Journey to the Sagebrush Sea
We sailed upon the sagebrush sea Across the quiet waves Pronghorn, owls and a coyote followed Amidst the open sky Bacon Camp
Wildflowers and Wine, Southwest Oregon, 2019
Spring seems slow in coming this year. Maybe the coldest March on record in the past 100 years has something to do with it. Or the refusal of the big pile of snow in the front yard to give in and melt. We started looking around the state for somewhere a bit warmer. Maybe some wildflowers? Even the wildflowers in the Columbia Gorge seem slow to come this year. So we opted for a location we don’t normally frequent, southwest Oregon.
The sun was out and we enjoyed a couple days in the Applegate Valley. Up till now most of the time I’ve spent in the Applegate has been on wildfires. Blazing hot, smoky and steep terrain full of poison oak might be the picture I would paint. But that hot weather also allows for a variety of wine grapes to be grown you don’t find in other parts of Oregon. We visited a few spots for a sample or two.
(more…)Death Valley, 2018
After completing the Mojave Trail it was time to start wandering in the direction of home. We had one more potential stop in our plans, and we had enough days left to do it. We headed north to Death Valley. We had a side trip on the way north to the China Ranch Date Farm near Tecopa. Having never seen Date Palms before, but loving dates, I was immediately impressed to see this little oasis.
We took a walk around the plantation and enjoyed a date shake. Many of the palms were loaded with dates which looked ready to harvest. Yum.
