08 November 2015

Roseburg, Oregon Continued. . .

Sunday was a rainy day and the boys and I stayed snuggled in the van for a good portion of the morning. Coffee, snuggly pups, and a good book!  After a leisurely breakfast,  Frannie and I spent most of the rest of that lazy Sunday chatting the day away, taking the restless dogs for many, many walks, and watching a movie.  It's a good friend who will take one of your dogs on so many walks and subject herself to all his idiosyncrasies and penchant for pulling like he thinks you could never possibly walk fast enough.  Thanks Frannie!  Burger loves you and I am endlessly grateful.

Monday was fairly nice and we drove up the Umpqua River, again on Hwy 138 (Diamond Lake Hwy), but heading east this time.  We stopped at one section where Francesca has done some SCUBA diving and found this memorial.  Something terrible happened here.  It was obvious this man was well-loved and will be missed.

                                          The river is so low!

We motored on and took a hike up to Fall Creek Falls.  Oh. My. Gosh.  GORGEOUS hike on an easy trail (except for the dogs pulling like sled dogs :) .  It was cool, damp, and everything was green. I could just picture the wood fairies scampering among the ferns.  The falls was beautiful too, but with much less water than normal, so it's potential for spectacular will increase with an end to the drought.  A lot of the boulder strewn creek bed (BIG BOULDERS) was dry in places, but it was obvious that in a normal year there is a lot of water fighting for space there.

This photo below had us thinking about the Cascadian Fault (read about it HERE) and the fact it's 50 years past it's "due date" for a major earthquake.  If you read up on that, the potential for a catastrophic event that would devastate everything west of I-5 along Washington, Oregon, and part of California could happen at any time. 

Yes, the trail goes through these rocks.
 
 

Imagine the falls with maximum water plunging over the edge. 
 
On the ride back toward Roseburg, we made a quick stop at Colliding Rivers, where a river on the left, Little River, "collides" with the River on the right, the North Umpqua.  These photos do not do this place justice.   In the flood of 1964 the water here was FIVE FEET ABOVE the railing from which I took these photos.  It's quite a ways down to the water........ mind blowing.
 
It was a wonderful visit with a wonderful friend--and long overdue--and I truly hated to face having to come home.  I keep chanting to myself 'one more year, one more year' until the day the boys and I can take off on our traveling adventure full time.  I don't like to wish the time away but...........

I mentioned at the beginning of this post about kicking back and doing some reading on Sunday morning.  Finishing the last book in Jane Kirkpatrick's Kinship and Courage series leaves me with the question of what to do with these three books.  Yes, I could give them to the local library as I have done with many of my books, but I thought it might be nice to give them to one of you.  If you want these books please comment that you would like them and the first one to respond will get them.  We'll work out the details of getting them to you later and keep your information private.  Here's a synopsis of the books:

Published in early 2000, these books are historical fiction based on the true story of 12 pioneer women who lost their husbands to cholera and faced the 1800's frontier on their own.  Their journey takes them from a wagon train heading west to California where some settle and some move on.  I particularly loved these books as the second and third in the series takes place in my own county, Shasta, and gives a good portrait of life in the mid 1850s town of what is now Old Shasta.  The third book takes place in both Old Shasta, south to Sacramento, and north to Jacksonville, Oregon.  Jane Kirkpatrick is an extremely talented writer. 

Thanks for stopping by Two Dogs.  Until next time, Shawna

4 comments:

  1. Looks like such a nice/peaceful trip! I LOVED the books you mentioned. I read them years back. Maybe I should pull them out and read them again! Have fun on your travels!

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  2. I think you should re-read them. This was my second reading and I enjoyed just as much this time around. Thanks for commenting. We can't wait to get out there full time!

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  3. I love your blog - what I've read of it. I only just found it today. I found it on the CheapRvLiving site (I bought my first "vome" a few weeks ago). I'm an author and avid reader, though I've never heard of Jane Kirkpatrick. How did her books ever get by me?

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  4. Congratulations are due all the way around. New Vome! Excited for you! I hope to meet you "out there somewhere" -- we'll talk books, CheapRvLiving, and van life.

    Thank you so much for commenting on my blog and I am thrilled you love it. Hope you will become a follower and take the journey with me and the dogs. Will be emailing you regarding the Jane Kirkpatrick set. Happy travels!

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