For nature-lovers and photo hounds, a must-visit site en route to Enchanted Forest (which I wrote about for the March/April 2011 issue of VIA) is the nearly 3,000 acres of Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, just a few miles away. A scenic three-mile drive west of Interstate 5, amid rolling hills and farmland, the refuge is [...]
Rachel Bucci
Enchanted Forest: Just down the road a different kind of (wine) adventure
Just a half-mile down the road from Enchanted Forest—right there on Enchanted Way—one can discover a different type of entrepreneurial spirit than the one that’s been delighting children for 40 years. While Jim Bernau, founder of Willamette Valley Vineyards, wasn’t the first winemaker to take a chance planting wine grapes in Oregon, he proudly points [...]
Enchanted Forest: The next generation arrives
At its heart, Enchanted Forest is a family affair, with two of founder Roger Tofte’s daughters and several grandchildren involved in day-to-day operations at the park. One grandson, 23-year-old Derek Vaslev, who has worked everything from customer service to park maintenance, is following in his family’s footsteps by adding his own artistic vision to the [...]