Day 18: Rest Day - Grants Pass, OR
Nau mai
Yesterday we had a rest day in Grants Pass, Oregon.
It felt strange going into another rest day so soon after our two days off in Sacramento but apparently, we couldn’t get a show booking in this part of Oregon, so a day off it was. We awoke on this rest day to find our vehicle parked outside the Hampton Inn & Suites Grants Pass, up the northern end of a small Pacific Northwest town set amongst picturesque fir covered hills. I committed my morning reconnaissance looking first out the starboard window and seeing a Mobil petrol station right next door and then just past that another gas station, this one Sinclair branded. Out the port window I saw an In-N-Out-Burger, this location famously the first of this chain to establish itself in the state of Oregon.
The Beths tour run club (Not Running Club is what I’m told it is called now) was eager to hit the trails so I punched out a quick breakfast of Trader Joes European Grains & Seeds Bread, toasted, buttered, and slathered with marmite and peanut butter.
The morning scene in Lavonda’s main lounge.
We caught an Uber to the trailhead, and it was an immediate vibe with the driver enthusiastically pumping The Doobie Brothers through his car stereo speakers. When we asked him about his radar detector, he told us how he liked to drive a bit faster than the speed limit on the highways and this device helped him avoid getting a ticket. He did keep it at a very safe speed on the city streets though.
The Cathedral Mountain trails were beautiful. We came across large piles of bear scat at regular intervals which did feel slightly menacing until we noticed the regular hoof marks and recalled the horse floats from the carpark. The climb to the top of the hill was well worth the effort and we emerged to find views across the valley as the cloud ceiling took a break and allowed the sunlight to decorate it all for us.
Later in the afternoon we decided we wanted to visit the antique stores in Grants Pass and this gave us the perfect chance to experience the small but efficient public transport network that serviced the city. We caught the number 10 bus, the pride of Josephine County Transit, a cash service that cost $1 (exact change only) and was driven by a friendly gentleman who was cheery and extremely helpful. “Is anyone aboard transferring to the 35?” he yelled back into the cabin and then got on his radio to coordinate with the driver of the 35 for a seamless rendezvous. A couple of pleasant hours of shopping later and we caught the 10 back to our hotel, the same driver at the wheel who yelled over his shoulder to us in the back, asking where we were travelling to so he could choose the optimal bus stop.
Tristan carries out his normal standing pose while we wait for the arrival of the 10.
It was a nice rest day and we were happy to have spent getting to know a new town in this southern tip of Oregon.