Retirement Road Trip 2011: Rogue River, OR, 9/18 and 9/19

277 miles over 2 days.  Camped at the Quosatana Campground Sunday night and back to Cory's driveway for Monday night.  The Quosatana Campground is a National Forest Service campground with no services, but located right on the Rogue River.

Dave and Ann Wright, along with Cory and me decided to tackle an overnight trip to the Rogue River.  Dave and I each had a couple days left on our out of state fishing licenses.  Cory started the day by tying a a few extra flies to fish with.

The trip up was breathtaking.  Twisting narrow gravel roads, mountain vistas, and hairpin turns kept the drive exciting.

We arrived about 3:00 PM and set up camp.  The Rogue River bordered our campsite.  It was absolutely gorgeous, and the sound of the water tumbling over the gravel bars was extremely soothing.  Fishing started immediately.  We brought three dogs with us, my dog Zoey, Dave and Ann's dog Chester, and Cory's dog, Tyler.  The dogs were in "dog heaven" running on the gravel bars and swimming in the river.

Dinner was a "camp dinner."  We cooked everything on a Coleman stove.  As I have said before, food always tastes better when camping.

A neat find at our campsite was a HUGE, downed Douglas Fir tree.  It had fallen some years before.  We measured it at over 5 feet, six inches across.  We didn't even try to count the growth rings.

Monday morning we had a "camp" breakfast of bacon and fried eggs, fished a bit, and packed up.  Today I parted ways with Dave and Ann Wright.  Our friendship goes back to 1970 when they  lived in Gouverneur.  They are the type of friends that you can go without seeing each other for several years, but then picks right back up when we reconnect.  Cory used to hangout with them when he lived in Fort Collins and went to Colorado State University.  Cory and I had a fantastic time with them!!

Cory and I headed back to his place in Roseburg.  The route took us along the coast for a few miles.  There is something about ocean views that you just can't get enough of.  I'm thankful that the State of Oregon has preserved many sections of it for the general public to view.

Tuesday I plan to do laundry, shop and organize.  Wednesday I leave Cory's and head to California.....