A couple of years ago, while in San Francisco, I visited Muir Woods. It is literally across the Golden Gate bridge from the city and easy to do in a half day. It gave me my first taste of the California Redwoods and I wanted more.
That the led to this Fall’s weeklong visit to Southern Oregon and Northern California. It’s a long flight from the east coast to Southern Oregon but Medford, Oregon was our starting point.
Fun Fact:
There is also a Medford, New York way out on Long Island. But Medford, Oregon was named after Medford, Massachusetts, which is near where one of the city’s founders was born.
After a quick change of planes in Seattle, it is a fast hop down to Medford. The airport is small, about 5 gates, but new and efficient. Waiting for bags, you get a chance to look at a beautiful art installation by Betty LaDuke, depicting local farming and vineyards. The purplish blues really caught my eye and as our trip progressed I had many an opportunity to see where that inspiration came from in the landscape during different lights.
We were excited to explore the Rogue Valley but first, we needed a good meal. After about a 45-minute scenic drive mostly following the Rogue River, we arrived at our dinner location in Grants Pass, Oregon, The Twisted Cork.
Stop here for a friendly, relaxed atmosphere with a good mix of locals and travelers. Get introduced to wonderful Oregon white and red wines. They have so many wines on tap to try.
And the fresh salmon is a must order – I was on the hunt for salmon throughout this trip. After airplane snacks this healthy but filling meal was just what we needed!
We now had happy, full bellies, but were sad to have to continue on, there was so much more to explore in Grants Pass that we will have to come back. Their motto of “It’s the Climate” seems fitting as the weather was very dry and cool in October but I believe them when they say they have very hot Mediterranean-like Summers.
I hope you join me for the next post on our first night’s lodging, in the treehouses of Southern Oregon!
Good Resources:
http://www.bettyladuke.com/medford-international-airport/
http://www.thetwistedcorkgrantspass.com/home.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grants_Pass,_Oregon
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