We arrived in Roseburg about 3:00 and checked in at the Holiday Inn Express. I would highly recommend this hotel if you ever find yourself needing a room in the vicinity. Dogs are welcome in the first floor rooms. Our back door opened onto a nice green lawn with the beautiful Umpqua river just beyond. The indoor pool, jacuzzi, and fitness room were excellent. The free breakfast was a lot more than coffee and donuts, with cheese omelets, bacon, toast, yogurt and fresh fruit. A good value and nice clean rooms.
Hotel behind, partial view to left.
Jacuzzi under gazebo with view of the river.
Edie's son Tony lives in Roseburg and her best girlfriend just up the road in Glide. We met up with Tony and went out to Abbey's Pizza for dinner. Mmmmm - I love Abbey's. I don't think we have them up here anymore.
On Friday we got any early start on the day. We planned to head to Winston to the Wildlife Safari Park. We toured parts of Roseburg along the way. It had been raining on and off during the morning and the sun was coming out just as we arrived at the park. There are some caged animals to see in the little Safari Village. A cheetah, some monkeys, snakes, flamingos (did you know that flamingos have purple knees?) and Snowball the Deer. Remember Snowball the deer who was removed from a family in Molalla? She is at the Wildlife Safari. She was injured and unhappy when we were there. Limping around her little enclosure and visibly miserable. I wish they had left her with the only family she's ever known in Molalla. Very sad. The gift shop had the usual stuff. We had to duck in there while a quick hail storm passed over.
miniature donkey
owl monkey
Flamingo
Snowball
So we got back in the car to begin our Safari Adventure. The first section was AFRICA and the first animals we saw were a couple of Ostrich laying in the grass near the Lion cage of all places.
So we got back in the car to begin our Safari Adventure. The first section was AFRICA and the first animals we saw were a couple of Ostrich laying in the grass near the Lion cage of all places.
Most animals are free to wander. The lions, tigers, cheetahs and bears are in caged enclosures. the bear enclosure is a drive through but was closed on this day due to cranky bears they said. Personally I think it has to do with the recent attack on a park worker.
Passing the Ostrich we next saw some kind of long horned African cattle. Really long horns on these guys, I don't know how they hold their heads up. Then we saw the Rhino's. My gosh they are HUGE. I mean, you know that of course, but when they are just a stone's throw away from your car you really get a new measure of respect for the size of them. Very interesting and prehistoric looking creatures. There were Zebras and other grazers, Gazelle's or something on the hill above the Rhinos. We drove through the Lion enclosure and the male got himself up from his nap to stroll majestically before us as if on cue. Big Black mane on that guy. Then more Zebras, gazelle type grazers and various types of waterfowl. Soon we rounded the bend to see Giraffe's lumbering along the roadway. How weird to look our your window at a Giraffe's knee. I just love their gait, no hurry, just strolling along. They are very majestic creatures.
All the way along through the park are geese, ducks and emu's just wandering. Geese are honking at you, Emu's are bum rushing your car and making a gutteral yuck yuck yuck sound down low in their throats. I very quickly rolled up my window a few times to avoid them sticking their heads in the car. They look at you in a very menacing way.
Approaching the Elephant area a sign invites us to pull through to the Elephant Car Wash. and in small print $20.00. Well that is just too much. We tell them we cannot afford that and the park attendant responds "would you like an Elephant car wash for free?" Free? we say. For real? Yes she says, for real. Well of course! We aren't idiots after all. We are instructed to pull forward to where an elephant is waiting with buckets of water. What Fun! Edie and I were just beside ourselves. Tiki was the name of the elephant and she had a lot more hair on her than I would have expected. She waited, trunk curled up on her forehead for us to be in the right spot and then on cue from her trainer she sucked water up out of the bucket and let it go over the top of the car. We were truly surprised by the volume of water she could hold in her trunk. When she felt that there was a sufficient amount of water on the car she grabbed hold of the sponge and began to wipe the windows, taking great care and being very gentle. She then rinsed with great volumes of water and placed her trunk back upon her forehead to signal she was finished. What a wonderful experience. We were compelled to turn over a $5 tip. I asked if I could pet her trunk but they would not allow it. Darn! I took video of the Elephant car wash - view it here.....
The monkeys are housed on islands in little lakes. They have fun looking habitats with many things to swing and climb on. Swinging and climbing is exactly what they are doing, making it tough to get a decent picture. We got a small glimpse of the hippo. mostly of his butt and cute little tail which he was wagging. Of course he was in a pond and most of him was under water.
ASIA was the next part of the tour. There were interesting types of small deer, herds of them mingling together. Water buffalo share the roadway with you and sometimes you have to stop and wait for them to decide to move out of the way so that you can continue. Camels were seen at various locations throughout the park. All were tethered to their feed bins, munching on hay.
One of the creatures I found most interesting were what appeared to me as white reindeer. Laying, almost as if posing in a straight line on the hill. The Cheetah's and Tigers were something to see. They have a lot of cheetah's and a successful breeding program there.
The next track was THE AMERICAS. This area began with Bison. Such lovely creatures. Their heads look so soft. I would love to have petted one. Which I could have done while driving by, but decided I probably should not. The Bear enclosure came next. While the drive through was closed, we were allowed to pull up and stop where we could clearly see them. There were two brown bears seemingly juveniles playing together right at the entrance. Wrestling and tumbling around on the grass. They were very loud as well. Above them on the hill could be seen two much larger bears looking on. They seemed older and content in being spectators to the wrestling match below. There was a large herd of Elk beyond that. Many females resting in the trees and a few males in soft velvet sleeping peacefully while we passed.
There is much to see at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who loves animals. View all the trip pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/sprout33/SouthernOregonWildlifeSafari?feat=directlink
The remainder of the day was spent on a long driving tour of the Roseburg area. Edie drove me to all her old haunts while I pictured everything along the way. We had a mix of cloud, rain, hail, and slushy rain, with the occasional sunbreak. We bypassed Callahan mountain as it was snowing up there. With such a lovely river running through it is no surprise that there are many, many parks in Roseburg.
My favorite thing about this region are the lovely green rolling hills, the Madrone trees and the many Oaks that dot the landscape. It is the epitome of picturesque!
I cannot possibly remember the names of all the locations we visted. I will report those that I can remember:
Lookingglass Valley. Gorgeous!
OC Brown County Park. Fun!
Colliding Rivers. A very powerful place!
Cavitt Creek Covered Bridge. Quaint and lovely!
Cavitt Creek Falls. Positive Ions refresh the soul!
The Narrows on the North Umpqua. Serene!
Susan Creek Falls. Very Spiritual!
On Saturday Edie, Tony and I drove up the North Umpqua to Jo and Ronnie's place on Susan Creek. What a gorgeous piece of property they live on. All by themselves in a sunny clearing with forest all around. Chipmunks and Juncos, and Jays and Chickadees shared of the seeds and peanuts offered up by Ron and Jo. They have a gorgeous dog named Paul, whom I enjoyed petting. Peaceful serenity there. I very much enjoyed their company and am blessed to have met them. Jo served us the most delicious seafood enchilada with rice and beans. She is a wonder in the kitchen. There is good energy out there. I can't wait to visit again.
No comments:
Post a Comment