Wild and Scenic River

Currently In: Prospect, OR
Leaving for Boring, OR outside of Portland tomorrow
We will be in Washington next week and then the tour of National Parks begins

First and foremost, hoping that all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day and took the time to remember those that fought and died for our freedom.  Other than a few Christmas decorations, these 3 little flags were the only other holiday items I brought from Elm Street.  Proud to be able to put them outside our rig today.

Johnny and I spent a lot of time visiting the beauty of the Rogue River while in Prospect.  Because of its beauty and free flowing character, the Rogue was named a Wild and Scenic River by Congress in 1988.

The River was created by the eruption of Mount Mazama along with subsequent snow and rain some 7700 years ago.  The spread of the lava helped develop the waterfalls, gorges and other natural occurrences.  The River fills up each year as snow melts from the higher elevations.

Avenue of the Boulders

Avenue of the Boulders

Then the waterfalls..

Mill Creek Falls - 173 feet long

Barr Creek Falls - 242 feet long

Pearsony Falls

Here are a couple of pictures from the Pearsony Falls trails that I just thought were pretty.

Then we hiked a couple of trails a bit north of our campground.  On the Natural Bridge trail, the Rogue River flows in and out of lava tubes created by the volcano- they look like caves.  Part of the River is hidden underground.

At this point, the River is flowing underneath this section of hardened lava - thus it's called a Natural Bridge.  You can see the River at the bottom of the photo and then I got just a small bit at the top where it is past the bridge.

Finally we saw the Rogue Gorge.  The River is moving very fast through this small canyon.

We were also able to take a quick run up Flounce Rock which is just south of our RV park.  We drove up about 4 miles to get to the top and saw some wonderful views of the mountains, the National Park, the River and Lost Creek Lake.   We could also see Medford which is about 30 miles south.
Here is a shot of Mount Shasta (about 100 miles away) from a distance.  It is just huge.

And this shot of Lost Creek Lake is pretty from a distance.  It runs right into the river.

On a last note about Memorial Day, our RV park had a celebration on Saturday evening.  There was a folk singer, bonfire and some snacks.  What else do you need?

This is the biggest marshmallow I have ever seen!  Roasted perfectly by yours truly.

The park owner told a couple of stories about her parents' experience in the Armed Forces.  It was very sweet.  Then she and some friends sang barbershop quartet.  You never know what you're going to run into out on the road!