Sunday, August 7, 2016

Family Time in Roseburg, OR

We've spent the last two and a half weeks in Roseburg, Oregon, home of my daughter Chantal and her hubby, James. This visit was a long time coming; we skipped Oregon altogether in 2015 and although Chantal spent a week in San Diego this past winter, her visit was prompted by my mothers serious health issues. This stay in Roseburg was especially sweet because my dad spent the first five days with us as well.

We stayed at our favorite local RV park: On the River Golf and RV Park. It's very close to Chantal and overlooks the South Umpqua River. Golf enthusiasts be warned: the golf course is a very short six holes!

This time we got a site backing up to the river. Though the neighbors are fairly close, we had a nice expanse of lawn behind our rig and terrific views of the river. We enjoy hiking up the mountain behind the RV park (they own over 100 acres) to pick buckets of blackberries and search for the Scottish Highlander cattle that roam the hillside.

Site #8 with the lovely grassy area and river behind us.

View of the South Umpqua River behind our site.
Dad and Hans try to reason with a Scottish Highlander cow.

They all have these wonderful horns.

The stock ponds were full of lillies...and photobombing frogs!

One of many days picking blackberries.

Chantal joined us after work one evening at the weekly summer concert in nearby Myrtle Creek.

Chantal and her grandfather.

Chantal is an extremely crafty woman and she taught me how to wet felt one afternoon...so fun!

Wet felting is best done outdoors, it is messy!

Every time we visit Chantal and James we like to do some projects around their property. This time we had the pleasure of riding a lawnmower for the first time...us city slickers had only used push mowers before. We were excited we arrived just before mowing was outlawed for the rest of the summer due to fire hazard!




We accomplished several projects during our stay, the largest being demolition of the old garden shed and wood bin. James will build a new larger structure, hopefully before the rainy season begins.

This has got to go!

Six intense hours over two days and it was cleared!

We made a quick weekend getaway to Portland with Chantal, where we saw a local surf band, Satan's Pilgrims.

Mother and daughter rocking out to the Satan's Pilgrims!

Our hiking days have been limited for the past couple of months because I've been battling a bout of plantar fasciitis. We only managed one real hike during our stay in Roseburg, but it was a beauty. The North Umpqua River flows into Roseburg from the Cascade Mountains and there are 79 miles of trail along the river, we hiked a few miles of the western end of the trail.

We loved being back in healthy green forest.

Many varieties of salmon run the North Umpqua, though we did not see any at this time.

Deadline Falls may be a good place to watch for salmon when we pass through here again in October.

I've seen  photos of salmon jumping the pounding center of the flow!



Tomorrow will be bittersweet as we move north to Eugene. It's been wonderful to spend some quality time with Chantal and James...but it's also good to be on the move again!

17 comments:

  1. We love that part of Oregon! Have even thought of buying a lot at the Escapees Park there. We will try to visit the park in November when we're in Oregon for Thanksgiving.

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    1. We've not been to the Escapees park since we like to stay near Chantal. There are a LOT of RV parks around here!

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  2. Beautiful waterfalls, a magical spot to share with your daughter.

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  3. Those felted bowls look awesome ! Hope your foot heals soon, I can relate my knee still bothers me and I was so ready to play tennis this winter. Safe travels !

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  4. Looks like you've been having a great time since you left San Diego. Hope your foot feels better soon. Must be driving you crazy not to be able to hike!

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  5. What a wonderful spot to call home for a couple weeks! Dad practicing his cow whispering? Looks intimidating!! Fun catch of the frog with the beautiful lily - the flower looks fake, it's so perfect. I spent too many hours on a riding mower on our ranch.....but it was still fun most of the time. Glad you could get out to hike near the water, it's a really pretty area.

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  6. What a great RV park, right along the river. I've never spent any time in Roseburg, but like the trail you chose for a hike. Looking forward to meeting you later this month. :)

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  7. So glad you had a wonderful time with Chantal and James and had your dad along for awhile:) Nothing like daughter time:) I haven't seen Jessica since Christmas, the longest time since we've been on the road. I love that photo of your dad trying to reason with the bull:) Wow! You were in blackberry heaven...yum! Great photos of the Deadline Falls. I would love to see the salmon jumping out of the water. Let's hope they are running when you return in Oct. Sure hope your foot gets better real soon. I know it must be driving you crazy to be off the trail. Enjoy Eugene!

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  8. So sorry to hear about the foot. I've had that and it's so painful and there doesn't seem to be a quick fix. Oregon has to be one of the prettiest states in the US. I'm looking forward to future posts to see what you are up to.

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  9. So very happy to read all is good and you had a nice visit with Chantal and James. That was a beautiful hike along the Umpqua River...sure hope those salmon are jumping in October. Oregon (and Washington) remain at the top of my list. I so want to visit there. Can't wait to see where you park next. I just know it will be gorgeous and I will be drooling !

    Safe travels you two...enjoy!

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  10. What a beautiful view behind your site and buckets of blackberries. I'm sold! I envy you being able to visit your daughter in such a lovely place. My daughter lives in the DC area. SIGH! So sorry to hear you have plantar fascitis but glad it is improved enough for you to take that fantastic hike. So much water in a place with such a drought. I would love to see the salmon there. Had to laugh about your excitement with the riding mower. Wish you'd lived near us, we'd have given you all the mowing you wanted to do. If you happen to be stopping by Virginia in the fall, we could clearly use your help with taking down the old barn. Nice job.

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  11. Blackberries!! We left Oregon too soon. The waterfalls look great. Hope your foot is better soon.

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  12. We've spent many happy weekends camping along the Umpqua—your photos of the river are beautiful!. Looks like you had a wonderful visit with Chantal and James, and how sweet to share the time with your dad. Love your felted bowl—I've been wanting to learn how to felt! Hope your foot is better soon—Eric had a bout of plantar fasciitis a few years ago, and icing his foot really helped.

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  13. Looks like a lovely place that your daughter and hubby have. The river and falls looks like a great place to hike. Hope your foot improves soon Lisa. I haven't had plantar fasciitis myself but know several friends who have. Felting seems to be the rage right now. I have a couple friends who we visited who were working on felted projects. Your bowl is lovely.

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  14. I can feel the frustration of not being able to hike. I think plantar fasciitis will just heal in time, I had that ailment during my working days and it really hurts. Hopefully yours will heal in time as well.
    Family bonding and family time is precious in our lifestyle so I m sure you are enjoying helping out Chantal and James. You and Hans looked like farmers :)

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  15. On the road again . . . . AWESOME! Looking forward to more pictures and stories. Take care of the feet and remember your exercises for them - that works for me. Knowing how much you love to hike, it's a sad day when Lisa can't get out there . . . BUT, better days are to come. Have fun and be safe.

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