Rogue River and the Gorge Falls - Oregon

Rogue River, Oregon
Valley of the Rogue State Park


After picking the trailer up from Cousin Gary's for a slide repair (see last post), it was only a 3 hour drive to Valley of the Rogue State Park for a couple days on our way to visit with Curt and Glenda on the coast.

I was amazed at how full Shasta Lake was.  I've not seen it like this in many, many years.  All that rain last year really made a difference.

Along the way we pulled out at a nice scenic viewpoint that had a great view of Mt. Shasta as well as some cute information in the walkway.

   

There are 7 glaciers on Mt. Shasta.

 

Mt. Shasta

We had some strange wear on one of the trailer tires while still in Redding so we had Discount Tires order us a new one.  It would be a couple of days before it came in so they put our spare on and the new tire would be waiting for us in Medford not far from our Valley of the Rogue campground.

While driving near Weed, CA, you see the Rainbow Truck Village. Truck Village, builds these trucks in the shop there, and leases them to the forest service for fire fighting through the Western US.

There are many picturesque farms and barns along the way.

 

You will also see some interesting large irons sculptures.  Cows and a Dragon. 

We made it to Oregon!

We've been through here before with kids but we haven't spent much time with the 5er.  The next 3 months we'll be meandering through with not many plans.  My brother and his wife will be with us on and off as well.

Our site in Valley of the Rogue.  It's an ok park right along the freeway so you do hear some light traffic.  The sites are fairly private but there aren't very many large sites.  There was a walking trail behind our site but the mosquitos made it difficult to enjoy. $31 per night with 50amp and water. Overall it's a convenient overnight stay.

Since we had a couple of days here we drove in to Medford to see where the tire company was and how we'd maneuver our rig in.  We came upon the Walkabout Brewery Company, so we paid a little visit.  Steve found the beer just ok.

The next day we made a nice day trip to the Rogue River Gorge Fall along part of the Upper Rogue River Trail.  This part was just a couple of miles on an easy path.  As we drove north from Placerville, we found we were back into the beginning of Spring with all the Dogwoods in full bloom.  Wow, they were just everywhere!

 

After a short walk you come to the falls that you can hear quite a ways away.

You can see at the beginning where the water flows out of one of the caves and at the end where it flows back into another one.

Above and below are some of the cave's where the river flows.  It flows out of some and in others where it disappears for a while.

 

The water level was high so we did not get to see the bridge as the water level was flowing over it.

Above the water is coming out of a pothole.

 

The trail takes you along the river and then back into the woods.

  

The trees were so tall, the damp smells of the forest were wonderful.  It was great to be back on a trail again even if it was a short one.

Some blooming Trillium.

There was a fire that had gone through this area years ago and you could still see the burn marks on some of the older trees. As the trees grew over time, the burned bark created colorful stretch mark-like patterns. 

The cold water didn't keep Hurley out.  Although he didn't stay in long. 

It's hard to tell in the pictures but the banks of the river were lined with the blooming Dogwoods.

More Trillium.

There were large amounts of Spanish Moss hanging in the branches of many of the trees.

 The current made interesting patterns of black and white sands.

 

 

Big trees, tiny pinecones.

 

 

 

I thought the fungus growth on the right looked like the character, Thanos, from the latest Avenger movie.  What do you think?

  

 Hurley had fun running back and forth on this log then jumping up at the end where Steve was.

 

 

 On our way back to camp we stopped at this bridge to get some pictures.

 

A couple of geocaches brought us to an old cemetery where someone had carved a large bench out of a fallen tree.  One more cache out on Table Rock Rd between these two bluffs read:

ERECTED 1928 BY CRATER LAKE CHAPTER
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
AND GENERAL JOSEPH LANE SOCIETY
CHILDREN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HONORING THE COURAGEOUS MEN, LED BY
GENERAL JOSEPH LANE
WHO ON SEPT. 10, 1853 MET NEAR THIS SPOT
AND SIGNED A TREATY OF PEACE
WITH THE ROGUE RIVER INDIANS.

 

And this brings an end to our time in Rogue River.  Or does it?  Another mishap perhaps? 

 

 And Happy Birthday to my "angel" of a little brother today!