Emigrant Lake (6)

Why did we not reverse this trip and end up on the coast? This is the question we have been asking ourselves this past week. This is not the first time we’ve run into wildfire smoke and triple digit heat at the tail end of our summer journeys. Sometimes, it’s unavoidable. Like, say, if you’re going to Quebec and back, you’re going to hit central California during fire season at the end. On this trip, however, it could have worked equally well to do this loop in reverse, going south on the coast in July, and spending our last nights in glorious cool temperatures, maybe picking up a pie from Gowan’s to take home. Noted for the future, but in the present, we’re just being super duper flexible.

The day we left Cove Palisades, it took about two hundred miles of smoky driving before we punched through. It was awful all the way from Redmond to Klamath Falls. We let go of Lava Beds and headed south and west, towards Ashland. We could have kept reservations at Lake of the Woods because the smoke was not bad there, but I was just feeling like I wanted hookups, dependable cell service, and a safe, familiar place. Ashland also has the bonus points of being where our son lives, as well as some theatre friends of mine. So I kept on driving down Dead Indian Memorial Road, forty more miles past the mountain lake, until we got to Emigrant Lake, five miles outside of town. We were able to get a site with no problems and parked ourselves with a view for the next four nights. Bliss.

The first order of business, after letting people know we were in town so we could make plans, was to hit the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop for a caramel & chocolate covered apple. The air quality in Ashland was gorgeous and the temperature was warm and not yet too hot. We hiked up the trails in Lithia Park and called it a day. We were both very tired after a 5+ hour drive, but grateful to have accomplished the mission. We noticed that the smoke moved right in to Cove Palisades that night, so our timing was spectacular.

The next day I got to reconnect with really awesome friends. They came out to the lake and we just chatted and caught up for a couple of hours. I absolutely love that. No matter how much time passes, the people I shared my life with while working at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre will always and forever own prime real estate in my heart.

Then later we drove downtown to meet up with our son Darren to take him out for a belated birthday dinner. To our surprise, the park was hopping with tons of people due to an outdoor folk music concert. We had time to wander, go admire the Japanese garden, and listen to music for a bit before meeting Darren at Louie’s.

He looks happy and shares my nature. I used to have a really hard time during unstructured summers, being away from kids and purpose. This is why we go on these crazy trips, allowing as little downtime as possible for me to stew in my own restless thoughts. Dinner was great, and more caramel apples were purchased to share for dessert.

The next day we combined one of Richard’s missions with a hike near historic Jacksonville. Because he will be working for a school district, he needs to show proof of a negative TB test, and get his fingerprints taken. The former he was able to get done in Medford, but needed to return 48 hours later to show there was no reaction. We spent the time hiking in Forest Park. There is an extensive trail system there, with little historical treasures to find. Like, there are preserved train tracks from where a crash happened in 1917. And there is a tunnel that was made in 1934 to channel water to the town. Water still flows from that tunnel year round. There are also lots of numbered benches strewn throughout the park. It’s a thing to go find each one and sign your name to the little pad of paper hidden in a plastic tube under the bench. And when the hike was done, it was time for ice cream at Violet’s & Cream.

This whole time, we were keeping a close watch on smoke and weather reports for Redding. There is one last bike ride we’d really like to do before returning home, but it may prove to be too much of a challenge. We were happy to wait it out in Ashland, but for some reason, there weren’t any shows playing that we wanted to see until Thursday. The tentative plan was to do that and head to Redding Friday morning.

That left us two days to find things to do. One of those things was to bike up to Callahan’s together and see the viewpoint at the top. Richard has done this ride before, and now I got to tag along. I also scouted the road for towability, wondering whether that is a calmer way than I5 to enter and exit town. Yes, it is, by the way. Much calmer and without the steep, narrow, twisty descent with all the trucks. Then we just sort of puttered. I patched my damn boat again, but couldn’t muster the energy to get it into the water. “Maybe tomorrow,” I thought.

But tomorrow dawned through orange smokey skies. Bummer. The blue sky respite got swallowed up and we were really not interested in spending another day, maybe seeing an outdoor show that evening, in triple digit heat. So we bailed. We met up with Darren one last time before hitting the road, hoping the weather reports for Redding weren’t lying about the AQI.

For all the regrouping we did, I’m pretty proud of us for not getting depressed. We skipped some things that would have been nice, and swapped some things that turned out to have been even better. We have learned many lessons, which we always do on long trips, but this year’s big takeaway is: finish on the coast if you can. Unless things are directly on fire there, it’s not likely to be smoky or stupid hot.

Total miles from Cove Palisades: 230.6, 16.8 mpg, 5 hours 23 min. Site 9 full hookups. Awesome cell for both. Good sewer. Nice host. Boat launch. Always love this place, even if I don’t get on the lake.