Jules’ Journal:
By: Julianne Lillie, 5/24/23 – 5/27/23
5/24/23: I absolutely fell in love with the Cascades Region of Oregon! Our campground was nestled in a tiny town called Prospector, OR, just off the Scenic Byway. When we pulled into the campground, we had a nice long site with beautiful tall trees all around us.
There were two short walking trails that led out of the campground, one to a lake/dam and the other to a river. So of course, we had to check them out! They were beautiful & easy trails!
Hidden Lake & Dam:
Rogue River:
We also saw some mushrooms along the way!
Once we were back at the RV, we all had the sense that we were camping! So, we decided to hang up hammocks and start a fire. That evening was good for our souls!
5/25/23: This morning we packed a picnic and jumped in the truck knowing we were going to be gone all day on a long road trip chasing waterfalls! We set out to follow the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway (AKA: Highway of Waterfalls). There were so many gorgeous sights that we saw! Here they are below in order of our road trip.
#1 ROGUE RIVER OVERLOOK: We left our campground and first stopped at the Rogue River overlook. No hike here, just a pull off and a few steps from the parking lot we got this view.
#2 MILL CREEK AREA: Here there were 2 different trails leading to two different waterfalls. We first hiked ¾ mile to see the 173 ft. Mill Creek Falls.
We then hiked a bit further in to reach Barr Creek Falls (242 ft.). Both were just stunning!
#3 NATURAL BRIDGE RECREATION AREA: Once we reached the parking lot, we realized this was another hike. It was paved, though, and followed the Rogue River with 4 different viewpoints to stop at. We saw the river flow in and out of lava tube caves. And the river was roaring – nearly all white water! The last viewpoint was of the Natural Bridge. And in fact, the water was so high, it was rushing on top of the Natural Bridge rather than under it. So unfortunately, we couldn’t see the Natural Bridge, but the river itself was beautiful to watch!
#4 ROGUE GORGE VIEWPOINT: Our next stop was like the before stop. It also was a trail with 4 viewpoints, but it was quite a hike with lots of elevation changes. Beautiful views, though!
#5 MT. THIELSEN: We then continued North of the byway and saw Mt. Thielsen in all her glory! Beautiful snowcapped tip!
#6 DIAMOND LAKE: By now it was 11:30am and we were beginning to get hungry. We decided to stop at Diamond Lake for a picnic lunch. The bugs (mainly mosquitos) were SO thick! Jaycie chose to eat in the truck, the rest of us put our citronella bug repellent bracelets on and ate outside looking over the beautiful lake while we kept moving. Here was our view:
#7 CLEARWATER FALLS: After lunch, we stopped at Clearwater Falls. It was a short walk from where we parked. Yes, the water was SO CLEAR! And it cascaded down bright green moss-covered rocks. So pretty!
#8 WHITEHORSE FALLS: It was a smaller fall, but still very beautiful!
#9 WATSON FALLS: This might be my new most favorite hike ever! Jaycie was tired so she stayed in the truck to rest. And it was probably a good thing because it was a TOUGH hike! It was a 2-mile round trip hike uphill the entire way to the falls with a 400 ft. elevation gain! We didn’t look at any pictures of the falls before our hike, so when we got to the lower falls we thought this was it.
We started taking photos and then I looked up and gasped! There was a gorgeous tall waterfall up even higher – Upper Watson Falls. We were all so surprised!
And that gave us renewed energy to make the climb! We crossed over the lower falls on a neatly engineered wooden bridge.
Once we got to the top, we could see just how huge the upper waterfall was! The cool breeze off the water was so invigorating and really refreshed us as we had worked up a sweat on the climb!
On the descent back to the parking lot, I saw Calypso Orchids (AKA Fairy Slipper Orchid). I was so delighted as I had never seen orchids growing in the wild before.
I also saw 2 mushrooms and more beautiful Trillium.
#10 TOKETEE FALLS: Our next stop was another hike with quite a climb. Not near as steep and it was only ¾ mile. It was a gorgeous waterfall into a deep blue swimming hole area.
The overlook viewing platform was built around a large tree over the gorge. That was pretty cool!
#11 UMPQUA RIVER NARROWS: Up next, we a pull off viewpoint of the Umpqua River when it narrows.
#12 COLLIDING RIVERS: We continued further west until we reached colliding rivers. This is the point where Little River & North Umpqua River collide head on to form the South Umpqua River. Because both rivers were rushing, the collision area was turbulent with whitewater.
#13 WINCHESTER DAM: We then continued southwest to Roseburg, OR where our last stop was Winchester Dam. We got out and walked down to the view the fish tunnel.
The fish tunnel allows the fish to bypass the dam and continue upstream. There were some huge fish… steelhead, salmon, & Rainbow trout.
We then hopped back in the truck. It was nearly 5:00pm and we were now 2 hours from our RV. This was the last town until we reached our RV, so we picked up some fast food from Wendy’s & drinks from Sonic and ate dinner on the way home. We arrived back to the RV by 6:30pm making today’s trip a total of 10 hours! We hiked over 5.5 miles and saw 8 waterfalls, 5 mountains, 3 different rivers, 1 lake, & 1 dam. We packed a ton of sightseeing in today and we were all exhausted! I did laundry and we played games outside by the campfire while we also watched the Dallas Stars game. S’mores for dessert. It was an awesome day!
5/26/23: No rest for the weary! I had an early morning (7am) work video call. And as I was getting ready, Jett comes in complaining of a tummy ache. Then proceeds to throw up. (Thankfully it was in a bowl!) I woke up Jason to help me with Jett and take over so I could finish getting ready for my call. I was right on time for my call, but during the call I heard Jett throw up again. Poor guy! Once I was off my call, we cleaned him up again. He was feeling better, and we thought maybe it was bad food he ate from Wendy’s last night. So, we continued getting ready, packed a picnic, and headed out to Crater Lake National Park.
It was a 30-minute drive with lots of winding and increase in elevation. Once we arrived just outside the entrance gate, we pulled over and Jett threw up again. At this point we knew it was probably more than bad food. Maybe elevation sickness? Or a stomach bug? But since we were here, we thought we’d go ahead and peek at Crater Lake’s beauty! We braved the snow packed ice walkways and made it to the viewpoint to look out. It was breathtaking!!! The water was such a deep blue and was smooth as glass reflecting the clouds and surrounding mountain peaks. We took lots of photos!
The island in the middle of the lake is called Wizard Island because it’s shaped like a wizard’s hat.
And that island at one time was the mountain peak of a huge mountain named Mount Manzama, which was an ancient volcano. When Mount Manazama erupted it left a crater with the mountain peak landing inside the crater. Over time snowmelt and rain filled up the crater creating the deepest lake in the US. There are no rivers in or out of this lake. And this is why the water is so blue, no rivers carrying sediment!
Then Jaycie and I went into the Visitor Center (Jett and Jason stayed outside) to stamp our passports & buy some souvenirs.
We also picked up Jr Ranger booklets. The kids wanted to try to earn their ranger badges, so we worked on the booklets in the truck. Every 30 minutes poor Jett had to step outside and throw up. But he was a trooper, they both finished their booklets, and we all learned a lot about how Crater Lake was formed! We then found a park ranger outside to swear them in and give them their badges. That’s their 115th Junior Ranger badge.
Because of all the heavy snow this winter season, Crater Lake National Park’s roads and trails are still buried. This day was their first day for the Visitor Center to open as they had just cleared the parking lot. So, it turned out there wasn’t much to do as far as exploring the park at this time. That combined with Jett not feeling well made the decision easy to head back to the RV. But not before carving 4Js into the snow!
We arrived back around lunchtime. We laid Jett on the couch, and he rested for about an hour and a half. The rest of us ate lunch, worked on math, and did some art.
Once Jett woke up, I cuddled with him on the couch and watched a movie. He was able to eat ½ a peanut butter sandwich and keep it down. Then he attempted math with Jason, but his eyes were so heavy, so we put him down for a nap. Jaycie was playing dolls, so we left her in charge to babysit her sleeping brother.
Meanwhile, Jason and I drove 2 miles to a nature trailhead. We hiked 2 miles in 1 hour and saw 3 beautiful sights! It was a gorgeous and peaceful hike! God surely was showing off when he created this area of Oregon… such beauty! This state may have just become my most favorite… at least tied with Utah!
#1 GORGE OVERLOOK AT BRIDGE:
#2 PEARSONY FALLS:
#3 AVENUE OF BOULDERS:
When we returned to the RV, Jett was waking up and felt better. We made another campfire and then made dinner. Jason and I ate leftover burgers. Mac’n’cheese with gatorade for Jett. Salad for Jaycie.
Poor Jett only got a few bites down and then threw it all up. So, no more food for Jett… only small doses of water. I took his temp, no fever. But he did start complaining of chills and body aches. Despite him feeling bad, he always manages to have a positive attitude!
Jett rested in his hammock and then we got him showered with new dressing on his finger. Early bedtime for us all… which turned out to be the longest night of my life.
I’ll spare you the details, but Jaycie and Jason both followed after Jett, and I was up all night caring and tending to their needs. (At time like this I’m SO VERY THANKFUL that we have 2 toilets in our RV!) So yeah, we think we caught a stomach bug and passed it around. But for whatever reason it spared me… or it hasn’t hit yet? Time will tell, I’m sure!
5/27/23: We are on the road now as I’m typing up this blog. I’m happy to say I’m still feeling well, and the other 3 are better. They are all doing ice chips only for the road, until we get set up in Salem, OR. Once we set up, we’ll attempt food again. Keep us in your prayers! Especially me… I have a ton of yucky laundry to do tonight!
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