On The Meandering Road: August 15, 2016 - Chiloquin, OR to Myrtle Creek, OR

Few RVs have already checked out of the casino parking lot when we walked to the casino to have breakfast.

We had not had any complaints about the meals served at Peak to Peak Restaurant. Our breakfast meals this morning were very good and of right portion. Edith did not feel like cooking breakfast this morning.

After breakfast we decided to check our player cards to see if we got anything special. Yes, there was! $5 promo for each of us. Erwin played the 1 cent slot machine first, “lost” $4.55 and Edith took over the machine. She started with $5 promo plus ticket voucher of 45 cents from Erwin’s previous play. After few spins Edith was rewarded $39 for matching numbers. After two spins she decided to stop at $40.45, cashed out. A nice profit and farewell gift…

Thank you, Kla-Mo-Ya Casino for letting us park our RV for free for 3 nights, for fun at the casino and for delicious meals at Peak to Peak Restaurant. The employees were very friendly and courteous. We will definitely come back here again if we are in the area again. If you are traveling via motorhome or camper van be sure that the propane and water tank are full and the black/grey tank is empty.

Before leaving the casino we went to Crater Lake Junction Travel Center to use their water well to fill up fresh water for the Lil’ Home (LH). Left the casino at 10:20 am, turned right on Highway 97 North to go to Collier Memorial campground to dump sewage.

We continued driving north on Highway 97. A lone coyote was running across the highway and Edith did not have time to grab her camera. We wished we had cam dash that would record everything during the drive (we will get one later). We turned left to get on State Highway 138 West (the route that takes you to Crater Lake National Park North entrance) to go to Roseburg, OR. It is also known as Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway that runs between the intersection of Highway 97 and State Highway 138 and Roseburg, OR. We were also driving through Umpqua National Forest.

We pulled into Diamond Lake Scenic Overlook. Nice view of the lake and Mt. Baldwin. Several interpretive signs explaining about the volanic explosion. There are benches and picnic tables. It also has a restroom. Before leaving Erwin wanted to leave his trademark there by building a cairn. This was his second one this year.

Erwin built this cairn

Mount Thielsen

See Erwin's cairn on the right side

Visitors left foods for chipmunks
A bad idea!

There's one

Now there are two

We decided not to visit Clearwater Falls because the road leading to it looked too narrow and we did not want to take a chance if there is not much room to turn around at the end.

The elevation started to drop below 3,000’. The forest are so thick that it was hard to see anything past them. North Umpqua River runs alongside the road. There are several campgrounds. The trees are enriching the road. felt like we were being squeezed in. The road was well-maintained even though there were “Debris on Roadway" signs.

We parked the LH on the shoulder,
walked up to the bridge to check out rapids

Once we reached 1,500’ the terrain became more rocky on one side and the river on the other. It was already 1:10 pm and we were hungry. Since we were out of bread there was food/lodging area, but there was no room for our LH, so we drove past it.

We finally went to the elevation of 1,000’ when we were about 15 miles from Roseburg, OR. Now entering the Bureau of Land Management area. There were anglers fishing in the river. We would love to give it a try, but we will need to pick up fishing license. We might think about going on a guided fishing trip either in OR or WA.

W arrived Roseburg, OR at 2 pm, got on 99 South to check into On The River Golf & RV Resort in Myrtle Creek, OR where we will camp for 2 days.It is about 10 miles south of Roseburg.

The manager was not in the office, but a lady told us we could park in site A, B or C and wait for the manager’s arrival. It was about an hour before we were advised to move to a different site. Either #8 or #9 (both has full hookups with 50 amps). Originally we picked #8, but when we told the manager we planned on staying for 2 nights. “Oh, #8 is for tonight only”, the manager cautioned. So, we went with #9. With Passport America membership the $40 nightly rate was cut in half to $20 (for sites with 50 amps). If you get a site with 30 amps the nightly rate will be $16 after Passport America discount.

Site #9 is back-in with the view of South Umpqua River and the 99 bridge. The back of our LH faced the west side, so it was a perfect setting for sunset photography.

On The River Golf/RV Resort is off 99, 15 miles south of Roseburg. About 6 miles north of Myrtle Creek, OR. The resort also had the Scottish Highlander Ranch in the back and we plan to visit the cattle tomorrow morning. There is a small lily pad pond and there were two Mallard ducks. There is also a wash site for cars/RVs. We might take the Jeep over and get it cleaned.

Edith wanted to see two covered bridges in Myrtle Creek, OR (6 miles south from the campground). One is called Neal Lane (you can drive through it) and the other is Horse Creek (closed to traffic). It was easy to find Neal Lane, but we overlooked the Horse Creek because the GPS threw us off. We turned around to go back to Myrtle Creek downtown and spotted the Horse Creek on the left side.

There was a local farmer’s market near the covered bridge. We got fresh green beans and zucchini. Two young girls, who was with their mother selling produce, were giggling the whole time when we were signing. As we were leaving the market Edith saw one of the young girls fingerspelling to the other girl. Apparently, they were too shy to sign to us while we were there.

We stopped by Ray’s Grocery Store to resupply our pantry and repick up groceries as we were getting low on fruits for Erwin’s breakfast and meats.

A fellow camper, next to us, came to tell Edith about the unusual tree on the property, led her to it. She had no idea what kind of tree it was. She called Erwin over to see it and he knew what it was. It is called Monkey Tree. He said we had seen one like this, but much bigger and taller in Washington State 3 years ago.

Edith fixed ham slice, sweet potatoes and fresh green beans (we bought it at local farmer’s market in Myrtle Creek).

Back to the site Erwin and the fellow camper started talking and trading travel stories while Edith was busy with sunset photo shooting. The civil colors (15-20 minutes after the sunset) were beautiful.