March 9-14, 2024
After Ashland, we'd planned to head south explore Lake & Mount Shasta, and we even got a list minute invite to visit with a cousin of Joel's in Trinity Center along the way, but the weather was not cooperative, this time it was several feet of snow... Not wanting to wait out the weather again, we opted to skip that segment, and re-vector northward towards Crater Lake, Bend, and Eugene.
We left Ashland, and on the advice of a little birdy named Linda (a southern OR native and Molly's mom) we headed to Shady Cove. Shady Cove, OR is one of the quiet, small towns that serves as a gateway to Crater Lake and water activities such as rafting, kayaking, fishing, etc.
On our way out of Medford, we decided to
stop at the new Trader Joe's because...why not?! We'd been missing bagged salads, other "fresher" prepared goodies, and also stocked up on snacky road food cravings that only a TJs run can truly fulfill.
We hooked up at the Rogue River RV Park (shares amenities with the Edgewater Inn) - chose an awesome front-facing spot (21A) alongside the Upper Rogue River. No one on either side - YAY! We lucked out again being again one of only a couple of visiting RVs. The majority of this place is blanketed by permanent residents. It's quiet, peaceful and the neighbors are friendly. The neat thing about this river is not only its emerald-green color, soothing sounds and pace (fairly rapid with white-capped currents), but the fact that Native American people have been living along its banks for over 8500 years! There are tons of geese, too - we've overheard a few of their conversations and were careful to watch where we stepped. All this said, it was cold there - morning, day, night. Repeat. Cold. One of the nights, I was awakened to random rain drops pelting Max like the last 10 seconds of microwaved popcorn. Pop. pop pop. pop.
My hands just about froze on my first early walk, but I do love catching the peaceful morning moments, taking in the energy + scenery of the places we visit. On this particular stroll, I almost got attacked by a giant, barking unleashed dog in the neighborhood (not pictured) and found some interesting agates/rocks along the side of a river bank.
Here's a short video of the Rogue River at the Shady Cove Park - the water level is fairly high and moving fairly rapidly due to the recent storms.
The town is small - we stopped into Shady Cove Market for a few things and were surprised at how stocked the aisles were with loads of everyday items you'd expect from a chain store. We also visited a neat little place called Goebel's Country Store - a combo BBQ shack/store that the owners decided to convert from an old house. They carry all kinds of fun creations by local artists only! Mac's Diner (a family favorite serving comfort food for over 45 years + a 1950's themed restaurant/bar with a beautiful view of the Rogue) was closed the day we tried to grab a meal, but we peeked in quickly to check out the iconic decor!
It rained on an off, so we used time here catch up on work, chores and more laundry! The sun finally came out on our last day - it was a little warmer, so we walked into town. The staple spot we wanted to visit (Mac's Diner) was closed that day, so we stopped at a BBQ joint called Jeffro's Grill so Joel could try the tri-tip sandwich and pork belly burnt ends. Neither option floated his boat. Looking at them definitely didn't float mine. Gak.
Per usual take off routine, I re-stowed all of Max's insides and Joel disconnected power & water, and performed the fun black & gray tank dump & flush duties (I am always grateful for his efforts with this). We departed and within 5 miles, the low tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) alerted that the right front tire had low pressure. We turned around and took care of that at Chevron ...better to be safe than sorry! Turned out the problem was actually caused by the sensor itself....
And with that, we headed off to Crater Lake, La Pine, and Bend OR.
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