Rogue River, Oregon
July 29 - August 1, 2017
We took a four-day weekend to explore the area around Crater Lake National Park. The campground in the park was full, but we reserved a space in the Farewell Bend Campground about a half hour outside the park. It was right on the Rogue River. We didn't get a prime riverside site, but site 50 was at the end of the campground and quite spacious.
We left on a Saturday, and this was our first teardrop trip with the new Toyota. The Highlander already had a full tow package, and we'd checked electrical connections. But what we hadn't checked was the length of the cord. As soon as we turned out of the driveway, the cord disconnected.
We drove to U-Haul and called all around, but we couldn't find any place open that could help us on a Saturday. When we stopped at a burrito cart to get some lunch and ponder our situation, we met Jerry -- a retired contractor, who had tools in his truck. He spent 40 minutes crafting a makeshift electrical extension for us, and wouldn't take a dime. What had started out feeling like a doomed weekend, now felt like a lucky one.
That bad-good luck combination continued when we discovered a leak in our propane regulator that prevented us from using our stove. We were at least an hour away from any town that might have a new one. Sunday morning, I woke early and drove a mile to a campground resort that had a small store. They didn't sell propane equipment, but the resort handyman was there and beckoned me back to a huge shed full of equipments and parts, and we found just what I needed. I was cooking blueberry pancakes before Kate was even out of bed!
It was incredibly hot that weekend, so our hiking hours were limited. But we explored two great trails along the river. One went right from our campground to the Rogue River Gorge Falls. Two forks of the river merged and pummelled through a narrow rock canyon.
The Natural Bridge hike was just a short drive away. It crossed to the other side of the river and went along the raging water with plenty of great views. The natural bridge was more like a shelf than an arch, but it was still a great hike.
Most of our weekend was spent at Crater Lake, where it was just slightly cooler. Both days we drove around the lake and did some short hikes. (Only a few are allowed with a dog.) The second day we stopped at the lodge for a drink and ran into friends from Salem. It would have been nice to camp right in the national park, but Farewell Bend offered a nice little refuge from the bustle of tourists.
