Oregon’s backcountry: valleys, rivers and mountains

From Coos Bay we drove the Umpqua River Scenic Byway, a winding route passing through beautiful wooded landscape.

Following a pre-arranged, tight itinerary we checked out different places on our way and succeeded to always be on time, though we experienced a couple of no-shows and mix-ups this day. Met with interesting people like Nancy from Big K Ranch, a beautiful historic Guest Ranch in Elkton, visited the Douglas County Museum, an amazingly huge and multifaceted museum in an unusual building, we stopped by at Seven Feathers Resort and Casino,operated by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. This is one of nine federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments in the State of Oregon with nearly 1600 members.

Final destination: The Weasku Inn in Grants Pass – built in 1924 as a fishing lodge on the banks of the Rogue River, was a popular vacation retreat for stars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, and Walt Disney.

After our hosted dinner at Roux 26 in downtown night was short. At 8 am on wednesday morning we met with Dave West, Native American and Professor of Native Americans at Southern Oregon University in the Lodge. Only wished we would have had more time to discuss the situation of the indians in Oregon with him! Beautiful drive through the Applegate Valley with its many wineries and institutions like the Pennington Farms – a berry farm which focuses on rare and flavorful varieties of berries like loganberries, marionberries, huckleberries etc. Mike, co-owner at Valley View Winery, then gave us a tour through his winery and vineyard in a beautiful setting. They produce a variety of wines like Tempranillo, Cabernet Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends (one for only $ 9,95!).

Jacksonville is a quaint little (wild west) town, the second oldest city in Southern Oregon, over 150 years old with its entire downtown area on the National Historic Registry.

Neat shops, restaurants (Back Porch Bar & Grill - texan-style BBQ) and hotels (as the Jacksonville Inn), excellent coffee (Bold Bean Coffee Roasters) and great beer (Schoolhaus Brewhaus). And, they do have a very popular openair concert series: the Brit Festival.

Adventure next: A horseback ride on the Flying L Ranch in Ashland. Leslie Hunter, the owner, had the horse trailer ready when we showed up. Fortunately she had chosen the perfect horses for us: Sophie (nicknamed "Sofa" because of being so big and comfortable) and Forrest, Quarter/Paint Horses. The fact that both were bridled in English style (and saddles were sort of "english" as well) was a bit confusing to us at the beginning, having just ridden western style before. Since the horses always stopped to eat fresh grass it’s been tough for us to get them walking very fast. Kicking didn’t help much, but it gave us time to marvel at the rolling hills around Ashland.

We were happy that our hotel, the Lithia Springs Resort in Ashland, had a nice large hot tub inside the suite. It consists of cottages on nicely manicured grounds, has a spa, offers afternoon tea service, hot breakfast - and that all for reasonable rates! Already the indians appreciated the place for its healing waters. Mineral warm springs (94°F) are piped from deep underneath the hotel into private soaking tubs deep. Exactly what we needed after the ride!