Our last day off

Captains Log July 29 – Things are winding down for us.  Only a few days left and we will miss everyone.  The staff is great and the other volunteers are fun and great to hang out with.

It was our last day off and we picked berries – 8 pounds today!  Then I made over a quart of blackberry syrup.  I changed my method and this batch was a tad thicker as I didn’t buy any pectin to use and I think it will be fine.  I used up all of the small containers I had and put them in the freezer in any nook or cranny I could find.

I made a batch of Brownie Brittle for the staff so we took it up to the office and managed to catch Trish and Lisa.  I always put a note on what I make reminding them to share.  They have several shifts and I hate for the later people to miss out.

Bill walking in the 
Rogue River

We had promised ourselves we would go to the small county park near us on the Rogue River and just relax.  We took our chairs, something to drink, Bill’s water shoes, books and cameras and we went this afternoon.  There were only a few people there so we set up our chairs at the edge of the river.  Bill walked out in his water shoes and said it wasn’t bad.  I went out barefoot and it was like stepping in a bucket of ice

My turn

water.  BRRR!

There were 2 guys fishing and the son hooked a salmon and we watched him carefully fight it and bring him in.  It was so cook to watch.  He couldn’t keep it as it has to be a hatchery fish and this was a wild fish.  He estimated that it weighed 20-25 pounds.  They took a break and had a snack and by the time we left they were back out there trying again.

The salmon

It was very peaceful and relaxing just watching the variety of rafters and boaters going downstream and the families with little kids bravely playing in the ice water.  I noticed some berry bushes – since they are everywhere – and used my glass to pick about 2 cups of nice plump berries that were growing under the trees.  Those are the best if you can find them!

It was a very nice relaxing and enjoyable afternoon.  We should have done it more often.

Rafters

For dinner I had made ahead a pasta/chicken salad with grapes, grape tomatoes etc so dinner was ready when we were. 

We did our normal drive around our loop and the other loops and stopped to chat with the other hosts if they were around.  A nice end to a nice day!

Work and Play

Captains Log July 5 – It was a mass exodus today today! There were 41 who left and it was a pretty long day!  Bill went out first and did some and then he wasn’t feeling great so after a while I went out and did a bunch, then we gradually worked thru the rest.  Actually is as bad as it would have been if we to clean fire pits.  Because the heat trailer was full and there was no where to put ashes or burnt wood we got a pass.  As usual there were some hangers on that pushed the envelope for a long as they could!

Headed to the 
Natural Bridge

Once our work was done for the day and the loop was pretty empty, we cleaned up and went for a little road trip up towards Crater Lake.  Our first stop was just off the road to get a photo of the bridge over the aqua water of the Rogue River near the campground. Next we stopped at the Natural Bridge over the Rogue River.  It’s a short walk from a parking lot just off the road.  It was peaceful, relaxing and only a few people around. 

A little further up the road is the Rogue Gorge.  There was a group of uniformed teenagers that we think were in some kind of training group for a forestry company.  They were very polite and asked their group leaders lots of questions.

The water in the Rogue goes from violent to calm to violent along this section.  There are lava tubes that funnel the water into some areas and open tubes that look

The Rogue

like tiny pools with calm water.  It’s all under shade trees and it’s

amazing to see.  On the way back we took a side drive thru the small town of Prospect.  We stayed there the last time we were there to visit Crater Lake but snow limited what we could see.  We saw the nice restaurant where we had dinner and the starting point for a hike to a small river with HUGE boulders.  I would love to do it again but don’t think my ankle is ready for it.

Back at the campground we had an easy dinner of leftovers and called it a night!

Lovely but hot day off!

Captains Log June 28 – Day off!  We have been changed to Monday and Tuesday off so I

These are not the smallest

hope we’re settled in now.   Once we got organized, even though it was going to hit 113 today, we figured it’s one of our 2 days off for the week so we better make good use of it.

Not far from us is the Cole M. Rivers Hatchery on the Rogue River.  I love fish hatcheries and we’ve even thought of volunteering at one for the summer.  Anyway, the visitor center was not open but we did gather some good information from an employee who stopped for us.  We walked a lot of the hatchery and learned they collect, spawn, and egg incubate for Chinook, Coho, Steelhead, and Rainbow trout.  Some are done spring and fall and some just once a year.  A lot of the huge tanks were empty and they were cleaning a lot so they must be getting ready

This is a 4 footer

the fall group upcoming.  We did see tanks of fish from 3 inches up 3 feet.  Some of the larger ones are where they get the eggs from.  It was very hot so once we walked a bit we went up into the overlook building and you can also see the area and info on collecting the eggs.

On the way into Shady Cove, we took the side road into Trail, OR proper and basically it is a tiny post office and an even smaller Town Office.  It does not look to be a very thriving town.

Our first stop in Shady Cove was to the bottle

Bottle man Bill

drop at the local grocery store.  We waited for 2 ahead of us to finish then fed our water bottles, glass bottles and a few aluminum cans in and left with a whopping $6.20!  While there we checked out the grocery store and it was quite nice, a bit pricy but an excellent assortment of fresh items as well as canned stock.

The book store Bill wanted to stop in was closed today and so was the restaurant he wanted to have lunch in, so we saw a little bar/cafe and gave it a try.  Other than it took quite a while, our food was very good.  I had another wrap and again it was huge so I brought home half.  Bill didn’t eat all of his chicken so he brought some of that home.  Sounds like a lunch on Wednesday!

Bill wanted me to get a flyer from the rafting company as he’s interested in us going, so I waited for the guy to finish up a customer and asked for a brochure and he acted like he didn’t know what brochure was!  He handed me a business card and said I could look at the website.  There was a large group of Asians decked out and ready to go.  They were all decked out in new garb and Tommy Hilfiger was leading the pack!

It was so hot out I was craving ice cream so we spent our $6 on 2 singles of hand dipped.  I went with Espresso chunk and Bill had Chocolate Peanut butter.  Delicious!

From there we drove around a couple of the day use areas along the river and another county park campground.  It’s right on the river as where we are has a side along Lost Lake.  We stopped and talked to the 2 hosts there and they said they can park up to 42’ RV’s so maybe next time we’re in this area we will try to get along the river!

The scary door

We watched for the hanging bridge walkway that I had spotted last time we were over there.  Finally saw it and here was a pull off just after.  I was hoping we could walk across it but where the entrance is down the hill has a door on it and has a No Trespassing sign on it.  Normally, those that know me, know that doesn’t always deter me, however, since there were lots of cars going by and Bill is not as much of a rule breaker as I am, so I took a couple of photos and called it a day!  Pooh!

Dinner was simple and minimal heating!  Microwaved the leftover meats and I made a small bowl of shortcut potato salad this morning with canned diced potatoes, drained and rinsed, and last night I made a Cottage Cheese Fluff of sugar free cherry jello, sugar free cool whip and a large container of low fat cottage cheese.  That is one of Bill’s favorites and I change the flavor every time. 

The hanging bridge across the Rogue

 Since we use gas to cook it heats the place 
  up and this created no extra heat.  Anyone who has any good quickie recipes – please share!!