Art Along the Rogue

We cruised up to Grants Pass making sure to stop for lunch at the Honeysuckle Cafe because breakfast was so good there the previous weekend.  We'd heard it was "Art Along the Rogue" weekend so we went to see.  It's essentially a block party downtown where all manner of activity takes place:  live music, a beer garten, and live art going on before your eyes.  4' x 4' squares are marked out on the street  in masking tape so artists can chalk in their version of art. 2' x2' squares are also available for kids to chalk their inspirations. Some folks had serious talent and ambitious designs.  The one I wanted most to see finished, but didn't stay, was a 3-D trompe l'oeil where it looks like a rabbit is peeking out from a hole in the middle of the street.

At Blind George's Newstand, for almost 100 years, they've been piping the smell of the freshly popped corn through the front window out to the streets to lure in customers. It worked for us.

We could only hit 2 of the 18 Applegate Valley wineries on the way home:  DeWitt Winery and Fiasco Winery. Fiasco, closer to home and with a bit more ambience to the tasting parlor also had some grape vines growing right in the front yard.  The owner said they were more "eye candy" for visitors as the deer decimate them before anyone could actually make wine from them.  It was a good day!

they didn't call it 'Catching the Rogue'

"Fishing the Rogue"

In our 6 weeks in Oregon we still hadn't been fishing. We made a point of getting our licenses at the local Bi-Mart (a Marden's equivalent).  I had run out to the car to get my wallet for photo ID so that I could partake as well, and imagine my surprise at the $80 bill.  I remarked, "WHOA! $40 each??" and Judd remarked, "No, $80 each!"  

YIKES-- we better get fishing!



Judd thought our first trip would be better from a boat. We left our boat in Maine. We researched it a bit and Judd rented a drift boat with a guide for half a day. When the guide asked 'salmon or steelhead,' we just said BIG, so we can send pics back to the Maine fishermen. We agreed to meet Charlie at the Gold Hill post office (20 min from our house.)  We set the alarm for 5am (earlier than our work alarms now) and it was pitch black out even at 6:15 at the appointed rendezvous site.  I was sure he must have meant 6:15pm rather than am.  How were we even going to see the fish in the dark?  But Charlie found us and found the river via headlamp, just as the sun was starting to crest over the hill. The boat came with a propane space heater, cushioned seats for 2 fisherpeople, drink holders, warm cinnamon rolls and an ice chest. The guide sat behind us and did all the work. 

Charlie and his partner Brady have matching drift boats. They had a little competition going on to see who posts the biggest fish on the website the next day.  The boats are shallow and  flat for going down the river even when it gets shallow/rocky. Of course the water gets choppy and white over some of the rocks and Charlie switches out from motoring to rowing/steering.  Charlie used to be a rafting guide and when I mentioned I don't do white water, he thought I'd had a bad rafting experience.  I assured him I had NO rafting experience and that's the way I liked it. He said we wouldn't be doing more than Class 1 rapids so I stopped stressing, until the next one. Then my class 1 white knuckles matched the class 1 white water. Judd thought it was hysterical (or histrionic.) 

We had a lovely boat ride. We practiced bobbing for salmon. Charlie baited huge hooks with a stinky linen-like sac of old tuna and red fireballs which hung 3 inches above another huge hook. His neoprene overalls were ablaze with the red stuff. He was also wearing an electric vest which was our first hint that the last day of September is cold on the river.  The space heater ran out of propane half way through the morning.  It was the last day of salmon season which means they're not really into eating (tuna, red balls or hooks)--they're interested in spawning.  So they totally ditched us.  We switched out rods to different massive hooks for steelhead.  No bobbing--just letting the current float the lures out.  I got something to wiggle my line but no one, except Brady's fisherguy in the other boat, caught a fish.  Oh, some dudes were sitting in a boat on the bank and fly fishing but snagging a fish on it's back is considered cheating or something.  Charlie did not have good names for those dudes. Charlie was very apologetic that he didn't get us to land anything and gave us a discount (a skunk sticker on his card) for "the next time we go out with him."  He goes to the coast for November so it might not be til next April, after we pay that slight fee for a 2018 fishing license! Great website and trip
 http://www.fishingtherogue.com/

We wanted to camp to try out our two new camping cots á la Krummel advice.  They just barely fit in the tent lengthwise (the tents, not the Krummels) but there was a nice aisle between them for our travel coffee table so we could play cribbage inside if we wanted to. The purchase of 12 tennis balls which Judd axed up before we left made cushions for the feet of the cots but seemed superfluous since the cots already had intentionally soft feet, knowing they'd be going in a tent. Wonder if there's an alternative use for 12 hacked tennis balls.

We thought camp would be close enough that we could walk to one or more of the 18 Applegate Wineries, but it wasn't.  In fact, by the time we drove all the way to California (part of Applegate Lake abuts the Golden State) we only had time for one winery. (Tasting rooms are generally open noon to 5pm.) Cricket Hill tasting is in a garage kind of space at the vineyard where the husband has quit his day job and is busy growing grapes and making the wine.  The wife 'mans' the tasting bar. She said she can't afford to quit her day job. The walls had the most beautiful art made of slats of barrel wood crimped with all manner of copper and metal. It was my favorite part of this winery. The art, oh,  and the wine.

Judd photographing Oregon's biggest cash crop:  "medicinal gems"

Big and Little Applegate are the rivers coming out of Applegate Lake and feeding into the Rogue. We were pretty stunned at how low the water level was in Applegate Lake. The campgrounds there were closed for the season. We went back north 20 min to the
Jackson campground and found a nice tent site right  on the banks of the Applegate River. A pretty uneventful night except for Judd politely telling some yahoo that no RVs in the tent sites meant he should turn around and go up to the parking lot where the RVs were. I was surprised to awake to the RV still right in the tent site.

We stopped at what looked like a tiny diner: Honeysuckle Cafe in Ruch for Sunday morning brunch. It was fabulous and every table was full by the time we left. Then it was just 20 min home to Jacksonville for mundane things like housework and homework and not posting fish pics.

Applegate Lake (must have had water in the spring)

That's California over them there hills

How much Boy Scout popcorn can you buy?

On the way home from Mt. Ashland, we stopped for hiking maps/fishing advice. The helpful clerk said:  go somewhere else, they're hunters here but not too much fishing stuff.  She then cited 4 places we could go instead, including for our fishing license.  The best author for guide books:  Sullivan, was sold out for Southern Oregon.  We did score the equivalence of a Delorme gazatteer.

Our routine is to stop, once a week at Young's organic farm stand for local fruits and veggies and to stop at Albertson's while 1 ginormous load of laundry gets washed at the local lanudramat. ( We still haven't fixed the washer.)  We occasionally hit Trader Joe's for  grocery splurge. There,  a tiny boy scout came up to Judd and asked if he would buy some popcorn goods.  Judd said, "no thank you.  We just bought some from you last week." (We had eaten a bag of Boy Scout caramel corn just the night before but I had purchased that at the local grocer's from an entirely different lad. So, thinking Judd was confused, I corrected him and said, "No, I got that from a different guy at Ray's." Then, turning to the wee boys scout, "can we see YOUR merchandise?"  And while we went back to the car to get our grocery bags, Judd verbally kicked me under the table.  He said he knew it was a different guy but this was his ruse for getting out more mercy corn.  He accused me of this honesty policy gaff twice in the same week, as just last week, when he was negotiating with the car salesman about how much someone downtown was charging, I corrected Judd again. We're going to have to work out a wink-wink or pull-your-earlobe-if-you-know-you're-lying rule or I could see it happening again.  I thought 'honesty was the best policy' but apparently it's not the ONLY policy.

E Clampus Vitis - "a historical drinking society or a drinking historical society?"

Judd and I decided to explore Mt. Ashland, the nearest skiing mountain.  It's about 50 min from our house. They did get snow this week when we got rain but most of it was gone.  We found little patches in the north sided shade of most trees and rocks.  Winding our way down the dirt road past the parking lot, we came to signs that said PCT. I think Judd is lusting after a Pacific Coast Trail hike, especially on a tough school day. We hiked the last 1.5 miles to the 7,532 foot summit. The vegetation is different. Smaller than Maine lupines everywhere that must be lovely in the spring. Manzanita, the low evergreen shrub with red bark that I recall from California, covered the rest of the hills. At the top, a couple ham radio guys were hanging out with their antennae and dogs.  We made one snowball. Wish we'd brought 2 hats. Further south, there was a stupendous really-really snow covered big mountain.  We couldn't identify it but we believe it to be Mt. Shasta in northern California. (can you see it in the pic?)

Getting back to the highway home, we passed over the highest pass on Interstate 5 between Mexico to Canada.  There was a monument that we stopped to read about the history of train robberies and indigenous people and settlers. 

Not recognizing the Latin at the bottom of the monument, I looked it up. Maybe we should become clampers.

where everybody knows your name....

Thursday night --

Take a walk after dinner.  Library?  Naw. A restaurant for dessert we don't want? End up at Stage Cellars-- a tasting room for many local wines.  Wine tasting for dessert can be a thing. We meet John from Arizona with a British accent.  He used to be an engineer....working on the space shuttle..... on the OMS-- they very piece that Judd used to work on at Rockwell.  "small world!"  By now, we're on a first name basis with Autumn the bar maid (is that what she's called in a wine cellar?) We  join the wine club so now we're members of a little walkable, pub-atmosphere place where everybody knows our name and we have to buy bottles a quarter. We started out right by taking 3 bottles home.  (and it's a school night!)


Friday night -- 

C-Street Bistro for early dinner. Only about  4 tables in the entire place so good we made reservations.  Judd has the pulled pork; I have the dungeness crab and pasta-- turns out to be WAY more pasta than crab. Need a box for leftovers.  Walking through town after dinner.  ?Brewhaus? Naw--Oktobertfest starts next week?  winery?  Naw-- did that last night.  A woman walking nearby says there are two movies going on: Dial M for Murder for $20 at the local church theater or the free movie: Ninotchka, at City Hall.  Duh!!  We pick the free movie.  You can make a donation for cookies and tea, which we do. We meet some everyone-is-so-friendly locals but I am becoming acutely sensitive to shaking hands as I believe, and confirm, that the crab-essentially--oily-mac-n-cheese, has exuded through the flimsy cardboard box into my purse, onto my down jacket, onto my scarf, my wallet, and, when I go to check my purse by putting it on my lap, onto my new work pants. We were charmed by the mayor who gives a little historical spiel about Greta Garbo before the movie, and then are amazed by the peals of laughter that accompany the free Tom and Jerry cartoon.  But during the rather ego-centric Orson Wells commentary on the movie, I grab Judd by the sleeve with my crab-smelling hand and say we need to get out of there before the mayor's wife's dog comes after my crotch. Whew!  What an impression we must have made on the neighbors.

from classicmoviestill.com

Cow killers at Table Rock

Judd and I both had Monday off to play with Kelcy.  We went to brunch at Buttercloud Bakery in Medford where they are known for their biscuits.  It was a bit chilly that morning, and a little overcast (with rain clouds not wildfire clouds) so it was a surprising pleasure that the bakery provides thick bright blue fleecy blank-ees so you can still sit outside.  Kelcy chose the " breakfast salad"-- a bed of kale and seeds with a big biscuit on the side.  I had a biscuit "sandwich" with zucchini and roasted red peppers. Judd suddenly felt self-conscious about his vegetarian hash, with a biscuit as it looked as if his veggies were less wholesome than ours.

We found the road 15 min away to the Table Rock mesas.  Driving through the neighborhoods between our house-town, my work-town and Judd's work-town, we can see two big flat buttes around the corner. They are upper Table Rock and lower Table Rock, jointly owned by the Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management. They're both about 2000+ft elevation. (Kelcy, having just hiked in Alaska, was not too impressed with the height or the challenge level, but he was ultimately polite.) There was an easy trail with switchbacks to the top and then about a mile walk straight across the length of the flat top to a view of Medford on the south end. We saw a couple deer and a couple humans -- no dogs allowed. It sprinkled a little but thank goodness, we never encountered a "Cow killer"  pictured on the poster at the trail head.  They are called red velvet ants which are actually in the wasp family and the female's sting is supposed to be REALLY BAD.
http://southernoregon.com/tablerock/

Tuesday, Judd and Kelcy walked to town and Kelcy book-shopped at Rebel Heart Books while Judd got a real ol' fashioned haircut at a real ol' fashioned barber. The barber lady asked, " What will it be,  just a gentleman's haircut?" and Judd said, " splendid." He looked pretty normal at the end; trimming the  errant eyebrows is what makes it gentlemanly.  Judd and Kelcy did the domestic chores like our laundry and shopping and were all ready to cook me up a steak dinner when I got back home from work. We then helped Kelcy purge and pack for his 7am fight to DC.  He purged some massive boots and salami and books, which I said I would mail him later so he didn't have to schlepp them through D.C.  He did repack one of his frozen halibut steaks, wrapped in sweaters, to give Robert and we bubbled wrapped two Rogue Brewfest beer glasses for Kelcy to take with him as party favors. We're going to miss playing tour guides!

Tour guides for a long weekend

Kelcy arrived from Alaska Thur pm, pounds of his self-caught halibut wrapped up in his sweaters.  At the Anchorage airport, they'll refrigerate your catch while you lay over, say, for 24 hours to get the *next* flight to Portland, OR.  Kelcy had slept in an Anchorage airport chair overnight since he was lucky enough to arrive a day early. He was wearing his Carhartt jacket, big rubber boots and a beard the size of Jeremiah Johnson.  I was standing in line with the other chauffeurs who were holding up family names.  My sign said "CHEESE"  so I knew Kelcy would find me. He did.


We had a whirlwind 4.5 day weekend tour of the area. He was home alone Friday to sleep in late, shower, eat the fresh fruit and veggies we left him, while Judd and I had to work.  But Friday night we went to the DANCIN winery, just 1.5 miles from our house.  It has the prettiest logo in all the So Oregon magazines; it is described as the 2017 Oregon winery of the year AND we went the evening of live jazz. A good time was had by all.

Saturday we made Kelcy's day when we got his cell phone reset at Verizon. He has been textless for 6 months, resorting to Facebook messenger only.  When the dude at Verizon got him synched up, it took a while to download all the messages he's missed.  He was incommunicado for a while in the back seat but we got his attention again at the BATTLE OF THE BONES in Central Point.   THAT's a thing.  We went the day of the Brewfest and pulled pork tasting. They carded us, gave us wrist bands and glasses and 6 tickets to go around trying different beers or wines from the area.  AND THEN, we had pre-purchased tickets for the battle:  15 kiosks of pulled pork to taste with varying number of BBQ sauces, and then we got to vote on the favorite!  Very well organized; good clean family fun! WoW!  Kelcy and I voted the place with the best maple bourbon sauce; Judd voted for the place NEXT to the ultimate winners: Smoke and Mirrors. We were too full to eat dinner that night, but after a little down time, we rallied to walk up to the Britt Festival after dark and steal some pics/sounds of the GooGoo Dolls.

Movies we Netflixed all weekend:

Guardians of the Galaxy II

Dr. Strange

Sideways

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men tell no Tales

Battle of the Bones in Central Point:  15 booths of pulled pork to sample with varying degrees of BBQ sauces, and only one ticket to vote for your favorite.   

Kelcy steals a special seat at GooGoo Dolls

Light show at GooGoo DOlls

Shakespeare Festival, Ashland to see amazing live performance of Shakespeare in Love

 Spontaneous wine tasting at Ledger David (on our way home from a hike) Unfortunately, Kelcy really like one of the classier reds  (he is getting a discriminating palate-- dang!)




Back to our kitchen for happy hour with 4 kinds of cheese from the locally famous Rogue Creamery..... and salami. They sell salami too. The taste-testing almost sated us too much for lunch.

Sunday we walked downtown to the Jacksonville Sunday open market.  It's like a mini Common Ground Fair in Jacksonville every Sunday that you can walk to from home.  Of all the arts, crafts, kids' tables, fresh produce, homemade jellies and salsas, food tables, what do you think the Thompson men brought home??   Steak.  Yup.  When's the last time you went to a street fair/craft show and brought home steak? And we had to start timing meals so we could fit in the halibut feast Kelcy brought from Alaska. But we fit it all in.