McKenzie River, Paradise National Forest Campground, and John Day Fossil Beds

From the western side of the Cascade Mountains, we had traveled on Route 138 to Interstate 5.
After a nice visit to Timber Valley Escapee park in Sutherlin, Oregon, we head north towards Eugene, Oregon. We stayed one night at a pleasant Corps of Engineer park, Schwarz,in Cottage Grove. Then we headed east on Route 126.  This takes us back into the Cascades and now the Willamette National Forest.  This route follows the McKenzie River uphill.  What a nice campground!  Paradise is a good name with large , well separated sites.

This is our site, right on the white water river.

The moisture from the river has created a tropical feel in the campground with ferns, moss, and lots of greenery.

Such a nice campground for Jan on Mother's Day.  With some wonderful phone calls from family, a nice fire, and then a great steak dinner on the grill.  All this by the roaring(yes, roaring-----but in a nice way) river.

And then, surprise, a number of rafters, kayaks, and one row boat come rushing by.

This was a raft from a rafting company.
This link takes you to one of the companies that we saw launching in the park Oregon Rafting

There was a lot of screaming as the rafts went by.  This person was just finishing a wave to us.  The rowboat that went by was about 14 foot, fairly wide, metal, and with a flat bottom.  There were two people. One, in  the bow, was fishing( don't know how that worked out--we didn't think the fish had time to even see or smell the lure)and one in the back was rowing like crazy to keep the boat from crashing into the rocks.

The direct east route 242 is closed for the winter, so we leisurely do the loop of Route 126 north and east to Route 20. This takes us through the pretty town of Sisters and on to Redmond.
At Redmond, Jan and I decide to head north and see what the Cove Palisades State park is like.

The park is on Lake Billy Chinook.  You see the lake on the way in, but not from the campground.  Still, a very well maintained, beautiful campground.

The park surprises us.  The road there is through some very flat farmland.  It seems like you pass by a farmer's field and all of a sudden, you are heading down into this deep rock canyon surrounding a large body of water.

Eustis is keeping a keen eye on the turn for this very narrow bridge.

From the Palisades we travel north through the pleasant city of Madras and then south and east for a very scenic drive on Route 26. Along the way we detour into the Painted Hills Unit John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.  Such a long name!!  This home along the way shows the look of the high desert in this area.

Eustis is happy to see one of many horses in the area.  The next most popular animals  are beef cattle and sheep.  

Oh, and one pig farm.

Soon, we see the reason  for the name, Painted Hills

Jan and I learn that this area is famous around the world for fossils of plants and animals from the post dinosaur ages of 55 million years ago to about 5 million years ago.  They have collected thousands of fossils and are still collecting.

Millions of years ago, this was tropical.  With changes in the earth's crust and many eruptions of volcanos, this area preserved many fossils in layers.
These hills show the layers of the different millions of years.

At the visitors center is information on the house nearby that was built to be very, very,very green.
You see 24 solar panels on the roof. Also on the roof are two drain-down solar hot water panels.There is a heat recovery ventilation system( to preheat or cool incoming air with existing air),triple glazed, argon filled windows,extreme efficient appliances and lights, and mini split heat pump.  The house generated an average of 812 kilowatt hours and uses an average of only 298. There is a large, comfortable porch on the front.

The hills show layers of black, yellow,white, and red.

From the Painted Hills we head into Dayville.

Following the John Day River, we pass through Picture Gorge on our way to a very small campground.

In the center of this small town is the Fish House Inn and Rv Park.

Only seven sites.  But a picturesque, country club looking property.

We also had some brightly colored warblers? behind Lady Blue.

Sometimes, everyday barns look so nice along the main street.

The next day Jan and I head a few miles back to the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day.

A nice touch are the Journey Through Time Oregon Scenic Byway signs.  They are all along the fossil bed roads and also on the road to Baker City.

Near the entrance to this section is the large, modern Thomas Condon Paleontology Center Visitors Center.  A beautiful, modern building that fits into the surrounding landscape.  Also a green building.

The displays are well presented with clear information for those of us who are not well versed in fossils.

All kinds of examples of early hippos, horses, elephants, bugs, leaves, nuts, berries, and more.

For some of us, it is always nice to see pictures of what the bones belonged to millions of years ago.


While we were there, there was a group of about ten to twelve middle school children on a tour.  They were led through by a well spoken park guide and had good worksheets which they filled out with enthusiasm.

There were also some nice hikes through the area.

This was part of the Blue Basin.  Sometimes the colors are blue, sometimes more green.

Following the Fossil Beds, it is a short trip  to another nice state park, Clyde Holliday.  Again, it is well maintained, alongside the John Day River.

You could even stay in one of these teepees for the night.

From the state park, it is a beautiful drive over the mountains to Baker City.  We say "beautiful" a lot, but the views are spectacular.  Again, very few cars on the road and not many houses or farms along the way. The mountains in the background here are the Strawberry Mountains.  These are only a few of the many head of cattle along the way.  Our Baker City host indicated that the locals really enjoy their locally raised beef.

Could you live here?

Just be sure you have an economical , probably 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Everything is a long drive.

This is another view of the Strawberry Mountain range. This is from atop the hill going east out of Prairie City.  What a country!!!!

Crater Lake National Park, the Rogue River , and the Umpqua River

There are some beautiful roads in North Central California and into Oregon.  We follow Interstate 5 north from Mt. Shasta into Oregon and the Valley of the Rogue State Park.  A very scenic park right on the Rogue River with a number of loops for all sized RVs.  Also right in the park is a connection to the Rogue River Greenway bike trail.  Eventually a 30 mile plus trail, we enjoyed a nice ride from the park to the City of Rogue River.

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All along are great views of the Rogue and this view of the bridge.  Rogue River is a very small city.

At the bridge is a small park and at least two families of geese.  Fun to watch, but don't get too close!!

Also, right here, was a great little Mexican restaurant. Jan and I took a break for some tacos, tamale, and an ice cold Mexican Pacifica beer in a frozen mug.

From the state park, we head back on Route 5 for a short distance to Route 234 and then Route 62 north to the west entrance of Crater Lake National Park. The road is good and we are able to stop at the Steel Visitors Center and then up to the Rim Village.  On the road you realize that you really cannot see the lake until you are on top of the old crater.

When you look over the edge, your jaw drops.  An amazing view!!  7,700 years ago this volcano erupted with such heat and force that the edges of the mountain fell into the center.  Wizard Island you see in the lake was from later eruptions.  This is the deepest lake in North America at 1,943 feet.  There are no rivers in or out of the lake.  All the water has formed from rain and snow melt.  it is the clearest and cleanest body of water on earth.  There are no streams to pollute the lake.  The blue you see here is the color we saw on this day.  There was still snow on the roads here in May with the elevation of 7,132 feet.

The road around the rim was still closed, but we could walk for a little more than a mile to Discovery Point. Some college age men were hiking with full backpacks and tents.  We believe they were doing a weekend hike around the rim.  That would be 35 miles. The lake itself is about 6 miles in diameter.

Just in case you thought we were using stock photos, Jan and I thought we should show you that we were really there!







At the foot of the mountain, back on Route 62 is Farewell Bend Campground.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a National Forest campground open.  Actually, the hosts indicated they had just arrived and it had just opened.

There are a number of campgrounds all along the Rogue River.  This one is beautiful!  Dry camping with no threaded water faucets and no dump station, many of the sites are right on the river, such as ours.
They are well separated and large.

This was the view from our site with the fast moving river and the tall Douglas firs.  The host indicated that the river is well stocked with trout.  He also told a story about a newspaper article recently. A local fisherman was fishing for trout on a 10 pound line and caught instead a 35 pound salmon.  Took quite a while to bring it in.

Some interesting flowers in the campground.












The blossoms remind us of bleeding heart or orchid.

Scattered among the tall pine trees are a number of Dogwood trees.  The flowers jump out in contrast to the dark shade of the trees.

A nice hike from the campground brings us to the Rogue Gorge.  All of the water is forced through a narrow slice of volcanic rock.

Along the way are a number of rocks that remind us of the Potholes in Shelburne Falls, Massachussetts, near the Bridge of Flowers.

No ,Eustis. That is not a deer or an elk.
Leaving Farewell Bend, we follow Route 62 to Route 230 north around the west end of Crater Lake and north to Route 138.

All scenic. In thick forest.  Being national forest, there are no private homes.  Also, no gas stations, so plan ahead!!  Like in Texas, this is free range for cattle.  And these were two that we had to slow down for as they crossed the road.

North and west on Route 138. we are treated to spectacular view of Mt. Thielsen. Mt. Shasta, Lassen, Mt Mazama(Crater Lake), Mt. Thielsen, and also Mt. Bailey remind you how active this area was many years ago with volcanos.  Mt. Thielsen is also known as a super lightning rod of the Cascade Mountain Range. Hikers can find lightning strike scars.

Looking one way at Diamond Lake, you see Mt. Bailey. Turn around and you can see Mt. Thielsen.  Hard to believe, but no homes or camps because this lake is in national forest land.  There are campgrounds around the lake , but very few people at the beginning of May.

Following Route 138, Jan and I are happy to discover some national forest campgrounds that are open.  We are now following the Umpqua River. The Umpqua, like the Rogue, flows from the Crater Lake hillsides to the Pacific Ocean.

We stopped at Toketee Lake Campground.

This lake was formed by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  To our right is a hydroelectric power plant. One of eight that are located along the Umpqua.

It seems that these western states have taken good advantage of river power to create electric energy.

A five to six mile hike takes us to the Toketee Falls.

There are a number of falls along the Umpqua River and this is one of the nicest.
The trail follows above the river which cuts through the volcanic rock.  The trail is well maintained with stairs and this great platform for viewing.

The falls drop twice once for 40 feet and then for 80 feet.  The pool below is quite deep and clear.

Nice try Bruce.
A little Dutch boy, plugging the hole in the dike, you are not!

The power company has many ways of moving water from lakes and rivers to the power generators.
This 12 foot diameter water pipe was constructed in 1949 from redwood staves.  Still works great with a few leaks here and there.

Heck, I'm a bit older than that and I have a few leaks here and there too!

Our site at Toketee Camground is also dry camping.  In this case, there is no water at all at the campground as well as no dump station.

A very nice, if quiet, campground.  This was $5 per night for us old folks.