Blogs from Medford, Oregon, United States, North America - page 2

Tuesday August 17, 2010: We'd happily stayed an extra day at Rocky Point, Klamath Lake, because the weather predicted for the Medford area on Monday was 100 degrees and we figured our day there would be hard enough without battling heat. First of all, Phil had to vote. His absentee ballot for the Australian federal election had gotten to Portland after we'd left, so we'd picked a small town in southern Oregon and asked Sky to send it to that post office as a “general delivery” so Phil could pick it up there. The little town was called “White City” and it was on our projected pathway to Medford. Luck was with us! We found the post office in a commercial center next door to a laundromat, which we also needed, and a food store—and as ... read more

In a time where natural disasters are happening all over the world and people are looking for a way to give back, Dogs for the Deaf offers something for everyone. Located in Southern Oregon, Dogs for the Deaf has been rescuing and professionally training dogs to assist people and enhance their lives for over 30 years. Those of you who know me, know that I grew up in Southern Oregon. You may also know that I have somehow happened across all sorts of animals to rescue - dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, geese, robins, swallows, even snakes. All of these rescues have just been happenstance encounters, but they managed to earn me the nickname "mother nature" and open my eyes to the amazing assistance organizations available for animals in need. Dogs for the Deaf truly exemplifies the ... read more

We arrived in Fortuna, CA after spending a great day riding on winding roads and through Redwood Forests and along the northern coast of California. After supper, we sat in the hot tub for a while then settled in for a few episodes of Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel. Today we went north to Redwood National Park and then Northwest to Medford, OR. We stopped at AAA and picked up some maps that should get us through the rest of our trip. Grace and I were both in kind of a lousy mood this morning when we started out and had a few sharp words with each other, but I think the Redwoods kind of took the stress out of the situation. We were soon happy and holding hands. After spending some time at the Redwood ... read more

Medford is the western terminus of State Highway 62 - the Crater Lake Highway - and the western anchor for my research. The road has been straightened, widened, and realigned over its nearly 100 year existence but for the most part, modern travelers to Crater Lake follow the same route that the early stagecoaches and auto tourists used in the beginning of the 20th Century. The road passes through a handful of small communities, most of which have faded into the side of the road as time and tourists have rolled on - though a few have improved their standing with natural amenity related developments. The area had been based in timber during past decades but with the decline of the large scale timber economies in the west (due mostly to regulations) many towns and counties ... read more

Tim and Tom: We have made our way down so far as Medford via Crater Lake National Park. We stayed in a motel last night with a gym and an indoor pool/spa so that has kind of set the standard for our last few days on our way down to San Fransisco, yes we have become motel snobs! The ability to work out and also swim and lounge around in the spa has been a god send. It is just the luxury that we have been needing. These places do not have kitchens so we have found ourselves living out of restaurants of various quality for a few days and the meals are usually very large with soup and salad as standard at a reasonable price. After a little rain dance from myself (Tim) in the ... read more