Along the River

It wasn't a car show ...

... but there was a great hot rod parked next to us at the the Elkton RV Park.

Hot Rods are by far second best indication of middle-age crazy. Don't ask what #1 is, I won't say.

Here is my favorite barn again, the same one was in one of the pictures I sold two weeks ago at the McKenzie Orchards B&B. If you ever make a trip to the Eugene/Springfield area it's a great place to stay and the hosts/owners, Karen and Tom Reid are great folks.

There were rafters on the Umpqua but it wasn't the fast moving experience we saw on the McKenzie River our last time out.

Of course, I did get a flower picture...

... or two...

... or three.

At this part of the river some of the best shots are of the rocks that half of the year are under water.

As the water recedes the rocks seem to pop up out of the water.

I thought this rock looked a lot like a Crocodile's head.

Between the bedrock crevices plant life emerges.

Sometimes the plant life covers the rocks just like the water does when the river is high.

It all makes this a great place to come if you like variety.

Beautiful and deadly is an accurate description of Blue-green algae. There were signs posted and at least two dogs died within minutes of swimming and drinking water near these plumes.

"Blue-green algae, technically known as cyanobacteria, are microscopic organisms that are naturally present in lakes and streams. They usually are present in low numbers. Blue-green algae can become very abundant in warm, shallow, undisturbed surface water that receives a lot of sunlight. When this occurs, they can form blooms that discolor the water or produce floating rafts or scums on the surface of the water."

"Consuming water containing high levels of blue-green algal toxins has been associated with effects on the liver and on the nervous system in laboratory animals, pets, livestock and people. Livestock and pet deaths have occurred when animals consumed very large amounts of accumulated algal scum from along shorelines."

It is lovely and it can kill.

In the faster moving parts of the river the water is a very clear blue color.

They tell me fishing is great at this spot...

and even had a small mouth bass fishing tournament here last week.

If you look really hard at this rock you can see Jack Palance and I should have snagged it for my rock collection.

Oops more flowers.

A couple of kids came floating down the river and I'm sure the fisherman was tickled pink to have them come by as he fished.

They were wearing life vests ...

... and when they got to the stump (that's still here) they climbed aboard...

... and jumped in for a little more excitement.

Sharyn pointed out this great barn shot between two RV's

This time the drove over the bridge you see in these pictures to get a close-up of that beautiful barn and I decided the view from the other side of the river was better even if I liked this side as well.

We took a back road that was paved in parts and a one lane gravel path in other places. The "road less traveled" was a fantastic rural tour I really enjoyed. I keep telling myself all we need is 2 acres in this kind of area and a nice "Park Model" or "Modular" home & high speed Internet and we would be in paradise.

Scrabble Score ~ She is still Scrabble Queen

Quote of the Day ~ "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche (German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900.)