On our prettiest weather day yet of this trip (at last!) we loaded up on goodies from Medford’s Harry and David store (kind of charmless but found some good satsumas) and Central Point’s Rogue Creamery (full of charm and pricey locally made cheese – we got the Crater Lake Blue) and drive a few miles away to the small historic town of Jacksonville, which has a two-or-three block main drag lined with old western brick and wood frame buildings that are all on the National Register of Historic Places. Also walked up a hill to the old cemetery which was worth a wonder, with its unapologetic segregation. At one point D and I found an area with one sign “Jewish” with an arrow pointing one direction and the another sign “Catholic” with an arrow pointing the opposite direction. (Maybe he and I could have been buried side by side on the border between. Does Make one wonder if, with all the cremation, there will be graveyards for our generation that serve – as these old ones do – as a historical record of sorts.
We had a picnic in the tiny city park, fell asleep on the thick green grass in the sun (yes!) and set off w/D’s sister on highway 238 into a green valley with vineyards and trees blooming with pink, white and fuscia blossoms, surrounded by blue-grey mountains – this is the Applegate Valley wine trail and folks say it’s what Sonoma used to be 30-40 years ago, with about 18 wineries. We stopped at three that had very different characters (and probably wine although I’m no expert.) Fiasco Winery (upscale; we bought a bottle of fig balsamic vinegar and learned that to use it with salad, skip the oil), Devitt winery (not upscale but this is where we bought our wine – called Precipice.) and Troon Vineyard, with very elegant tasting room and grounds filled with perfectly placed picnic tables. Definitely worth of visit, even if – like me – you’re not a wine drinker.
TakeBetsywithyou 