Oregon Adventures

Travels with Heart: October 1, 2025 Volume 28

John and I enjoyed much of September exploring Northern California and Oregon camping in our van. One of the beauties of camping in a van is that you bring your bed with you. I was pretty exhausted when we left so I napped while John drove which I know is a no-no from a safety point of view, but boy did it feel good! 

We spent our first night at the beautiful and remote Lake Orr campground in the northern most part of California. Lake Orr is more of a marsh than a lake that’s on the migration path for many birds. We had the campground entirely to ourselves which was a bit eerie, but silent it wasn’t, with many birds as our talkative neighbors. We enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure the many species living on this huge lake. 

The next day we arrived at Belknap Hot Springs which is on the crystal clear McKenzie River. We have camped here with longtime friends many times now. We keep returning because this place is magical, with secret gardens, the McKenzie making a giant U around the campground, and its soothing Hot Springs.

We had lots of fun there sharing meals and laughter with friends. Some of us fished the McKenzie, while others, including me, paddle boarded, soaked, and hiked on the area’s beautiful trails. One of our last night’s together, we all enjoyed fresh Steelhead and Salmon, thanks to the fisherman.  

My favorite day was paddling on Clear Lake. This crystal clear lake has a sunken ancient forest that you can still see because of the waters clarity. The lake's clarity is the result of snow and ice melting from the top of surrounding mountains and filtering through 7,000-year-old lava, slowly running through underground springs before it reaches the lake. 

Our next stop was to Beaverton, Oregon, to visit John‘s cousin, Bob Bowler, and his wife, Ellen. I have rarely spent time with them so it was lovely to enjoy the company of these dear people! Sadly, we didn’t take any photos; writing this now, reminds me that it’s always important to take photos. Ah well, next time! 

We had some electrical issues with our van and so had to spend a day or two in Portland while it was getting repaired. Portland is a fantastic city. It is full of fun and interesting people, good restaurants, and many small shops, full of locally created goods. There are some homeless, but not as many as the news is reporting today, and there certainly is good order in the city. 

I’m thinking of the people of Portland today as the National Guard are coming there which, in my opinion, is  completely unnecessary.

As a native of the mostly dry California, I love that Oregon has so many rivers! We visited Lincoln City, which is at the end of the historic Oregon Trail. John and I took an elevator up to an overlook where we could see the powerful Willamette River coursing through the city and of course, the amazing Willamette Falls. These falls are now surrounded by many old, vacant factory buildings, which will soon be removed, replaced by a beautiful public park space.  We plan to return to this charming city once this public space is complete.

We visited Newport once again this year to observe the barking sea lions. I truly enjoy watching these crazy male sea lions who are peaceful for a bit but then argue endlessly with one another.  The boys club, as locals call them, carry-on like this 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for in the summer when the whole gang heads to the Channel Islands to mate. 

Their foolish behavior makes me laugh. I wonder if the female sea lions are equally argumentative. I guess I’ll have to head to Channel Island National Park to see for myself. I feel we humans aren’t doing much better than these males sea lions these days.

We then headed to the remote Rogue River, where John and a few friends enjoyed four days floating down the river to fish. The Rogue is “A Wild and Scenic river,” one of the last truly free rivers in America.  John felt lucky to be able to spend time in this beautiful, remote place. They caught some fish, but released them all. They came home happy, tired, but humbled by the beauty that they saw.

Their float experience was marred by the fact that  the “Moon Complex fire” was nearby. They experienced smoke and many helicopters scooping water near them to fight the fire.

While they were floating the river, the rest of us, explored the Rogue near the campground and the very tiny “town” of Agness. We met the owner of Lucas Lodge, whose family settled in Agness in the 1800s; they still run a lodge for outdoors people today. Many of the fire personnel camped near us and it was interesting to watch the dedicated firefighters leave early in the morning determined and coming home at dusk looking tired and dirty. We all thank them for their efforts. The canyons there are incredibly steep so firefighting work is very difficult. 

When we were at Cougar Lane Campground in Agness, the Moon complex fire grew to about 3,000 acres. Watch Duty reported today that the fire is now 18,000 acres and is just 10% contained. It breaks my heart to think about so much old growth forest is being destroyed and that's wildlife is being harmed or killed. Luckily, firefighters have been able to save all the historic lodges where people have stayed as they raft or hike along the Rogue River.

The last night in Agness, we gathered with our friends on the rivers edge just to enjoy the beauty of this very special place.

 I was pondering doing a supported hike on the Rogue Trail next year, but now it may be burnt out. Time will tell, but I send my love to the people from that region and to that stunning wilderness.

We spent more time along the Beautiful Oregon coast on our way home. Traveling is awesome but it’s good to be home!