Day Trip

We set off for Sutherlin this afternoon, and had a leisurely 15 mile drive.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be just a little hole in the wall; a very working-class hamlet without much to show for anything.  The Farmer's Market turned out to be a couple of tables with rummage sale stuff, no fruit and veg of any kind.  Makes Kruse's Farms look like Bloomingdales by comparison.  Still, the drive through the countryside was great and we found a landscaping place on the outskirts of town that sells a multitude of trees and shrubs, so we'll be going back to at least check out that place.

Desperate for coffee--once we realized the Market was a dud--we spied this place:

It looked really cool, had a drive-thru and this kitschy horse statuary thing in the front:

We ordered our mochas, and drove a few blocks away to the community park, let Oz out of the car, found a picnic table and settled down for a nice cup of coffee and a break. OMG. I have never, in all my days, had a worse cup of coffee..!! It had a weird initial blast of cinnamon, followed by lavender (soap, in other words), and a lingering flavor of roses and perfume. I have NO idea what in the world it was, and honestly, if that was a mocha, I'm a fairy princess. We dumped our cups out in total disgust. We have now started referring to the place as the Horse Pee Coffee and Tea Co. Truly horrible stuff.

So, no need to re-explore Sutherlin then.

We took a different route back to Roseburg on a lovely, winding country road, only marginally spoiled by the occasional smoke from burning fields. (And, yes, that's what all the fire and smoke was in yesterday's post of my photos.) As we meandered along, I saw a smaller road with a sign saying there was a church of "historical interest". We took that road to find this:

What a little gem of a place. It's apparently available for weddings, though there was nothing to tell you about the church itself. I have no idea why it's sitting alone, along a dead-end country road, how old it is, or why it's there. Still, it was in perfect condition and very beautiful.

As we got closer to home, we decided to go to the River Forks County Park, which has been closed to dogs from May 15-Sept 15. We've been waiting and waiting to take Oz there as it's huge, quiet and on the Umpqua River. There was some discussion between us about Sept. 15th being the actual day you could take a dog, or did you have to wait until Sept. 16th..?? We decided to see for ourselves, even if Ozzy couldn't get out of the car.

Yippee, the signs were gone..!! We headed for the river and found a perfect bench for a ringside view. Below are the left, front and right views from our vantage point.

Can you imagine living in this place..?? I'm not sure if "riverfront property" really qualifies in this case. (You might have to click on the photo to see the house on that ridge between the trees.)

As we walked Ozzy around a small portion of the park, I took these shots, though this is just the tip of the iceberg really. It's truly vast, and will take us many walks to explore fully.

It was a good day out, though my favorite part was at the park. It was peaceful, with just a few fishermen trolling by in their boat, and only 15 minutes from the house, which will make Ozzy happy.

Now, if I could just get the taste of that nasty coffee out of my mouth.