Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 2016, Epilogue

Since Wednesday and Thursday mornings were "free". Toni and Ruth went shopping one of those days, Ian continued wading through a class-assigned Moby Dick, and I went hiking. Wednesday morning I walked beyond my usual cemetery walk and landed at a little park with this sign.

 The park was bordered by a bike/pedestrian trail: Coast to Crest, a trail that runs over 20 miles from Ashland to the Pacific Crest Trail. The next morning, I hiked to North Mountain Park which my little trail guide said was a birding hot spot. I was the only one hot by the time I finally arrived. But it would be an interesting park to explore earlier in the day.

It is very kid oriented, with lots of big soccer fields, etc., and a Nature Center with classes and activities for children ranging from compost creation lessons to wildlife watching, as with this wildlife blind, which I assume is supposed to be a tree with branches to hide behind, but considerably more comfortable and safer than climbing into the branches of a real tree.

One section tells about the original inhabitants of the area, the Native Americans. The sign below, if you can read it, explains the circular feature pictured.

A teepee made of cedar bark, I assume...

 The park borders Bear Creek, which flows along the eastern edge of Ashland.

I liked the sign by this beaver chewed tree at the edge of a very green pond. "Respect Wildlife. Help Protect Pond Life."

Lots of interpretive signs were along the trails. Grandson Ian knows I am compelled to read every sign I come across, and take photos of most of them.

At the road, the park has heritage gardens with plants pioneers might have brought with them to Oregon.

On the way back to the bnb, I discovered that the bike trail I had come across in my walk the previous morning crossed the road just a short distance from this North Mountain Park. So I took that trail home, a considerably shorter, cooler, and traffic-noise-free walk.

Of course, a trip would not be complete without a few, um, surprises. One was the elevator Toni and I tried to take to get up to The Bricks (area between the theaters). She is perfectly capable of walking up the stairs with her cane, but that day she had her walker as we were doing long distance walking. The walker does not go up stairs. However, once into the elevator, I could not make it go anywhere. Nor could I get the door back open. As usual, Toni came to the rescue and pushed the right button to free us from our cage... right where we started. She then walked the long way around the hill where there are no stairs. Toni got her exercise this week.

Toni again saved the day, or rather night, when we arrived at the bnb and I could not get the door unlocked. I fiddled and turned and giggled (my usual reaction in times of stress) until Toni took the key from me and unlocked the door.

Friday morning we had to be out of our bnb before the backstage tour at 10, so Ian and I hurried back from Judy and Don's to pack up, clean up, and head out. I took a photo of my three compatriots before we left, Toni, Ian and Ruth.

What a great week. I'm already looking forward to next year...