We have fallen in love with Oregon. There's no better way to say it. The natural beauty, the kindness of the people, the sense of adventure. It's all there. And as a result, we decided to stay in Ashland a while longer (using the fact that we're waiting for a package as a flimsy excuse).
Look at this beautiful countryside!
Before we arrived in Oregon, we perused craigslist to find some likeminded people to spend time with. It turns out a couple of self proclaimed geeks were looking for another couple with whom to adventure. We decided the risk of running internet creeps was worth taking. So after the events of the Mystic Garden Party, we looked them up and arranged a meetup. Our rendezvous took place at a coffee shop called The Roasting Co. We quickly picked them out of the crowd by physical description and talked for a little while before heading the Senor Sams for some tasty burritos.
Afterwards we visited a gaming shop to pick up a fun travel game. One appealed to us so we plunked down the cash and were on our way to Lithia Park for a rowsing game of Space Munchkin. A dip in the river later, we visited our new friends' house and watched half of Team America. However, allergies to their adorable pets forced me to depart before the movie's conclusion. All in all it was a good night.
A scenic sunset drive later, we were back at Jumping Joe's in Hugo and we went to bed, content.
A couple of days later, we decided to meet our new friends again. This time, they invited us to Lake of the Wood, a beautiful lake in the mountains of Oregon.
That's Mt. McLoughlin in the background. It's beautiful peak is pretty much what I think of when I think of mountains.
The drive over there was something else. Plenty of winding roads and sharp turns running through an amazing forest of towering Ponderosa Pines. Our friends led the way in their truck.
On the way, we spied with our little eye, something brown!
A wild cow, just grazing by the side of the highway. We wanted to stop but we had to avoid the temptation lest we lose our guides in the process.
Before long, we arrived at the lake. Instantly, we decided that we wanted to camp there. It was a bit pricey, but it was so beautiful that we couldn't resist. We were crushed to find out that there weren't any RV spots left so we kept a stiff upper lip and went to the marina to rent a watercraft.
Initially, we rented a canoe and had a wild time racing with Kris and Ivory. There were a bunch of close calls and near collisions but we eventually got the hang of it. After about an hour, we returned to the dock to requisition something with a little more horsepower.
We rented a small powerboat with a 6 horsepower engine and zipped around the lake at a severely underwhelming speed. Regardless, we have to think of safety first. Behold! We are positively buoyant!
In our search for a prime swimming spot, we ran into some ducks having a girl's night out. Before long they were intruded upon by a flock of males on the prowl.
After a nice cruise, we docked at a floating dock. The ladies took a refreshing dip while Kris and I worked on our tans.
By this point it was starting to get late so we began to make our way back. Reluctantly, we left the Lake of the Woods in our rear view and prepared for a scenic drive back to Ashland, where we would spend the night.
Who should we see on the way back but our good friend A Cow! As he was still grazing away by the side of the road, we decided to pay him a visit.
Unfortunately, being the cautious cow he is, he did not appreciate our intrusion and beat a lazy escape into the wood.
He must have been a Holy Cow because something magical happened this day. Our animal related wishes began to come true. "Oh Dear!" Angelica exclaimed, and moments later we saw some deer! We were too surprised to take a photo so we decided to experiment. "Oh bunnies!" I shouted out. "Oh goats and donkeys" we called out.
Sure enough, one by one they began to appear:
Completely satisfied with our day we drove back to our favorite place in Ashland: The Jackson Wellsprings and rested our weary heads.
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