Party time! California in our rear-view mirror again! So we headed due North on I-5 into Oregon. It’s been a while since we were last on that stretch of highway and I forgot how steep and mountainous it was-it is almost like doing the Grapevine, several long 6% grades. Our first stop was the Valley of the Rogue, one of Oregon’s State Parks smack dab on top of the Rogue River. It was a nice park, but sadly lacked a lot of trails for hiking the doggies on. We only stayed a couple of nights there, but were still able to sneak into Ashland and Medford to check out the area. We made it to the Ashland Farmer’s Market at the Nat’l Guard Armory and picked up some artisan bread (AKA: expensive yuppy scum fare) and organic produce. Our daughter now calls us “hippies”, even though that term was of another era before her time. While at the campground, we walked along the Rogue River and I noticed nobody fishing anywhere...assumed the season was not open yet (confirmed by a local a bit later). And, what Springtime adventure would be complete without being awakened in the middle of the night by a HUGE(!) tick crawling on your shoulder. Just try going back to sleep after that little surprise!
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| Farmer’s Market in Ashland, OR |
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| Visit to the Rogue Creamery for a little cheese sampling. The “Oregonzola” was TASTY! |
Next stop was the SKP park in Sutherlin, OR, the Timber Valley Escapee park. This was a very nicely kept SKP park with large neat lots. Sutherlin is kind of a “wide spot in the road”, where the locals go into Roseburg for any shopping needs. We found out Oregon has quite a collection of covered bridges scattered about, as well as scenic waterfalls. We spent a few days on a self-guided tour of those in our area, a very scenic endeavor. The weather was OK for April, a little rain and temperatures 50’s to 70’s. We really wanted to visit Crater Lake Nat’l Park again, but from the north, the north entrance was still closed.
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| Covered bridge tour… |
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| And another... |
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| And another... |
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| “Oh, look, a covered bridge!” |
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| Wow, have you ever seen a covered bridge? |
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| And, another one... |
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| I lost track of which waterfall was which, we saw so many. These are but a few... |
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| And the longest walk in on any of these was just about a mile... |
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| Toketee Falls |
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| Watson Falls (272’ long) |
Aside from the waterfalls and bridges, we decided to make another run at getting a diesel pushing motorhome. We found several dealers in Eugene, so we ventured in and shopped. You’ll have to wait until the next installment to see what we ultimately decided to do...
