Tumalo State Park

Another Oregon State Park

 We love the little town of Sisters and the bakery is pretty darn good too. When you pull into the Old West town of Sisters, you feel like you’re making a getaway. This friendly little outpost in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains draws visitors for its profound natural beauty. It was a good stop while we waited to start hosting at Tumalo State Park.

Sisters was named for the trio of towering peaks to its west and is an artsy community with 1880s facades and small-town ambience.

Tumalo State Park

After receiving four emails requesting hosts for the month of May and no plans on the books, we gave them a call and thought a month as relief hosts might be ok. Little did we know that they expected an awful lot of their hosts. No wonder they had to make so many requests for a last minute cancellation. Fortunately, we know how to set boundaries and handled it just fine. When the evening ranger texted us to check in with some campers, we texted back that it was 9:30pm and we were off duty. He would have to deal with it.

We got a kick out of the mom merganser and her 12 chicks on our morning walks. They would bolt around as if they had double expressos with sugar.

Fortunately, we didn't see any of these but plenty of other wild life.

The Deschutes River Trail runs to Bend and makes a nice shady morning walk.

We would watch this mom owl with her two kids and eventually they left the nest.

Camp Sherman

We had plenty of time for get aways and headed to Camp Sherman. Located just 31 miles northwest of Bend, this "city" sits on the headwaters of the Metolius River with views of 10,497-foot Mt. Jefferson.

Although not exactly a large, cascading waterfall, Wizard Falls is a scenic stretch of gentle rapids on the beautiful Metolius River. A 6 mile round trip trail runs along the river. We plan to hike it when we return next month.

Tumalo Falls

The 97 foot waterfall is a short walk from the parking area, but the road was closed two miles from the falls. But the grade was a pleasant walk along Tumalo Creek

 After our bike rides, we stopped at The Bite in Tumalo,  north of Bend, Oregon. We found fantastic food, an amazing assortment of beers on tap, plus a great festive vibe with fire pits and music. it was like a backyard party. If the tables were all taken, a large box held folding chairs to use.

Even though we found this hosting experience not one of our best, we enjoyed the other hosts and had some great finds. 

 

Hood River, Oregon

 Catching up

We have had very limited WIFI, so I haven't written the blog in a couple of months. The email notifications come across differently now since Blogger changed its format. I will do a short post now to see how it goes now.

We left Valley of the Rogue State Park and headed north to the Columbia River Gorge. But first made a stop at the Wooden Shoe Tulip festival while staying at Champoeg State Park. 

Driving the Fruit Loop north of Hood River we could see Mt Hood and Mt Adams above the fruit orchards and vineyards.

The balsamroot and lupine were in bloom as we hiked the Memaloose Hills Trail that starts at the Memaloose Overlook. 

Mosier Tunnel State Park bike ride along the Columbia River is a favorite for us. bike through tunnels (with windows) built for the original Columbia River Highway, now part of a car-free section of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. Views on the trail, which runs 4.5 miles between Mosier 

and Hood River, are spectacular in any season. The route gains 430 feet in elevation when you start at the Mosier trailhead, and 300 feet when you start at the Hood River trailhead.

Once we finished our visit to the gorge, we had planned to stay in the Bend area for a while and kept getting emails from Tumalo State Park saying they had an urgent need for a host for the  month of May.  After the fourth request, we called and said we were available. 

Here's hoping the new email format works

Valley of the Rogue State Park

Wildflowers Everywhere!

 Leaving the cool coast of the Pacific Ocean, we arrived in the warm Rogue River Valley with temps in the 70s. We had heard some negative reviews about hosting at the Valley of the Rogue State Park but wanted to check out the area. If it was too bad, we could always leave. We actually enjoyed our time here very much. 

We were placed in the F Loop which is the furthest from the Interstate and was closed to campers for the first 9 days. We were happy once the gates were opened and campers arrived. 

The B & C loops were closed to camping and used for FEMA trailers for fire victims of southern Oregon last summer. Several campgrounds and fairgrounds are being used to house those unfortunate people in Oregon. They can stay for 18 months and then FEMA sells the trailers to the highest bidder. People arriving in the area for construction jobs find themselves in a bind for housing even if they brought their own RV since the number of campsites have been dramatically reduced.

Upper Table Rock  Once a sanctuary for Takelma Indians, today these cliff-edged mesas near Medford are a haven for hikers and endangered wildflowers. views from the cliffs extend across the Rogue River to the Siskiyou and the Cascade Mountains. Visiting in spring, we caught the best flower displays and avoided summer's merciless heat. The Upper Table Rock Trail climbs through a scrub oak grassland with spring wildflowers. After a final steep pitch, the trail suddenly emerges onto the table's amazingly flat, grassy summit. 

The Rogue River, like a great green snake, curves across orchards, ranches and gravel pit ponds toward the distant white cone of Mt. McLoughlin. Turkey vultures soar on updrafts.

 Gentner's fritillary, is a rare member of lily family, that is endemic to southwest Oregon.

Fawn Lillies

The Cathedral Hills Trail System is located just outside the City of Grants Pass and is a haven for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding enthusiasts. The park includes many loop trails and natural areas among its 400 acres of Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine forest. Other common woody plants are Madrone, Oak, Manzanita and poison oak. Spring is a popular time to visit because of the weather and abundant wildflowers. We hit the perfect time to hike with 4 miles of wildflowers.

Shooting stars

Each hike had different wildflowers as the previous went to seed.

Lunch at River's Edge Restaurant's outdoor seating was a treat overlooking the Rogue River while enjoying our prime rib sandwiches and listening to the water passing by. 

A large group arrived ahead of us and the waitress kept apologizing for the long wait but we were content to enjoy our afternoon.

We found several routes with cue sheets and maps for cycling and hiking nearby on Rogue River's visitor's website, took us through farms and vineyards. 

Some kids in the campground found two downed owl fledglings on the ground under a tree. The rangers taped off the area as they rested in the grass. Wildlife officers checked on them and felt they were too big to take for rehab but were probably ok. That evening they started walking around before making an exit. I grabbed the wrong camera and with not a lot of zoom for a blurry picture.

The Rogue River Greenway runs from town of Rogue River. The well-shaded trail heads southeast along the northern bank of the river through Valley of the Rogue State Park to the town of Gold Hills. 

After riding along the road in Gold Hills, the bike path resumes on the east side of town for a flat easy ride.

Oregon has so many wineries that many are finding other ways to use their crops to sustain themselves. Del Rio Winery is turning to jelly making.

One more wildflower before heading north to Hood River along the Columbia River Gorge. We are hoping for more wildflowers.