First Morning

We are now set up at Collier Memorial State Park, site 2A.  This morning we took our first morning hike and enjoyed the bright sunshine on the yellow aspens. We hiked the Williamson River Loop Trail, which convenient enough looped right back to our campsite. There are way more trails here than I anticipated; I think we are set for a grand time.

Packing Day

Today we are packing up the motor home for our next volunteer assignment at Collier Memorial State Park.  The challenge is to take all the clothes we will need for the month, bearing in mind that we will have sub-freezing mornings and hot afternoons. We will leave in the morning stopping in Grants Pass to have a heavy-duty anti-sway bar installed by Henderson’s Line Up.  If the work is finished in time we will head on over the Cascades to Collier in the afternoon.

Turkeys

Although the songbirds have fled south for the winter, there are still plenty of Turkeys hanging around Elkton.  They are in fact permanent residents, and continually roam the streets and yards. Possibly Elkton’s biggest nuisance, they dig up the flowerbeds and poop in the streets, and on the sidewalks. Come Thanksgiving, there should be no excuse for an empty table in Elkton.

Last Rays of Summer

We have certainly been having some glorious sunshine in these last retreating days of summer. This family of Western Pond Turtles is shown here on Elk Creek taking advantage of the sun to soak up some of its heat. Dad is probably shown at the top, males have a flatter shell shape. Mom is in the middle; females have a more rounded shell. And the smaller one at the bottom is probably a juvenile based on its size.

Missing Songbirds

Fall seems a little quiet now.  The songbirds of summer have left our area to head south for the winter.  I did manage to see and photograph this lone female Lesser Goldfinch on a hike we did today on Schad Road, but gone are the numerous variety of finches, sparrows, and swallows we would normally see and hear on a daily basis.  I have been missing their sweet songs for several days now. The days seem conspicuously quite to me. I don’t remember missing them in years past. Perhaps it comes with age, this sensitivity to the absent.   My guess is that some of the subtle changes of seasons may go unnoticed in the rush of life for the vibrantly young.  

Our Next Gig

Here is the latest news on our next gig - - we will be volunteering at Collier Memorial State Park for the month of October, were we have the assignment of manning the gift shop. Collier State Park is located along Highway 97, 30 miles north of Klamath Falls or 100 miles south of Bend. The possibility came up this weekend, I worked on it yesterday, and today everything came together. The campground sits at the confluence of Spring Creek and the famous Williamson River. I’ll be packing my fly fishing gear, and I’m sure visions of huge rainbow trout will be interrupting my sleep pattern for some nights to come.

Dan & Charlene

Our friends Dan & Charlene Lawry came to visit us this weekend in Elkton.  They are shown here with their camper in the Elkton RV Park right on the Umpqua River.  We got in a good walk with the dogs early this afternoon, but with the rain showers we opted to spend the rest of the afternoon wine tasting.  We did some tasting at Anindor Vineyards and at River’s Edge Winery. Great way to spend the afternoon, and we stayed dry!