Location: Collier State Memorial Park, Oregon
I headed out for my first solo road trip, without Ned. It was bittersweet knowing that I left my favorite travel buddy behind and it did tug at my heart to see him waving me off in the rearview mirror. (If you're reading this send lots of energy and prayers to Ned that he'll kick this thing and be back in the saddle again!) Ned was a sweetheart making sure I knew all the ins and outs of the Winniemobile, how to change a bike tire, hang up a hammock, etc. to the point that I got a couple of lessons on how to tie a bowline and half hitch knots. Looks like I'll just have to put up a hammock to prove to him that I can do it!
The trip thru Northern California was gorgeous, especially when I rounded the bend and saw Mt. Shasta, in all her glory, covered in snow. Very rarely have I seen the top of this mountain without clouds chopping off the upper half. What a treat! I passed the time listening to an audio book, "The Fruit of the Tree" by Edith Wharton. Yes, a definite guilty pleasure listening to some of my favorite classics. (I have several queued up for the trip including Tolstoy and Jane Austen. Ned I bet you aren't missing this so much now!) I also really enjoyed the drive up highway 97, thru the high desert meadow. Just for the heck of it I decided to take business 97 and do a tour thru Klamath Falls. It's been many years since I've seen this town and I forgot about all the low brick buildings, quiet streets and half deserted logging operations around the lake. After 6 hours on the road, I pulled into Collier Memorial State Park in Chiloquin, Oregon and called it home for tonight.
This State Park has one of the largest logging museums and I was really looking forward to checking it out. There is a nice bike path that leads from the campground to the logging site. It meanders along Spring Creek and the Williamson River. It is really very pretty. I included some pictures below. I spent a couple of hours hanging out at the logging museum. It's an outdoor museum where you can visit a logging camp and then see the progression of logging in the area, from the first immigrants clearing the forest by hand, to the history of the steam engine and then the later day equipment. It's free and quite interesting. I'd say if you are ever traveling on highway 97 it's definitely worth a stop. Ned and my Uncle Bud would just love seeing all the old equipment. Most of it has been fully restored and there are detailed write ups on everything.
I spent the rest of the afternoon riding my bike around the various paths in the state park and checking out the river. The campground is nicely wooded, with very few people camped here - perhaps half a dozen in my loop and a bit more in the loop for the big boy RV's. Tonight there is a 9pm show at the ampitheatre called "Logging on the Move." I'm thinking of sneaking some wine in my coffee cup and moseying on over to check it out.
