Southwest Oregon Trip: Crater Lake to Galice

After having a brief roadside lunch at Crater Lake, we continued south out of the park and then west on route 62 until we met up with the Rogue River just north of Farewell Bend Park. Our thought process was to perhaps find a brewpub in Grants Pass to hole up at before continuing west along the river to our cabin in Galice. There at the Galice store on Thursday morning, we would meet our rafting crew.

Leaving Crater Lake National Park in our rear view mirror, we saw a directional sign for the Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint at Union Bridge and decided it might be worth stopping. Just off the highway, we pulled into the parking lot and on exiting the car, the heat hit us smack in the face. Having just come from the cool temperatures at more than 7000 feet, we were not prepared for the day that was going to see every bit of 100 degrees at river level. The heat was brutal and the humidity along the river did not help.

The Rogue River, which starts up near where we just were at Crater Lake, runs roughly west to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach. In this short section where we stopped, the river has etched a narrow passage into the lava, perhaps along the course of a lava tube, and in places this gorge is less than ten yards across. Just downstream of this location, the river dives underground into lava tube at Natural Bridge. After walking about here, we did not stop there.

Rogue River at Exit from Gorge

Moss in the Sunlight

Ripening Cascade Oregon Grapes, Berberis nervosa

Annie Photographing a Paintbrush, Castilleja sp.

Boykinia major

Western Maidenhair Ferns on Gorge Wall, Adiantum aleuticum

After our little walk in the hot, hot sun, we found ourselves once again headed west along the river and a good bit ahead of schedule for our 4 p.m. arrival in Galice. So, as we drove and found little pockets of signal here and there, Ann searched for a brewpub where we could sit and have a refreshing beer before pushing on. Of the limited number of options in Grants Pass, she picked Weekend Beer Company.

Adult Refreshment in Grants Pass

After our beer, we headed out into the scorching parking lot to complete the final part of our drive west along the Rogue River to our cabin in Galice. The further west we pushed, the smokier the day became and the more alien to me the plant life became. For example, the manzanitas along the road are taller and more vertical than ours and have silvery leaves rather than shiny green leaves, a result of the fine hairs on them. This was my first time seeing Hairy Manzanita, Arctostaphylos columbiana.

Heading into this part of the world for my first ever visit, I was pretty sure I would see a new type of tree to me, the Pacific Madrone, Arbutus menziesii. I was not sure how common or rare they might be. In the end, they were everywhere along with at least a couple different kinds of live oak (evergreen oak) that I could not identify while driving. We were at last far enough from home that I felt like I was in a different world. I would have ample opportunities to explore these plants while on the river over the next three days.

Stopping at the store at the Galice boat ramp, we got ourselves checked in for our cabin, received a key, and then drove up the steep winding driveway above the river to our cabin for the evening. Situated in the woods in the thick smoke, there was no chance of a view. We did give it the old college try on the front porch of the cabin, but the lack of view, the smoke, and the oppressive heat quickly changed our minds.

We noted that it was less smoky and cooler at river level than up a hundred or so feet at our cabin, so we decided to drive down to the boat ramp. Ann always keeps a folding picnic table and a couple of low chairs in her car, so it was our aim to set up shop in the river, drink a beer or two, and eat dinner as the sun set in the river gorge.

Too Smoky at the Cabin

Outside our Cabin, a Pacific Madrone, Arbutus menziesii

Exfoliating Madrone Bark

Pre-Dinner Beer on the Rocks in the River

Fancy Riverside Dinner: Cheese, Salami, Rosemary Crackers

Dessert: Himalayan Blackberries, Rubus armeniacus

One of the things we miss from living in the Willamette Valley is the copious thickets of highly invasive yet highly delicious Himalayan Blackberries. The Rogue Valley has its share of these wickedly thorny berries and we would gorge ourselves silly on them for dessert and at opportune times over the next three days.

At dusk, we packed all our things and headed back up the hill to our cabin, where the wall-mounted AC unit was screaming to do its job against the heat. After quick showers, we turned in to be ready for our 8:30 a.m. rendezvous with our crew down the hill at the store.