Hairy Manzanita

We planted some Hairy Manzanita today. We have a dry bank area that has not been a good location for boxwood that we had planted, too much sun and needs too much watering. In thinking about something native that might work in that location, Hairy Manzanita came to mind. It’s a shrub that we enjoy seeing when hiking, and it seems to do well with lots of sun in rocking areas. It turned out to be hard to find any one who stocked this plant, but finally found them at Wallace Hansens’s Northwest Native Pants in Salem.

Grape Harvest

We are back home in Elkton with cool foggy mornings, and warm sunny afternoons. The grape harvest is now in full swing. Jeanette is shown here emptying Gewurztraminer grapes into a tote while working for Anindor Vineyards at the Elkton Vineyard of River's Edge Winery.

Change In Weather

There seems to have been a change in the weather, the summer temps are gone, snow has fallen in the high Cascades and in the highway passes. Pine needles have been falling like rain for the past several days here on the Metolius. We will be pulling out of Camp Sherman today for a couple of days in Salem/Dallas for various things and then on to Elkton on Friday afternoon. The Santiam Pass shows no snow this morning on the road cam, so it’s the day to head over. We feel like we have milked the last of summer out of a very pleasant stay in Central Oregon. Our timing seems perfect; all the sites in Black Butte RV Park were we have been staying will be taken starting tonight with hunters.

Camp Sherman Store

Camp Sherman is the hub of activity in the Metolius River Recreation Area, and the Camp Sherman Store is the very center of that hub. It is a must stop. We have been enjoying coffee and pastries, great sandwiches, groceries and fishing supplies this past week.

One-Month Anniversary

Today marks the one-month anniversary of taking delivery of our new Holiday Rambler. We have lived in it every day since, except for four days when we had to be back in Elkton for the Fort Umpqua Days Pageant. The major places we have camped have been Silver Falls State Park, Champoeg State Park, Diamond Lake Campground, and here at Black Butte RV Park on the Metolius River.

The Metolius River

Jeanette and I are here on the Metolius River for a week to enjoy its crystal clear waters, hike its scenic trails, and enjoy the great fall colors. There is probably no other area I have returned to so consistently in the past 40 years as the Metolius River. I have fly fished it clear waters, hiked, mt biked, and backpacked the river-side trails, camped in tents, campers, vans, trailers, and motor homes in every campground. It still captures my attention and casts a spell of awe with its beauty.

Crater Lake

On Tuesday morning, the wind was blowing at Diamond Lake so strong that Dan and I agreed not to go fishing. Instead, a bunch of us decided to go up to Crater Lake for the day. Friend Eddie Harrod showed up in time to go with us. We enjoyed a tour of the rim road, and concluded with a wonderful lunch at Crater Lake Lodge. Pictured are Dan, Charlene, Eddie, Michael, Jeanette, & Melissa.