreciator of the arts, Karla was drawn to the neon artistry. 

As if creating this amazing museum was not enough to keep them busy, the Benkos are leading the restoration of the Jantzen beach carousel horses, with a fine example of this ongoing work on display. 

After we take the tour and have time to look around, we'll gather in the second floor ballroom. You have the opportunity to get together with your EV friends to go together to visit the sites in The Dalles and surrounding areas that particularly interest you. Let me tell you about a few that we have visited:

Walking Around The Dalles

Just walking around The Dalles gives you things to see. The Dalles has been bringing in crews of artists who have been adding murals, primarily relating to local history, to buildings around town. At the front desk at the Neon Museum we picked up a map showing the locations of all the murals. And also a map of local attractions and businesses. I'd like to point out Shannon's Ice Cream Shop, a block east and a block south of the Neon Museum, at 318 E 4th Street. Shannon's serves homemade and Tillamook ice cream flavors.

Fort Dalles Museum

The Fort Dalles Museum at 500 West 15th & Garrison Street in The Dalles holds artifacts from the former Surgeon’s Quarters; the only remaining officer’s quarters of the 1856 Fort Dalles military complex. One of Oregon’s oldest history museums, it first opened its doors in 1905. The museum has interesting displays, photos, furniture, and artifacts from the mid 19th to early 20th century.

When we visited the museum Karla and I walked in and started looking around, as you do at a museum. Shortly the new curator, Bob Pollock, came into the room to tell us that the museum wasn't open for the season yet. But instead of inviting us to leave, he spent over an hour giving us an expertly guided tour, explaining the collection and his goals for the museum to tell the story of the early history of Fort Dalles and the role it played in local history.

Bob and his wife Sue are very gracious hosts. When he heard that I'm with the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association he took me over to the vehicle barn to show me their 1902 Studebaker Electric. Now that's an early EV!

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum

The Neon Museum folks also gave us a coupon for discounted admission to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum. This large, modern museum is the Official Interpretive Center of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. It presents the geological, natural, and cultural history of the region. It's also a great place to park and walk along the 6.5 miles Dalles Riverfront Trail.

I found the information about the origins of the Cascade mountains particularly interesting. I had assumed that the Cascades were formed by a row of volcanoes. Turns out that while the major peaks are volcanic, that isn't what formed the mountain chain. And you can see what the actual cause was by looking at the geology revealed along the deep cut of the Columbia River Gorge. 

The Discovery Center is also a great place to park for a walk along the 6.5 miles Dalles Riverfront Trail.

The Dalles Riverfront Trail

The Riverfront trail is paved, level or gently sloping, and is open to bicycles, pedestrians, and dogs on leash. It's a great place to walk off a hearty meal. There is impressive bronze art along the trail at the Discovery Museum. Here's information about the trail from https://gorgefriends.org/find-a-hike/the-dalles-riverfront-trail/

The Riverfront Trail begins in the east end of the Discovery parking lot. From here, a short, especially scenic stub of the trail goes west to almost opposite Crate’s Point. Geologically, it’s the east end of the Columbia River Gorge. The beautiful pond here belies the fact this land used to be occupied by a cement plant.

After exploring west of the Discovery Center, head east on the trail. Pass many single-track paths to rocky cliffs that line the river like a gutter. Some of these paths are worth investigating; they lead to secluded coves. The most scenic parts of the trail, in terms of natural beauty, are on the west end.

Most of the narrow channels through basalt, which French-Canadian explorers called les dalles, are now underwater. One channel along the Waterfront Trail, between the mainland and Rocky Island, offers an idea of what the river looked like before dams.

Continuing east on the path, come to the mouth of Chenoweth Creek. This is where pioneers launched themselves into the Columbia, on the final leg of their journey to the Willamette Valley. With the opening of the Barlow Trail over Mount Hood in 1846, many opted to skip this treacherous river journey, instead taking the overland route.

Keep on the trail, which winds inland to cross Chenoweth Creek on a bridge, then passes the huge Google data center. Starting in 1958, the land was home to an aluminum smelter. After closure and reopening in the 1980s, the smelter closed permanently in 2000. Like the smelter, Google also found the inexpensive hydroelectric power generated by The Dalles Dam to be a reason to locate here. It opened at the site in 2006.

The Rowena Crest Overlook & Tom McCall Preserve, Historic Highway Trail

When we were at the Discovery Center there was a large organized bicycle ride from the parking lot west on historic Hwy 30 to the Rowena Crest Overlook. We did the drive the next day, and the view from Rowena Crest Overlook is spectacular! The Overlook is on top of a plateau, and adjacent to The Nature Conservancy's Tom McCall Preserve, which has trails, but no restrooms, and dogs are not permitted in the Preserve.

The easy Plateau Trail is a 2.6-mile loop that begins at the trailhead sign on Highway 30. It crosses the plateau to cliff edges and encircles a permanent pond via the Shasha loop trail. Elevation gain is about 250 feet.

The moderate difficulty Tom McCall Point Trail is a 4 mile out and back hike with over 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

Details about these trails can be found on the Nature Conservancy's website here.

There are many other places to hike in the Columbia Gorge. One of the most historically interesting is the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, which is a section of the old highway that is closed to cars and beautifully restored for hikers and bicyclists. The highlight of the trail is the Mosier Tunnels, which feature openings through the rock walls to view the gorge below. The Mark O Hatfield East Trailhead is the closest trailhead to the tunnels. To get there from Rowena Crest Overlook, drive 6.4 miles west on Hwy 30, then turn on Rock Creek Road and go 0.7 miles. The trailhead parking fee was $5 when we visited, and there is a vault toilet. The Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail and The Dalles Riverfront Trail are great places for bike rides, safely away from motor traffic.

White River Falls State Park

The White River Falls State Park is about 40 minutes south of the Neon Sign Museum. The falls were particularly spectacular with the early spring runoff when we visited back at the end of March. But for an engineering aficionado like me, the most interesting sight is the Pacific Power and Light Company's hydroelectric station built at the foot of the falls in 1910 and abandoned in 1963. It's a short, steep hike from the rim down to the ruins of the power station. Since being abandoned, aspiring artists have taken it upon themselves to decorate the rusting machinery. It's a unique look.