03-04-22 Oregon Coast Trip – Corning California to Medford Oregon

03-04-22 Friday

Corning, CA to Medford, OR

Harvest Host

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 2

Drive Time: Almost 4 hours

Miles: 192.5

Arrived: 2:30 PM

Didn’t sleep that well. My knee was hurting again. Weird dreams last night. Woke up to a blustery day and couldn't wait to get on the road. Barry turned on the heater when he got up and I stayed in bed until the coach warmed up. Our heater works great, and it only takes about ten minutes until the coach was warm. Hot coffee for Barry, hot tea for me, a banana for each and a few Little Debbie’s mini chocolate donuts (one of our vices). After our breakfast appetizers we had a bowl of cereal. I did dishes while Barry got a few other things ready to go. We headed to the gas station, filled up and hit the road to Medford, Oregon. 

Our drive took us on I5 up through the Mt. Shasta area. I have not been this way since I was a kid. Our family use to camp at Lake Shasta every Labor Day weekend with cousins, aunts, and uncles on my mom’s side but that’s another blog post. Lots of memories as we drove through the area. As we passed the lake it was daunting to see how low the water level is. The drought has affected the entire state and you don’t realize it until you drive by a lake as massive as Lake Shasta. Mt. Shasta was the only mountain capped with snow. The surrounding mountain ranges were only lightly dusted. 

Mt. Shasta 

Lake Shasta - Scary It's So Low

It seemed like we were never going to get to the top of the pass, but I have to say it was nothing like climbing the Rockies last September. It rained most of the way through the mountains. When we finely were at the top of the pass snow flurries began. The elevation sign stated 3,067 feet. Mt. Shasta itself is 14,179 feet. Before heading down the other side Barry decided to stop and check the RVi Brake on the Jeep. It’s our braking system for towing the Jeep. He was being cautious before heading down the other side of the mountains. Everything was fine and we were back on the road in a few minutes. Snow flurries continued but thank goodness they didn’t stick. 

The country was beautiful and surreal with snow dusting the trees. I was able to take numerous photos of Mt. Shasta, and some are included below. The green hills and trees covered the mountains, and it was beautiful to see. Occasionally I would catch a glimpse of a purple bush in bloom scattered amongst the trees. Nice to see green again. 

 

One of our favorite views!

The landscape between Mt. Shasta and the Oregon  border is vast. It always amazes me how large our state is. Cattle and horses dotted the landscape throughout our drive. At one point we continued to climb again reaching around 4,000 feet. The decent to the other side didn’t seem as steep as before. We crossed the Oregon border at 1:35PM. We felt better once we were out of the mountains. 

We arrived at our Harvest Host destination, EdenVale Winery, at 2:15pm. Aaron met us as we drove in and pointed us to the area to park in, a large flat field with numerous spots to park. He told us where the tasting room was and informed us a glass of mulled wine was waiting for us. We pulled into a spot, dropped the jacks, and leveled the coach. We changed our tennis shoes into warm boots and headed to the tasting room while the snow began to fall. The grounds are gorgeous with grape vines and pear trees all around. 

The tasting room was small and cozy. The servers behind the bar were Erin and Taja. Taja is also the chef for events at the winery. The winery does weddings and party events. Perfect place for it. We each decided to taste the mixed flight. Their Chardonnay was not on the menu, but Erin poured me a taste and I loved it. I could taste the butter at the back of my throat. My other favorite was the Cab Franc. But then there are the ciders, Pear and CranPerry (not a typo). As we tasted we watched the snow fall outside. We ordered Taja’s Bacon and Brie Cheese platter and oh my was it tasty. The brie is topped with cooked maple bacon cut into chunks and baked in the oven. This is something we are going to try and duplicate at home. We finished our tasting with both the Chardonnay mulled wine and the red mulled wine. What a treat for a snowy day first day in southern Oregon. 

On our way back to the RV we walked down to the barn because Aaron told us about the white owl who (no pun intended…well maybe) lives there. Sure enough at the other end he was perched way at the top of the eve. He looked rather large, and all fluffed up. The air was cold, crisp, and clean. It felt amazing to be in the mountains where everything is green. 

Back in our RV we turned on the heater, opened a bottle Cab Franc we bought, and sat and relaxed for a bit, as if we did something strenuous. After dinner I tried to get ahead of my emails and Barry read. Magnificent day!

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