Day 3 – Drove onward to Oakridge Or, which is such a run-down hillybilly-looking town that it gives me living-in-Kentucky, Appalachian flashbacks. My hard-luck motel did have decent internet and a shower which was mighty welcome after three days. The good ole inter-web told me that there was an actual hot spring a mere eight miles away, so off I went an hour before sunset.
McCreadie Hot Springs – The hot springs issues into the shallows of the pretty river. Noise from the highway notwithstanding, it would have been pretty sweet, but … the people there were loud, their kids were out of control brats and there was a lot of yelling, making the whole experience quite a bit less that it could’ve been. It was like Dogpatch comes to Oregon.
Day 4 – My slagging of the fine people of Oakridge notwithstanding, there was a very nice breakfast place at the west end of town (don’t remember the name), with a super chatty tattooed biker-dude waiter who gave me a really fine tip that there is a much better hot springs north of here. So instead of going west to the ocean as I had planned, the new plan is to take the Aufderheide Drive(?!) north to Cougar Lake and Terwilliger Hots Springs.
Terwilliger Hots Springs – The springs are a little walk back along the lake into the woods. At the head of the trail is a little booth manned by a couple of friendly hippies where they charge you $5 to walk down the trail. Me being me I was annoyed, but I got over it, parked and paid the $5, and had a wonderful time.
Cougar Dam — Well relaxed, I press on around the edge of the lake to the dam that creates it. I’m drawn to dams and bridges; I love the unusual perspectives and vistas they provide – took a few pictures. Thence to Eugene, where I kinda wanted to stop to get a feel for what Oregon U is about, but even more, I kinda wanted to eat up some more miles on the way to van-land.
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