As we checked off the days of the calendar through the end of July, we had our sights set on an Escapees Oregon Coast Hangout in Brookings, OR. This weeklong event promised to be full of exciting activities, a power boat tour, sightseeing, kayaking and fishing that we were really excited about. Alas, several days prior I had started having a scratchy throat and a stuffy and running nose. A head cold. A day prior to arriving at Brookings I started to feel great but Teri started having the same symptoms. We decided it would be prudent and respectful for us to skip the event. However, we had to stop in for 1 night to pick up a package.

If you recall, I had broken a bike wheel in Washington. At the time I had contacted Berd Spokes and ordered a set of wheels. Berd Spokes is one of the sponsors for the Level 10 Racing Team that I am a member of. Normally, they only ship to bike shops but as I explained my situation, they agreed to send the wheels to the park. The wheels arrived at the park an hour after we checked in.

Our arrival to the park was quite the fiasco. As we drove along the narrow 2 lane, twisting road, the mapping said the turn was on the left. I didn’t see a turn and continued on. The computer kept yelling at me to turn around. I finally found a spot on the right side of the road where I could pull off and review the mapping. Needless to say, it was a bit nerve wracking as we couldn’t find a spot to turn the coach around on the maps and the road seemed to be a dead end road several miles ahead. I unhooked the Jeep and drove forward. I finally found a spot that I could turn around. It was the entrance to a sand and gravel operation. I drove back to the motorhome, switched seats with Teri so she could drive the Jeep and we drove forward to the entrance. We made the turn around and headed back to the park entrance.

As we arrived at the park entrance, it was obvious this was a 1 way entrance and we were headed the wrong way. Onward we drove back, into town to the boat launch area where we turned around again. Let’s try this again. This time I saw the entrance and thought it was strange that it was only 1 lane wide with low hanging trees and a downward slope. But on we went and we arrived at the office and eventually parked in our spot. We explained to the event coordinators about our health “issues” and advised we were only staying the night. They suggested several times that they appreciated our courtesy and agreed it would be best if we did not participate but there was no reason for us to leave. We thanked them, picked up my wheels and headed out the next day. The park was beautiful and we were disappointed to be leaving but felt it was the right thing to do. We should have the opportunity to visit again in the future.

Our original plans had us spending the rest of the month in the Grants Pass area so we arranged to arrive there a week ahead of time. The drive from Brookings to Grants Pass wandered through the Redwoods National Forest. This was another narrow, winding 2 lane road through huge trees that seemed so close to the road that I thought I was going to rip the passenger side mirror from the coach. It had some amazing views that we will return some day to gander and marvel at the size of the trees in a more peaceful manner. We arrived in Grants Pass without mishap and set up home for the next week.

Our first stop was in downtown Grants Pass. This downtown area was amazing. Many of the buildings are original stone built in the 1880’s. There is a park in the center of the downtown area that was free of clutter and looked peaceful. Downtown was in the middle of their monthly Lemon Days event. We were bombarded by lemonade stands. All the stands were staffed by young people who appeared to be pre-teen along with their parents. Other parents were standing on the sidewalk sharing stories, laughing and having a wonderful time. What we later learned is that there were about 50 lemonade stands set up around the town and it was a competition for the best lemonade. There was no ‘hard sell’ just a friendly community event.

We stopped in at several shops and found all the store owners extremely friendly and welcoming. They were proud of their town and shared their thoughts and feelings about the town. Folks boast that the best part about the town is the climate.

We visited the Farmers Market on Saturday and found a wide assortment of locally grown and baked foods. There were arts and crafts displays and a wonderful feeling of community.

We looked into fishing in the area and found that there is some amazing fishing within an hour of town but not at this time of year. It was still too warm for trout. The temps were in the 90’s during the day and 60’s at night. Most everyone we talked to complained of the hot weather. We reminded ourselves it wasn’t the triple digits that Phoenix was dealing with.

One evening we booked a power boat cruise and dinner with Hellgate Jetboat Excursions. This cruise was in a flat bottomed boat that was powered by 3 large engines. The boats could hold about 50 passengers and could cruise the Rogue River at about 30 mph, at least. The cruise was scheduled to be a 3 hour cruise. I know, now you have the theme song from Gilligan’s Island running through your head.

The cruise was a parade of 4 boats all full of passengers and we headed downstream. We were not prepared for what happened next. We knew there was a possibility of getting wet so we had brought windbreakers but had not put them on. Our Captain was quite the story teller and worked his way through the boat asking where everyone was from and if there were any special occasions on the boat. He also provided the necessary safety briefing. At the conclusion he asked if we wanted a wet or dry run. I was surprised at the number of people who shouted “wet”.

Our boat was 75% people over 50 years of age. The Captain pushed the throttles forward and we leapt down the river. A few minutes later he said “hold on” and put on the brakes. The front of the boat porpoised into the river and the water sprayed 10 feet in the air and drenched the front half of the boat. We were just a few rows back from the front and on the right edge and yes, we got drenched. 5 minutes later he repeated the action and did so every so often. What a rush! Next as we roared down the river he spun the boat like it was a top and of course this sprayed everyone again. Fortunately the sun was shining, it was warm and we dried out before he sprayed us again.

As we reached the turn around point, he informed us we couldn’t go down river any further due to the regulations of this particular cruise. By this time we had floated into a narrow canyon with the sheer rock walls rising about 50-100 feet above us on either side, hence the name Hellgate. He explained that the canyon got narrower further downstream with rapids. This part of the canyon was used in 2 films I recognized, The River Wild and Rooster Cogburn. We then turned around and motored upstream a short ways to the private dinner lodge. There we feasted on salad, bbq chicken and ribs and dessert. There was more than any of us could finish. It was delicious.

As we prepared to ride back upstream we found that our boat had developed a motor problem. One of the motors would not fire. As such, they had to lighten the load and asked for volunteers to ride in 1 of the 3 other boats. Teri and I volunteered and found ourselves in the same seating positions in the new boat. This captain was just as jovial as the first. As we headed upstream he asked if everyone was ready for a splash and dash. This boat was just as festive as the first and there was a loud ‘yes’. So there we were cruising up the river and then we made one of the spinning turns. The wave that was created was right in the path of the boat that was following us. You guessed it, the front of their boat hit the wave and drenched everyone on board. Well, you know what happened next. Yep, they got revenge and we got wet, again. The ride back was just as wet and joyful as the ride down river. We arrived back at the boat launch exhilarated and look forward to doing it again.

You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned bike riding or hiking. Well, we didn’t miss out of those either. Cathedral Hills trailhead was a 30 minute ride from the RV park so I spent one day riding those trails. Wednesday’s are traditionally my climbing days and I found a hill to climb. Dollar mountain was reasonably close to the park as well. A nice ride through downtown and through the neighborhoods and I arrived at the service road to climb the mountain. A 1.5 mile climb, 10% average grade and 800 ft of climbing. After a couple rides up and down, I was wiped out. Teri also attempted this climb on one of her hiking days. Because of the distance to the trail, Teri used all her water getting to the trailhead and had to head back to the RV. There are radio towers at the top of the mountain that are easy to see from the RV. I was told by one of the locals that there are plans to develop some mountain biking trails on the mountain in the next year. I also jumped on the gravel bike and toured the town and surrounding area for a couple of hours on another day. Teri walked from the RV park into downtown to visit with shop owners, have a cup of coffee and acquaint herself with the town.

On another afternoon we took a drive to Cave Junction back along the Redwood Highway. It was our intent to get a tour of the natural caves however we learned that you need to make reservations a day or 2 in advance. It’s popular in the summer and it was sold out when we arrived. Instead, we drove to the Siskiyou Smokejumper Museum. Post WWII this was a training and deployment depot for the wild land smokejumper fire fighters. The airstrip was still used by private planes, although the depot had been closed. The young man who provided us entry explained that although he was not a smokejumper, his dad had been. There are photos and stories of the various teams who had flown out of this airport through the years. We found it quite fascinating.

Ironically, during this same time, northern California was on fire (Park Fire) along with several fires in eastern Oregon and western Idaho. Grants Pass sits in a valley which forms a bowl of mountains. Southern and easterly winds brought the smoke from these fires into the valley so much so that the view of the towers on top of Dollar Mountain were blocked. However, if the winds shifted, the sky cleared.

As our week stay came to an end, we moved 15 minutes southwest to Rogue River, OR. The park we stayed at was near the highway bridge that spanned the Rogue River. The park was aptly named Bridgeview. Our space was narrow and short but the well maintained grassy areas made the park very pleasing to view. From here we forayed into the small town of Rogue River. It is smaller than Grant’s Pass and does not boast the history of that downtown. But we found the people pleasant and inviting. I found a few more places to ride and met some riders who I maintain contact through Strava. Teri explored the rail trail that runs along the Rogue river between Grant’s Pass and several towns to the South.

We shopped in Medford a couple of times and took a drive to Jacksonville. Medford is the largest city in the area and is only about 1 hour north of the California border. Jacksonville is a small community with an historical downtown. It reminded me of a small Prescott, AZ. The surrounding area is filled with ranches and vineyards. The most memorable bike ride of the area was the Sterling Mine Trail. This trail traveled around the mountain on a raised mound. To my left, the mountain sloped down into a 3 ft trough then raised to the mound I was on then continued sloping down the mountain on my right. At first I thought I was on a raised rail bed but I realized the mound was too narrow. Later I learned that the trough was dug to channel water down the mountain to assist with the mining of the mountain. The mound was built so the supervisors could travel along the mining route to monitor the miners. I found it quite fascinating.

As I started my ride, the sky was blue but as the day wore on, I saw gray clouds building to the west. They were moving fast and soon I was seeing lightning and hearing thunder. I had no cell service most of the ride, but as I neared the top of the mountain my phone chimed with an incoming text from Teri telling me to get off the mountain as the rain was coming. I text saying ‘I know’. Now, I was at the top of the mountain and there were no trees as this area had been cleared and no shelter from the rain that started in about another 10 minutes. The temperature had dropped 10 degrees to about 60 and the rain was cold. I rode on. What else could I do? As I started dropping down the other side of the mountain, I made a wrong turn and had to bike back uphill about 1/2 mile to the proper turn. By now I was drenched and I couldn’t operate the phone as the wet screen, wet gloves and wet fingers didn’t recognize the finger movements and then it started to hail. Those small pellets sting when they hit bare skin. As I cruised along hoping to see the Jeep at every corner, the phone chimed again. It was Teri telling me I was going the wrong way! After several attempts I was able to get the map pulled up on the phone and confirmed my location and my travel path. Teri follows me with the phone app but on this day, due to cell service issues, her mapping was delayed so while it looked to her that I was going the wrong way, I had already made a few turns that hadn’t updated on her mapping. I can’t remember when I have been so relieved to see the Jeep after a ride as on this day. But, if it had been a sunshine filled and warm day, there wouldn’t be a story to tell. I will ride this trail again, hopefully without the drama.

One of our day trips took us to a Harry & David store. Wow! This was an adventure. We’ve sent and received gift boxes from Harry & David but have never been in a store. This store wasn’t even the warehouse but was filled with all the goodies. It was a challenge to not walk out with boxes of food. We even found the opportunity to support the Rogue River Little League All Star team who washed the Jeep for us and we attended the Josephine County Fair.

Now it was time to take our leave and we had made our travel plans and had reserved the RV parks for the trip back to Arizona. Our first planned stop was a Harvest Host on a ranch/vineyard in northern California. The online reviews were amazing and the photos were beautiful. As we confirmed our route, we learned the main highway to the ranch was closed due to the Park Fire in northern California. Further checking showed that the ranch was at the edge of the evacuation area. The ranch had posted some photos on social media that showed the wall of smoke just mere miles from the ranch. We felt a detour around the road closure would take more time than we wanted to drive and also felt it was irresponsible of us to enter into an evacuation warning area. So we cancelled our reservation and re-routed.

We rarely miss an opportunity to explore and learn about the areas we are traveling through and the trip south was no exception. Our first stop was at the American Eagle RV Park north of Susanville, California. The reviews showed this to be a nice park. They must have been very old. The park had been closed for several years and was just now being renovated. We had a nice spot that was plenty large enough for our rig and a nice view of the area. We were the only RV in the park. This park used to have a pavilion and a stage where they had provided a band and dancing along with a restaurant. These were all in extreme disrepair. They are busy prepping and smoothing sites to reopen. We took a drive into Susanville which is rich in mining history and visited some of the historical sites. This was just a 1 night stop.

The next day we were on the road again and stopped for lunch in Beatty, Nevada. We were drawn to a large casino on the corner of the intersection. We stopped in and talked with a woman who was working inside. She said the construction crew was busy remodeling the building with plans to reopen the casino. She said Beatty expects to be growing in the next couple of years as there had been a gold discovery in the area and the permits were finally being approved so the mining could begin. She said they had already finished the metal work on the exterior and were now building the interior of the casino.

We stopped for a night in Boulder City, NV where I had a chance to do a bike ride.

On the trip south toward Wickenburg, AZ we had to stop off at Teri’s favorite pie stop, Luchia’s in Wikieup, AZ. This little restaurant has an outdoor yard that hosts several pheasants and a koi pond. It also has the most AMAZING pie, according to Teri.

Throughout our travels Brett and Callie continually reminded us that it was August and we were supposed to be back in Apache Junction. We figured they were tired of sweltering in the heat without anyone to share their misery. We had told them we would be arriving on the 25th. As our arrival date drew near, they confirmed the date with us several times. We figured they had something up their sleeves so we decided to surprise them. We rolled in the morning of the 24th. It was funny to see them scurrying to put out the ‘Welcome Home’ banner while we stabilized the motorhome and set it up for our long term stay. We enjoyed a little buffet dinner as a welcome home gift.

During our 3 month ‘vacation’ we heard complaints from the locals about how hot it was. Teri and I found it warm but not unusually uncomfortable. The highs were in low to mid 90’s and even lower when we were on the Olympic Peninsula. These temps were a far cry from the triple digit temps that Phoenix/Apache Junction were broiling in. We had hoped the temps would have dropped prior to our returning but we weren’t that lucky. Oh well, that’s AZ.

As always, thanks for traveling with us. We hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did. As we settle in here in Arizona we are preparing for my first mountain bike race of the year, post hip surgery, and Teri is excited to get back to hiking. But that’s for the next month.

Stay Safe.

John & Teri