We live in Oregon City. At the top of "the hill". The same hill I wrote of in the original post.
Right now I'm torn between the Turbo S, Optibike, Kalkhoff Integrale, Focus Aventura, and a custom build using a local bike builder (Rohloff hub, E-Rad 1000w mid-drive motor, belt drive). I'm on the tall side, so I find a stock frame usually doesn't fit me well. Maybe the solution is to let my wife get whatever stock bike she wants, and I'll get the custom build. I really don't think I need suspension, other than maybe a BodyFloat seat post. I'm not going to ride off-road much.