Canyonville, Oregon: Our plan for the day was to finally drive the Myrtle Creek-Canyonville Tour Route, a 68-mile loop following along the South Umpqua (umm-qwah, the "p" is pretty-much silent) River, passing through farm land and forests. This byway affords views of several historic covered bridges as well.
We left Canyonville and headed towards Milo, home to the Milo Adventist Academy and the famed Milo Covered Bridge.
The Milo Academy Bridge is actually made of steel, with a wooden facade. It is privately owned (by the academy), and constructed in 1962.
Milo Academy Covered Bridge
South Umpqua below the Milo Bridge>
Lupines, daisy and poppies along the road Though the official tour guide did state the route is not always open, due to weather, etc., we were surprised (it was 92 degrees today) when we turned onto the forest road six miles from Tiller to discover this:
There are plenty of signs advertising the route and pointing tourists in the right direction. Would it have been too much trouble to make a note that the route is closed? We turned around and retraced our route to Canyonville, then north on I-5 to Myrtle Creek, Oregon. We would attempt the route from the opposite direction to see if we could get into the national forest at all.
That would be a no. Dang.Oh, well. While in Myrtle Creek, we stopped to the Cougar Canyon Golf Course and booked a tee time for tomorrow.
We were able to find two more covered bridges around Myrtle Creek. The first was the Neal Lane Bridge, spanning pretty Myrtle Creek. This 42-foot-long bridge, built in 1939, is one of the shortest in Oregon.
Neal Lane Bridge
View to Myrtle Creek from a window in the Neal Lane BridgeOn the edge of downtown Myrtle Creek is the Horse Creek Covered Bridge. This 105-foot span once crossed Horse Creek (which flows into the McKenzie River just north of Eugene). The bridge was dismantled years ago and moved to use as a pedestrian footbridge in 1990, spanning Myrtle Creek from a parking area to Mill Site Park.
DT on the Horse Creek Covered Bridge in Myrtle Creek, OregonEven though we were not able to drive the complete circle, we still had a great day and had beautiful vistas along the South Umpqua River and gorgeous weather.
Back to the campsite to watch the Giants (WIN!) and grill chicken thighs I had been marinating for a few days in lemon juice, white wine, and herbs from Gina's garden. DT also grilled asparagus spears - sprinkled with Jacobsen White Truffle Salt. An Israeli Salad finished-out our menu.
Until my next update, I remain, your covered correspondent.RV Park: Seven Feathers RV Resort. One of the finest resorts we have found. Full-service sites. Back-ins and pull-throughs. Excellent bath and laundry facilities. Club house, wifi, cable TV, fitness center, walking paths, picnic tables at each site, indoor pool and spa. Great rally facilities. Small shop. Free shuttle to casino. We paid approximately $45 per night.