Some miscellaneous photos around Ashland, Oregon.
Ashland Springs Hotel:
Oregon Shakespeare Festival gift store:
We enjoy the hills around Ashland:
Varsity theater:
Creekside restaurants:
Lithia Park pond:
Author: David
Scenic drive along Dead Indian Memorial Road and Green Springs Highway
On our last day staying in Ashland (a Saturday), we took a scenic drive along Dead Indian Memorial Road and Green Springs Highway (OR-66), along the historic Applegate Wagon Trail, through the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.
An interactive map of our route, traveling clockwise (with a fuel stop first, then a stop at the “Boat Launch” waypoint; the other waypoints are just to force the route:
We really like the Ashland area, and Dead Indian Memorial Road is one of the favorites, the kind of terrain we enjoy.
Some interesting rocks:
A bit of wildfire smoke in the area:
A glimpse of Mount Washington, a 7,795 foot peak in the Cascade range:
Smiley face on a tank:
We stopped at the Sunset Day Use Area of Lake of the Woods for a picnic lunch:
Another angle of Mount Washington across the lake:
A dog with shark fin, carrying a stick:
Ducks:
Back on the road, on highway 140 W:
Upper Klamath Lake:
Reservoir:
OR-66:
A nice drive.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
We attended a couple of performances of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.
Back when we had a homestead, we used to be members of OSF, and did annual visits to Ashland to attend performances and enjoy the town. (Though we do plan to be back in Ashland next year, and probably every year, so we could resume our membership.)
This time, we attended a performance of Jane Eyre, and of Much Ado About Nothing.
“Allen Elizabethan Theatre, America’s First Elizabethan Theatre”:
Before each show they have a “Green Show” musical performance outside the theaters:
Into the theater:
A view of the Green Show from the theater balcony:
Inside the theater; yes, it’s open air:
Another day, another Green Show:
A larger crowd:
Selfie:
A little different set dressing in the theater:
Sunset:
Audience:
Ashland food
Some samples of food in Ashland, Oregon.
Firstly, an ice cream snack from Zoey’s Cafe & Artisan Ice Cream:
After the cabaret (which also had food, covered previously), we went to an old favorite, Louie’s of Ashland for a small dinner creekside:
Salad and truffle fries:
Before a play, we had a fancy dinner at Chateaubriand 36:
I enjoy absinthe (Jenn doesn’t), so I got an absinthe drip:
Finally, before another play we had dinner at Cocorico (which used to be Amuse):
Tasty stuff. Our only regret was that we missed the delightful breakfasts we used to be served when staying at Ashland Creek Inn each year. Now that we live in a motorhome, we don’t have that particular pleasure anymore.
Dumping waste tanks into house septic system
While staying at our Washington home in previous years, we were careful to avoid filling our gray and black waste tanks, since we didn’t have a way to empty them until after we left; we used a bathroom in the house instead of in our coach.
This time, we were staying longer, but we also had new tools available: we had purchased a waste tote tank, and a macerator pump. I used both while staying this time.
The house has a septic system in the backyard, with inspection/cleanout ports:
I initially drained the waste tanks into my tote:
I then pulled the tote around the back using the handle (not too difficult with the steerable front wheels), and drained it into the septic system:
Using the other port to drain the last liquid out of the tote:
That was pretty easy. But then I tried a different approach. I bought two 100 foot hoses (that will only be used for this purpose, left in our shed), and used my macerator to mash up and pump the waste through the hoses directly into the septic system:
I plugged the power cord into the electrical outlet in the wet bay, via a plug-in switch:
A power supply, to convert the 110V to a 12V car-style connector (there is a switch after the power supply, but the power supply has a fan that runs as long it has power, hence my plug-in switch):
(Hmm, there is 12V power for a light in the wet bay, so I could hook up a connector to that… nah, probably not worth it for this occasional use.)
A closer look at the macerator, connected to my sewer hose closure and the hose:
200 feet of hose going around the house:
The end of the hose into the septic system:
Taking a peek; it isn’t a high flow, so takes longer than usual, but is much easier than using the tote:
I removed the hose and re-sealed the inspection plate when done each time, to avoid smells getting out or animals getting into the septic system. If we were to ever do this longer-term, we could no doubt devise some sort of gasket or port to let the hose remain hooked up in a sealed way, though it really wasn’t a huge hassle.
With the 50 amp electrical hookup, a water hookup, and these waste solutions, we are able to stay home as long as we like.
Ashland wineries: Quady North & Belle Fiore
While staying in Ashland we visited a couple of wineries that we’ve enjoyed in the past: Quady North & Belle Fiore.
Firstly, Quady North:
They used to have a tasting room in Jacksonville, but recently moved to a building at their winery:
We did a couple of tastings, which included some bonuses, along with a charcuterie platter for our lunch:
We bought several bottles, plus a box of wine:
Another day, we went to Belle Fiore Winery, another winery we’ve liked:
A somewhat fancier building:
We did the Reserve and Chateau tastings:
I admit it, we mostly go here for their truffle fries; this time since this was our dinner we also got a charcuterie board, though I think we would have preferred just getting a full-sized order of fries (this was the small):
We didn’t buy any bottles from here; after doing the tastings, we decided we didn’t particularly enjoy any of them enough this time. Their wines are too tannic for us.
Video: pickup truck stuck in Emigrant Lake
A short timelapse of a pickup truck doing donuts then getting stuck in Emigrant Lake in Ashland, Oregon, and the subsequent removal.
Oregon Cabaret Theatre: Legally Blonde, the Musical
While in Ashland, we attended a performance at Oregon Cabaret Theatre of Legally Blonde, the Musical. We’ve visited Ashland many times over the years, but this was our first time at the cabaret.
Menu:
Stage:
Our table was upstairs:
Other tables:
Chandelier:
Jenn:
Brunch:
Legally Blonde dining:
Downstairs:
Stage:
Of course I couldn’t take photos of the actual performance, but it was enjoyable.
Video: Emigrant Lake level dropping over several days
A short timelapse of Emigrant Lake in Ashland, Oregon, showing the water level visibly dropping over several hot days.
Emigrant Lake – The Point RV Park
We stayed at Emigrant Lake – The Point RV Park in Ashland, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice county campground, very convenient to Ashland.
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-08-31
- Check out: 2024-09-08
- 8 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps 79-100°F, lows 51-64°F
- A little wind, gusts to 19 MPH
Noise:
- No road noise
- No train horn noise
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #19, back-in, asphalt
- Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
- Somewhat unlevel site; high on back and driver side; used hydraulic leveling and extra blocks under the front
- Asphalt driveway about 50 feet long by 15 feet wide
- 18 feet to neighbor on driver side
- No neighbor on passenger side
- Picnic table
- Fire pit
- Some trees
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 75 PSI water, conveniently located
- Loose sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 57 Mbps down, 11-18 Mbps up, 32 ms ping
- AT&T: 35-72 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
- Verizon: 5-22 Mbps down, 14-22 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Lake
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Perfect park close to Ashland
This is a great spot to stay and explore Ashland and the local area. It’s a shame the lake is so low, but that’s just the reality of the West these days. We still enjoyed the view from our site, regardless. Access to the campground is a little dicey for big rigs, but it is doable. Just watch out for the final turn into the campground, where you have to navigate between a rock wall and a barbed wire fence that comes close to the road. Our site (19) had a terrific view of the lake, and I think the only better view would be from site 21 (a pull-through site), which sits at the bottom of the loop. We camped at Emigrant Lake – The Point RV Park in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Ashland has one of the best dining scenes in the PNW, so be sure to explore some options (Cocorico was our favorite this time). Take in a show at the OSF, even if it’s just the Green Show, which is free. The Oregon Cabaret is a fun experience as well. And don’t forget to tour the many different wine trails in the area. We’re partial to the Applegate Valley…
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Utilities:
Other sites:
The very end of the point is site 21, a pull-through site; we would have preferred to have this site, but it wasn’t available:
Lake view from site 21:
Campground entrance, with a tight corner:
Bathrooms:
A view of the lake from behind the bathrooms:
From the website, much the same view from many years ago when the lake was full:
Another view now:
And the same view then:
Some more years-ago views of the full lake:
A similar view of the much lower lake now, from our site:
More lake views from our site:
Sunset:
A truck stuck in the mud (see a timelapse video of it getting stuck and unstuck):
A couple of shots of the same part of the lake, where people enter it; the first one taken soon after arriving, and the second towards the end of our stay; if you look closely, you can see a significant drop in the water level:
And an animated GIF of the water level dropping:
(Check out today’s timelapse video of the lake level dropping noticeably during our stay.)
A view from below our site, that should have been underwater if the lake were full:
Looking back up at our site:
The very low water level was rather sad; the lake would have been much nicer if full. But still a nice place to stay.
We plan to stay here again next year. Hopefully in site 21 next time, but site 19 would be a good second choice.