13 September 2017, Wednesday
Farewell to S, K, and Zephy. We make a quick stop at the Bellevue French Bakery for pastries – tomorrow’s breakfast, and then we are on the road south towards Oregon. The drive goes smoothly. O and I switch off about every 80 miles, and before we know it, we arrive at Black Canyon Campground in the Willamette National Forest about 8 miles west of Oakridge. We drive the narrow campground roads and select site 22, as it is further from Highway 58 and is right along the stream whose gentle song will lull us to sleep.
As I was trying to enter the campground as a destination in our GPS this morning, I noted that it was not listed. I did, however, find Brewer’s Union Local 180 marked as a recommended restaurant in Oakridge. Looking it up on Trip Advisor, I discovered it is a true English style pub. Of course, since it is conveniently located near our intended campground, I set this as our day’s destination.
As soon as we finish registering at the campground we proceed to Oakridge, a cute little town surrounded on all sides by national forest. The brew pub does, indeed, remind us of the Scottish pubs we visited in 2011. Our ESB is delicious and the chicken taco salad is spicy and satisfying.
Back at camp we explore a bit and enjoy our view of the lichen draped trees.