Best Western Rice Hill

Went back to Eugene then I headed to the Umpqua Forest which is central Oregon in the mountains. Ahhh, it was beautiful. Great campground with fun people who liked to play music. Great river, lakes, forest, meadows... can't really describe it all, it was nice.

One of my highlights ...

Not much to tell about Roseburg and our stay here, although it is a nice little town and the back balcony of our room looked out over the Umpqua River, with accompanying ducks and interesting birds of a sort we don't see in Alabama.  We needed to wash clothes and gather our wits before driving to Crater Lake, Mt. Shasta, and into California -- so Roseburg is it.  

... cedar, yellow pine, and in really moist areas, hemlock. Quite a lovely sight on the sheltered side of a mountain.
Coming down out of the Cascade Range,the air grew warmer and moister, the vegetation more lush and jungle like. I got to the interstate, I-5, about rush hour and drove home the rest of the way in a welter of cars whose drivers were all intent on getting home, as was I. But, first a fill-up of the track's gas tank. What a surprise! Gas was $2.74 a gallon ...

... there is daily fog, their roots only go down about 12 inches and they get their water from the moisture in the air (i.e. fog). They are fast growing trees and need a lot of water. By the time the Redwoods dissapeared, the temperature skyrocketed. There was no cold, wet wind so the sun could do its job and heat everything up including me! I was on the side of the road taking off my thermal underwear ...

... mountain of Mount Shasta. By that time we were already almost 10 hours on the road, but since it was only about 3:30 at that stage we decided to push on, and make this day a really long trip - while tomorrow will then be much easier. We pushed through to Roseburg in Oregon - 12 hours later we are sitting in a road side inn, exhausted, and glad that tomorrow's trip will be much easier, and shorter too Seattle.

... is a real getaway and you start to get that feeling just driving up their driveway through the tunnel of over-hanging tree branches. I'm not sure how much land they have but it's several acres a good part of which is forested. Larry and Marie and their three kids are open, loving and generous and seem to enjoy the steady stream of friends and relatives that take advantage of their idyllic home and their gracious hospitality.

... literally broke at the Oregon border. We crossed the Columbia River and the temp shot up 15 degrees. It was like Oregon was welcoming us back with a big sunshine smile. In another hour and half , we pulled in to Keizer and Alex's house. He was off the bike in a flash. I took a quick couple of pictures a hug and he was inside and I was back on the road ...

D-6. It's Sunday 22 June. This time next week Alex and I will be crossing into Canada. The weather up north has been so-so. It can only get better. I am under no allusions, we will be riding in the rain. Not much to add. Just have to pack and go. I will try to add some pics-for practice.

Well, we are gearing up for this summer's adventure early..... Its a whole 5 months before we depart, but as the boy scouts say " Be Prepared". We have our airline tickets locked down and the dates are set! I have been reading travel books galore, as well as travel blogs, web-sites and maps. There is so much to see in Vietnam, our ...

... it away... You might have guessed today's grand destination after we stopped in Bend yesterday -- w/in striking distance of a rather striking Nat'l Park. That set us up nicely for a day at Crater Lake Nat'l Park. It's a place you can take in in 10 seconds (the wow factor) yet spend days enjoying it. It is spectacular. We sent our time driving the Rim Drive (clockwise from the north entrance) stopping at many overlooks and taking a short hike at one ...