Waterfall Day

The Stream Below Watson Falls, OR

Wednesday, July 4, Susan Creek BLM Campground, OR -68.0 Miles Today, 9,360.7 For the Trip

Happy 4th Of July!

It did get cold last night - the low was 32°F, but the electric heater kept the trailer at 62°F. As to the mosquitos, they all went away after I got set up. I don't know whether they don't like eastern blood or what, but I was able to sit outside in my chair & read without a bite. By the way, dinner was a good but expensive thin crust Hawaiian Pizza. Tonight it will be grilled chicken & Pasta Alfredo.

Today was waterfall day. The park map at Diamond Lake Campground has a map on the back that shows 6 waterfalls along OR 138. I stopped at the four of them that are just off the main road. Not one of the best days for waterfall photos. Today has been bright & cloudless - they work best on a overcast day - sunlight highlights the white water part of the falls so much that neither film or digital can deal with the dynamic range between the highlight & the shadows. I did include a couple of variations of some of the images...

The first was Clearwater Falls, then Whitehorse Falls, Watson Falls and last Toketee Falls. They ranged from next to the road to a 1/2 mile hike, a couple of which were definite climbs. I also took photos of the cascades & rapids below the falls at some of the locations. I tried to name the area for each, but I could be wrong! Most of the large versions of the images has the EXIF GPS data attached, so if you have a reader you can find the coordinates. At the Toketee Falls trailhead they have a very leaky redwood pipeline. In four of five places there is a stream of water spraying out the side of the pipe. It did hold together long enough for me to hike to the falls! More waterfall photos at today's LakeshoreImages Post.

I stopped for the night in Site 10 at the Susan Creek BLM Campground about 10 miles east of Glide, OR. A very pretty campground along the North Umpqua River. I'm not sure if I'll stay one or two nights - no hook ups, but they do have hot showers. Actually, there is one site that does have electricity at twice the standard rate, which is $14.00 per night (1/2 that for Senior Card holders). I was tempted, but left it for someone who actually needed the AC. Since I'm now 4000' lower than last night I'm hoping it doesn't get quite as cold, but if it does, I have plenty of propane for the furnace.

Till Tomorrow -

Diamond Lake RV Park, OR

Diamond Lake, OR

Tuesday, July 3, Diamond Lake RV Park, OR - 48.6 Miles Today, 9,292.7 For the Trip

I had a nice drive to Diamond Lake up OR 62 & OR 230. I stopped for one photo of a stream along side OR 230.

I'm in Site H8, a full hook up site that overlooks (through a bunch of trees) the lake. If you get to the area, and like ice cream, s stop at the South Shore Pizza Parlor for a Walnut Pistachio waffle core is highly recommended. I asked for a single scoop & they managed to put at least a pint of ice cream in the cone. I'll probably skip cooking & try them for pizza for dinner.

Only problem with the campground is they have lots of mosquitos and somewhat rough, but clean bathrooms. Another problem is they use TengoInternet. While I have been in a few locations where TengoInternet worked well, for the most part is is very slow. I can understand that here in the middle of no where (at least connectivity wise) the internet connection is probably satellite, but I've been in a number of campgrounds with satellite connections & they are better than this. While it is possible to view web pages (although not ones that are heavy on images) it is too slow to upload my images to my ISP. Other than that, a pretty place for a night or two. I am also including a photo of the lake, and, of course, a campsite photo.

While I'll try again later, it may be until tomorrow (or later) before I can update the site. Well, while there was no cell connection when I arrived at the park, I now seem to have one. My WiFi Ranger router tells me it is a 299kbps connection, but it is much slower than that. In any case, it let me upload the images so I'll try the page.

Till Tomorrow -

Joseph H. Stewart State Campground, OR, Day 4

An Osprey Near Lost Lake

Monday, July 2, Joseph H. Stewart State Campground, OR - 28.2 Miles Today, 9,244.1 For the Trip

The first bit of excitement for the day was a trip to Shady Cove to do laundry. Alright, not all that exciting unless it is you that are out of sox, and running low on everything else.

On the way back to the campground I decided to stop at a fish hatchery. I had been passing it up because the one in Oswego only has a run in October; the rest of the year it is open, but nothing going on. Guess what - here on the west coast the salmon run is underway. It is a bigger operation than the one in Oswego, but does much of the same thing - collects fish, separates them by sex & species, treats them for disease, and puts them in storage ponds. Eventually, they collect eggs & milt, and raise fish to be released back in the Rogue River. Pictures at today's LakeshoreImages page.

I also drove up to the dam that creates Lost Lake. On the way back to the campground I found a Osprey nest & got a couple of photos of the resident. The first is a bit soft - I took it at a low ISO with my 2X extender to make my 200mm lens a 400mm so it is wide open at f:5.6. I managed to bump the ISO up to 1250 while the Osprey was circling & am happier with the landing shot.


I haven't decided whether to have left over stew or cook up a couple of the remaining beer brots for dinner. This will be my last night here - tomorrow I'm heading to Diamond Lake.

Till Tomorrow -

Joseph H. Stewart State Park, OR Day 3

Mill Creek, OR

Sunday, July 1, Joseph H. Stewart State Campground, OR - 14.3 Miles Today, 9,215.9 For the Trip

Wow, it has been 2 months! Hard to believe I've been gone that long.

It looks like the internet is back; slow, but it let me post yesterday's page & today's photos. I'll have to finish this to see if today's page gets through. I saw the sign at the Mill Creek Falls parking lot that showed another trail to the "Giant Boulders", so I went back today to see what they were like. Well, they are giant boulders! The Rogue River runs through many of them as it drops into the valley below the Mill Creek Falls. You can walk (or climb) along the river, apparently all the way to the base of the falls. I only followed it a short way. There are many signs that note that the river consists of class IV rapids, including a description of what class IV rapids means. Basically, unless you are an expert, you have to be crazy to kayak the section of the river. Looking at the part near the giant boulders, I'd have to agree.

To add to the huge vertical drop, there are a couple of power plants that can instantly change the amount of water in the river. We have the same problem in Oswego. There is a power plant at the dam below which many fisherman wade the river, particularly during the October salmon run. While there are signs pointing out the problem as well as sirens that go off just before the river rises, there have been a couple of drownings. The utility running the dam tried to set up posts, rafts, signs, etc in the river, but it may have made things worse - the first time the local fire department took their rescue boat up the river it got caught on one of the posts & dumped a couple of fireman into the river.

In any case, I respect rivers that rapidly change volume! There is also a photo of the Mill Creek bridge being replaced. The view from the bridge is great, although I wonder if the house next to it has problems during Spring runoff. Photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Till tomorrow!

Joseph H. Stewart State Campground, OR, Day 2

Saturday, June 30, Joseph H. Stewart State Campground, OR - 28.1 Miles Today, 9,201.6 For the Trip

Not much to report for the day. All I did is drive to Shady Grove, a town about 14 miles south of the campground. They have a fairly good sized market there so I picked up snacks, supplies, and a couple of night's dinners. I spent the rest of the day sitting under the awning reading. I had to move inside - it has rained every day since I've entered Oregon - hope that isn't a sign for the week at Bullard's Beach & I'm hoping it will clear up in time to cook dinner. I do have a couple of simple "indoor" meals, but I prefer cooking outdoors.

No photos for the day - if it is nice tomorrow I may check out the Rogue River above the Mill Creek Falls. I'm not sure how to get to it, but the collection of rapids looks neat.

Well, I may have to wait until morning to post this - at the moment I have no Verizon cell connection. It has been pretty slow here at the campground, but right now - nothing. After many attempts, I managed to post yesterday's update. Not sure how today's will go...

Till Tomorrow -