Linda & I are planning to make WCR a "Southern Oregon" vacation and hang around the area for a few days both before and after the event. Of course the local wineries are on the list and we'll be visiting the coast.

Linda is a quilter and there are lots of quilt shops in the area. On Sunday we're planning to go to the Rogue Valley Quilt Guild show (which takes place Saturday & Sunday. Are there any other quilters in the families that are coming?

Sunday is also a classic car show in Rogue Vally that is part of a weekend celebration called "Rogue River Rooster Crow". The Chamber of Commerce site has this info about it:
Rooster Crow Car Show
Sunday continues with the Rooster Crow Car Show for all of our antique car enthusiasts and more Boat racing for you thrill seekers. We have lots of winners, door prizes and car clubs are welcome! For more information, please contact the Chamber office at (541) 582-0242.

Anyone else know of any events or sites to take in during the week before & after WCR 2011?

Only 2 things to do in Oregon. Both start with the letter F, one of them is Fishing...




If you have time, drive out to the coast. From Coos Bay to Florence is beautiful. Just south of Florence is Dunes National Monument. The largest sand dunes on the West Coast. Just north of Florence are some cool Elephant Seal caves to see. Florence itself is a quaint little town on a river.

We're planning to spend the time before WCC camped at Bandon - doing lots of relaxing, reading, bicycling, and taking the teener south to the quilt shop in Port Orford. We love the Oregon coast.

The other 'F' would be Frying, right?

I'm a fifth generation native of Southern Oregon. My family came here in 1854. At the age of 62, I've lived in all three population centers of the Rogue River Valley, Medford (where I was born) Grants Pass (where I was married) and Ashland (where I currently live, went to undergraduate school, and raised my children).

Here's a few of the things to do and see here:

1. We have 6 wilderness areas surrounding our area.
2. We have 3 wild and scenic rivers: The Rogue, The Illinois and the Klamath. Anyone for some whitewater rafting? Or if you're more sedate, a jet-boat trip.
3. We have Crater Lake National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, Lava Beds Nationall Monument, and Klamath-Siskiyou National Monument
4 We're two hours from the ocean on a road full of twisties. (Hwy 199 out of Grants Pass)
5. We have 6 wildlife refuges in the Klamath Basin.
6. We have a Tony Award winning theatre with 11 plays in repertoire, or we have a cabaret style musical dinner theatre (both in Ashland).
7. We have an all summer long music festival (in Jacksonville). On WCR weekend we'll have Mary Chapin Carpenter on Thursday, America, the 40th Anniversary Tour on Friday, and on Saturday The Charlie Daniels Band. It's one of the only venues where you can take in your own picnic dinner and your own wine or beer.
8. On the way to Crater Lake you can stop off at the "Holy Waters" (after Shady Cove but before Prospect) to do some catch and release fly fishing on the Rogue.
9. There's a wine trail (through the Applegate Valley) to sample some of the best red wines in the world.
10. There's at least three micro-breweries producing some of Oregon's best brews.
11. There's a free Thursday night concert in the park or a Monday ballet in the park, the "park" being Lithia Park in Ashland, which was designed by the same man who designed Golden Gate Park.
12. There are several very highly ranked golf courses, one (Bandon Dunes) rated in the top 5 in the world.

This will all be within a two hour drive of the WCR 2011 HQ

If you want I can direct you to several roads with many spectacular curves and twisties. My favorite will take you on a 3000 foot climb in 13 miles, then you can return to the valley via another 3000 foot drop on a different road. I can show you where to find the high speed return from Crater Lake or tip you off as to where to soak nude in a hot spring.

Please don't tell me there's nothing to do in Southern Oregon.

See you at the WCR 2011 with my 99% finished 914/6 conversion. One family ownership since new.

Returning to lurk mode........

Mike

You should come out of lurk mode more often!

There are also the Oregon Dunes that I heard are alot of fun...

We could all stand in the unemployment line with the Musician's Friend and Harry and David peeps!

Being that my family lives in the Boise area, just about 20 miles from the Oregon border, one of our favorite pastimes has been avoiding Oregon state troopers

Don't ask me how I know.

Hi Eric!!

You wrote:



Harry & David got their bankruptcy plan approved yesterday. It's the same old story: local company with absentee owner (John Holmes, son of founders Harry & David Holmes) sells out to the Amway founders, who in turn sell out to Yamaneuchi, an overseas corp. They in turn sell out to Wasserstein & Company, a corporation that buys companies on speculation. At each level of this chain, profit is taken and the local company is saddled with debt. Now Wasserstein adds salt to the wound by taken enormous amounts of $$$ and almost immediately pushing H&D into bankruptcy at the expense of a lot of local creditors.

Musicians Friend's problems are nearly the same, except the company is taking about 1/2 the work force to L.A.

Mike

I know this doesn't apply directly to you if you're driving in from Boise.

But be aware if you are driving in on I-5 from the south. There are undercover cars, motorcycles, as well as marked cars. I-5 is a major drug corridor, so the first 15 miles into Oregon are pretty much saturation patrolled. There's at least one major bust each week. Usually Meth, but sometimes Cocaine, and seasonally, Marijuana.

I live in Ashland, across the valley to the west of I-5. I see the busts all times of the day or night from my house . They methodically dismantle the vehicles looking for the hidden stashes, using dogs to find them.

Oregon's speed limit is 65MPH on I-5, which drops to 55MPH in the "urban" areas of Portland, Salem, Eugene, and Medford.

Mike

Isn't it 55 just north of the CA border? Been a while since we were up there, but it seems to me it was. Speed trap city .............

The Cap'n

Hi There Cap'n!!

It's been a long time!!

You wrote:




Your right, I'd forgotten that. As soon as you cross the California/Oregon border the speed through the mountains drops to 55. It goes to 65 at around MP 11. Then at MP 27 (the first Medford exit) it drops to 55 again. Just after exit 31 (the end of the "urban" area) it goes back up to 65.

Hope you and the very fair Lynn are doing well.

Mike

Oregon Caves sounds pretty cool and Cave Junction has this place called Taylors Sausage that sounds like it is worth the drive just to go there. We'll be staying at Valley of the Rogue State Park so this will be a great 914 day trip.

Hi Thin!!

Yep Taylor's Sausage is great stuff. Take an appetite, there's more types than you can imagine, samples, and a really good deli counter too.

If you like food, be sure and stop by Front Street in Central Point (about 8 miles from WCR HQ) There you'll find The Rogue Creamery, a cheese factory that multiple times has won best Bleu Cheese in the WORLD. (ask for "Crater Lake Bleu" it's the particular type that won the prize). Google Rogue Creamery on the net, you'll find their website (ahem!! designed by my son who's an e-commerce pro) Next door is Lillibel Chocolates which will make you think you've died and gone to heaven. Between Medford and Ashland is Rising Sun Farms, which sells all sorts of goodies, many of which are only available at their store or the Neiman-Marcus catalog. (Rising Sun website also designed by my son)



Mike

I too am planning a run down the coast north to south, possibly staying in Bandon before thursday. Golf if it isnt $250/ round. I'll be in the RV towing the teener.

We'll be in space B57 at Bullards Beach State Park Sunday through Thursday nights. We're towing the 914 behind the Eurovan Camper.

I knew there was a rea$on that I don't play golf!

Last time I came through there I had a CB with me. Saved me a ticket just listening to the drivers heading north talking about the "bear backed up an on-ramp at mile marker 17". When I checked the next marker I was at 18, doing a pretty good clip...