What a delightful challenge. I've chosen to
feature a marvelous trip up the Rogue River
in Oregon. What a wonderful memory!
Submitted to dVerse Tuesday Poetics
May 2, 2020
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When visiting my daughter, who lives in Salem, Oregon, we chose to take a ride up the Rogue River on one of the jet boats that deliver the U.S. mail from Gold Beach to isolated spots on the river. There were about 15 people in our group. It was a glorious day and a glorious opportunity to see the unspoiled and unpopulated course of the Rogue, where we saw heron, cormorant, osprey, a bald eagle, and assorted wildlife It seemed to be as it had been since the beginning of time, a veritable untouched Eden.
At mid-day we stopped at Lucas Lodge, which is at the confluence of the Rogue and the Illinois River, accessible only by boat or plane. There we were seated at one large table with red-checkered tablecloth, and served a farmhouse style dinner of crispy fried chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, garden vegetables, hot biscuits with blackberry jam, and apple pie. It was a quiet group at first, but I suggested we go around the table and introduce ourselves. What followed was a meal I will always remember. Conversation flowed freely amongst the varied folks at the table … a pair on their honeymoon (blushing appropriately), an employee of the timber industry, a save-the-white-owl environmentalist, a pharmacist (my daughter), our tour guide and others. By the time we got to the apple pie, we were a congenial group and we reluctantly found our way back down the hill and boarded the boat for the trip back to Gold Beach. That meal somewhere on the Rogue is one of my most pleasant memories.
Summer on the Rogue
far from civilization
worries fall away
Thank you for sharing! I almost feel like I was there.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a wonderful memory to share. I feel that I've been there with you! Sometimes I think those more "local" trips with locals can be the most telling and valuable and realistic in terms of experiencing the place and its people and ways. What a wonderful meal....complete with red and white checkered table cloth. I LOVED being here with you. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy only question is....I wonder how the Rogue got its name?
Dubbed by French trappers who considered the natives to be rogues, and their French name for the river translated to "River of the Rogues"
DeleteLucas Lodge is so isolated I wonder if they even know about the corona virus (or care if they do). That is a beautiful river scene and description of a well-remembered conversation.
ReplyDeleteI doubt the corona virus found Lucas Lodge unless it flew in with a fisherman who landed on the little airstrip providing the windsock was aimed in the right direction!
DeleteThank you for sharing your "veritable untouched Eden." That's a lovely photo of the beautiful area.
ReplyDeleteThat looks so beautiful. I love those moments shared with strangers, when we let our guard down and are just human beings together.
ReplyDeleteI love how you not only told of a wonderful place, but the people you meet. Sometimes isolation just bring out the best in people (sometimes the worst as well). I could imagine the tales being told...
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Beverly, not too far from me...so I'll have to take a trip down there...JIM
ReplyDeleteI’m really enjoying my tour of America, Bev, and Oregon is a name I have heard of, but know very little about. I love the name Rogue Rover and would love to find out the origins of its name. It sounds beautiful, with so much wildlife. Your picnic has made my stomach rumble, and I’ve not long had breakfast! And the company – something we all miss in this locked down world.
ReplyDelete