Canyonville, Oregon: Today we were tourists in Our Own State and every place we visited had something to do with food. I'm sure you are shocked.
Before leaving the oh-not-so-lovely KOA this morning, we drove the Honda a few miles to Central Point to visit The Rogue Creamery. This small (30 employee) artisan creamery has long been a favorite at our house. Rogue Creamery produces exclusively cows-milk cheeses and only two varieties - blue cheese and cheddar - but with many flavors. Of course, the milk comes from certified-sustainable dairies in the Rogue River Valley.

In August, Rogue Creamery "Rogue River Blue Cheese" won the Best Cheese in the USA at the American Cheese Society (yes, there is a cheese society) conference in Austin, Texas. Considering Rogue River Blue was judged best of 1,326 cheeses, we think this is a big deal. The award even made the front page of The Oregonian! I have written many times about the excellent cheeses produced by the artisan cheese makers at Rogue Creamery - we are also fond of their blue cheese that is smoked over hazelnut shells. Their cheeses are distributed throughout the US. If you can't find Rogue Creamery Cheese at your grocer, get on line and order-up an array for your holiday entertaining! (No, I do not get commission, but certainly should get an award from the Governor since I promote Oregon more than the Tourism Division.)


The round black award on the top left of the cheese case is the Best Cheese trophy, awarded to Rogue Creamery for 2009. It moves year-to-year to the best cheese in America. (Actually, last year's winner shipped it to Rogue Creamery and they will have to do the same... unless they win again in 2010.)

We left with the butter, a little slice of the Prize-Winning Blue Cheese (and by small slice, I mean small - the best cheese in America is over $40 per pound), and a bit of Touvelle (a soft cheddar-like cheese). I have only eaten Rogue River Blue twice before - but I tell you, it is delicious.
The next place we visited, with an old truck parked in front, was Harry & David - another great Oregon company. However, Harry & David is neither artisan or teeny. They are massive and employ hundreds of people - especially over the holidays where thousands of their famous pears are shipped all over the world.




Harry & David now also has a huge wine department (from all over the world, at very high prices). They also sell a dizzying array of sweets, snacks, frozen desserts, soup mixes, dips, spreads, olives, condiments and kitchen gifts. (NOTE: No RV parking, but there is room in the big Fred Meyer parking lot across the street.)
We hitched-up the Honda and headed north to our next stop - a late lunch at the Historic Wolf Creek Inn (I-5, exit 76).


A room was $1 ($2 if you wanted to take a bath).







After our yummy lunch, we continued north and are camped for the night in Canyonville at the Seven Feathers Casino RV Park. We will not visit the casino, but just love this fabulous campground - and their great facilities (including treadmills, which will be very nice tomorrow morning in this very cold weather).





No dinner tonight after our big, late lunch. Until my next update, I remain, your "I love Oregon" correspondent.
RV Park: Seven Feathers RV Resort. Exit 99 off I-5, the RV Park is on the opposite side of the freeway from the casino. 119 full-service pull-through and back-in sites. Cable. Wifi. Indoor pool, spa, fitness center, rally facility, private bath houses, laundry, picnic pavilions, and walking paths at the RV Park. Free shuttle to the casino, which also has restaurants and a bar. We paid $36.