April 2008 Camping Kick-Off in Ashland, Oregon

April 4-7, 2008

Originally we had planned a trip to LaPine for our April camping kick-off, but wintry weather made a trip over Santiam and Tombstone Pass in April dicey, at best.  I therefore changed our reservations at LaPine State Park, which comes highly recommended, to May, and booked a campsite near Ashland, in southern Oregon.  The trip down to Ashland is 235 miles of mostly interstate with only a couple of 2000’ passes to worry about.

          Holly and I took Friday afternoon off of work, prepared our rig, and took off early.  Ashley and her boyfriend, Jerry, followed us in the Volvo so that they could leave on Sunday.  We got down to our campsite a little after 7PM.  It was a wonderful, pull-through site at Glenyan RV Park right next to a little creek.  We prepared a nice dinner and got some rest.

          On Saturday the plans were to go to Mount Ashland and play in the snow.  We took the old Siskiyou highway to the access road to Mt. Ashland and spent an afternoon sledding and playing in the snow.  Mt. Ashland is a smaller ski resort than some in Oregon, but the slopes look steep and challenging.  We all enjoyed some fun in the snow at a snow park just below Mt. Ashland ski resort.   It was snowing lightly when we were up there, and we enjoyed the views through the scattered clouds on the way down.  The Siskiyou Mountains were more rugged than what I expected.  They are substantially higher than the Coastal Range, but not as high as the Cascades.  After our fun in the snow, we all went into town and picked out some food for dinner.  We found a wonderful gourmet market that had plenty for us to choose from.  Ashland is a small college town that has a lot of artistic flavor.  It is nestled in a scenic valley in the Siskiyou mountain range.  Everywhere you look is a wonderful view.

          On Sunday we made reservations to see a Cabaret matinee brunch at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre.  Ashland is a tourist attraction in Oregon for the yearly Shakespeare festival and many shows.  We decided to see a musical show called the "Altar BoyZ" which was quite funny and entertaining.  The food was excellent and every one enjoyed the show very much.

          After the show Jerry and Ashley drove back to Corvallis, and Holly and I spent some more time sightseeing around Ashland.  We stopped back at the nice market, and picked up a couple of odds and ends that we needed to get the trailer ready for another season.  I put an auxiliary trickle charger on the trailer and talked to our neighbor at the RV park.  The neighbor, Gerry, was an artistic fellow that made numerous balancing rock sculptures around his campsite.  He had a daughter going to Southern Oregon University for her masters in education.   

          On Monday, Holly and I packed up and started the drive home.  We stopped near the Wildlife Safari in Winston and made camping reservations for Memorial Day weekend when we are invited to a wedding there.  Overall, it was a wonderful start to our camping year.  We only wish we could have stayed longer.  The weather in Ashland was substantially drier in Corvallis and we are all getting tired of a long winter.    

          I fought a headwind for most of the way to Ashland, so my mileage was under 8MPG, but on the way back I managed 8.5MPG at about 60MPH which was pretty good for our rig.

          It was also Lillie’s first birthday on Monday, so when we got back home, she was appropriately spoiled. 

Ashley and Jerry Sledding                  Holly and Sadie in the Sled

Brian with Lillie and Sadie                   A View of the Siskiyous

Downtown Ashland                              Lillie’s Birthday