Erwin was already dressed when he woke Edith up at 8:45 am. Edith wanted to sleep in some more, but there were places we wanted to visit today before we leave for the Coast tomorrow.
Th view of South Umpqua River and the bridge from the back view of the site we parked at was really nice. It did not feel hot this morning.
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| The Monkey Pod Tree |
We drove up the steep hill to see the Scottish Highlander cattle, but the gate was closed. We came back down and Erwin called the campground manager. The manager said his dad, Dick, will come pick us up, since he knows more about the ranch and can tell us the history.
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| The view from high up |
Dick was a very friendly fellow. When he found out we were deaf he said he is half deaf since he wears behind the ear hearing aids.
Dick took his time in explaining how he came to purchasing the property long time ago. He now owns 130 acres, raises Scottish Highlander cattle. He was planning on acquiring goats to help clear off the land, but when he saw that Scottish Highlander cattle will eat what the goats eat he decided to get the cattle instead. He started out with 5, now has 21. He claimed a cougar got 2 of his calves one year!
After we went inside the ranch property we were greeted by few cattle and they were waiting to be fed with slices of bread. Two of them would try to put their heads inside the golf cart. It was neat to see them up close.
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| These are used by the cattle to scratch their backs |
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| "Can I have a kiss, please?" |
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| Erwin and Dick, our tour guide |
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| Awesome views! |
He took us for a ride to the top of the mountain, showed us his neighbor’s ranch next door. Down below is Rice Creek. Beautiful view.
After coming back from the ranch tour we quickly prepared our lunch to go. There were many interesting sights while we were on winery route to some vineyards.
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| Interesting and unusual mailbox stand |
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| Canadian Geese in flight |
Off we went to visit first winery: Wild Rose Vineyard in Winston, OR. It is in the Umpqua Valley hills. Wild Rose is open all year around from 11 am until 5 pm. Tasting is complimentary. We sampled 3 wines, liked two of them. Bought 2 bottles of Pinot Gris/Merlot Blend and Denise's Blushing Wine.
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| Cheers! |
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| Very bored guard dog! |
Next vineyard we stopped at was Abacela, a very lovely vineyard and tasting room. It was 21 years ago that Earl Jones and his wife Hilda planted their first vines. Although they were scientists they had no prior knowledge of winemaking. We sampled 3 wines (Grenache Rose, Muscat and Blanco Dulce), liked Blanco Dulce and bought just one bottle of it ($30). While there we had lunch at the pergola with a nice view of the vineyard. While we were eating lunch there was a guy in a golf cart drove by, waved at us and we waved back at him. We did not realize til seconds later that it was Earl Jones, the founder.
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| How does he enforce that? |
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Earl and his wife, Hilda
The founders of the vineyard |
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| Lunch under the grape canopy |
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| Grapes were all around us |
On way to visit the third vineyard there was a road construction and we waited for 5 minutes before they let us go.
Third vineyard is called Chateau Nonchalant Vineyards and it is tucked inside the hills west of Roseburg, OR. The address is 1329 Larson Road. It opens from 11 am til 5 pm. Tasting was complimentary, but we got to sample 2 wines. We did not buy any. The lady showed us the small wine cellar. The interior was very interesting.
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| Wine Cellar |
On way to the fourth vineyard we came into this old town called LookingGlass. There was a cemetery behind a church. Some were so old from a long time ago. We spent about 15 minutes looking around.
Next stop was to sample wines at Delfino Vineyards at 3829 Colonial Road, 10 miles west of Roseburg, OR. The lady knew American Sign Language (ASL). When she was asked where she learned she said she taught herself by reading the ASL book. We asked if there was any blush wine we could sample she said they have not made blush wines this year, but will have them next year. We went ahead and sampled what was offered. We did not care for the taste.
Since this was the last visit of the 5 wineries we got all stamped on a paper that will be placed in for drawing to win 2 cases of wines. We also got a free insulated sleeve to store a bottle of wine in.
We drove over 22 miles going west of Roseburg to the town of Glide to check out one covered bridge. The drive through the rural area was very lovely and we got to see some beautiful horses. We also saw two bucks grazing at a neighbor’s yard, but Edith made a mistake with the camera settings. The pictures came out too bright. Guess she was so excited about seeing bucks that she forgot to doublecheck the settings.
Cavitt Creek Bridge is a one-lane covered bridge. It is about a mile north of a small town called Peel. It was built by Floyd C. Frear i 1943. It spans over the Little River. The road and the bridge were named after Robert Cavitt, who had a home along the creek. The length is 70 feet long and is still open to traffic.
On way back from Cavitt Creek Bridge we drove through the town of Roseburg. We did not stroll around because we were running out of time.
We were little tired from today’s vineyard hopping, but were anxious to check out Seven Feathers Casino & Resort in Canyonville, OR (13 miles south from where we camped at), Went there after supper.
The casino is very lovely, has large eagle and fish sculpture in front. Parking lot is big. It has slots, blackjack, roulette, Craps, Texas Hold’Em, Pai Gow Poker and few other games. Edith applied for player’s card, but Erwin forgot his ID therefore cannot apply for player’s card. Edith got $5 free play, played 1 cent slot machine. She profited $20 without touching her money. Erwin played blackjack for a while. Edith was tempted to play $3 minimum Craps, but decided not to.
We were starting to feel tired and the night was dark already. We stopped at Seven Feathers Gas station and used Edith’s player card to get 3 cents off per gallon, filled up the Jeep before heading back to the campground.
We had a wonderful experience visiting several vineyards. The Vineyard Auto Tour signs were clearly visible from the road, so it was not a problem finding the vineyards.
Erwin was planning to do the laundry, but it was getting late and he said he planned to do it tomorrow morning. We will check out of the campground tomorrow before 11 am.
Off we went to visit first winery: Wild Rose Vineyard in Winston, OR. It is in the Umpqua Valley hills. Wild Rose is open all year around from 11 am until 5 pm. Tasting is complimentary. We sampled 3 wines, liked two of them. Bought 2 bottles of Pinot Gris/Merlot Blend and Denise's Blushing Wine.
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