A Rainy Weekend

We headed out early on Friday, and crossed the mighty Columbia River around lunchtime. There had been a break in the weather long enough to get this grey-toned shot. The rest of the ride was mostly rain until we went over Grant's Pass and then we got a nasty bit of both rain and snow mixed.

So our plans to enjoy the outside weather in Medford were curtailed by rain, and apparently it is cold enough down there for snow to fall on the surrounding mountains down as low as 3,000 feet! That made it cold enough that when there was a spot of sunshine, it was brisk, to say the least. This shot of Table Rock (about seven miles N of Medford) taken near Central Point, was taken on Saturday as we were sort of touring around. It looks more like Arizona with that beaute of a butte! Apparently there are two of these identified as Table Rock 1 and 2 or Bigger and Smaller, but I'd have to see a map to confirm this.

When we stopped for a lunch break, we were near a town called Gold Hill, that has, according to one fellow we spoke with - not the Census man - 600 residents. It is also the place where the Oregon Vortex is located. According to Wikipedia, "The Oregon Vortex is a roadside attraction located in Gold Hill, Oregon, in the United States. It consists of a number of interesting effects which skeptics believe to be optical illusions, but which the attraction's proprietors claim are the result of paranormal properties of the area (see gravity hill). It is located at 42.49313°N 123.085113°W" And as I said, the weather was less than conducive to walking on a long dirt path.

I didn't have my camera handy to catch a lovely bluejay flying overhead with a beakful of twigs for a nearby nest. Or to stop action of the ten or so bicylers in their yellow windbreakers pedaling past. And we could smell the apple blossoms, which is really hard to get on film!

But I did get this lovely view of the mountains in the area.

This was taken a few miles south of the Rogue River and all the wonderful outdoor fun to be had on the river, in the parks and mountains. I would definitely make a return visit to this part of the world, but my preference would be for a sunny and warmer - lonnnnnger - weekend.