The Rest of the Day

It's always a blessing to sit and visit with my sister-in-law.  There wasn't any time this trip to connect, so we met at 0700 for tea/coffee and a visit.

Not a picture of our actual breakfast - a no make up day the day before

 I hit Target at 0800 - who knew it was STAR WARS DAY! ::snort:: I picked up some food items , more  Command Velcro and a roll of quarters.

Here are a few photos from our ill-fated walk...Before the fall...

 

And After the fall Nolan took the younger two and took photos while Michael tended to me at the trailer.

 

You are not looking at trees. This is the reflection in the McKenzie river.

 

Mom and Dad stopped by The Caboose. They were our first visitors since moving into The Caboose. (Well, our first visitors which we didn't put to work).

 

We checked out of Armitage right at noon and headed down the road to Valley of the Rogue Sate Park (review to follow).   We finished setting up right before a thunder storm - it blew through too quickly for my liking.

I sat on the couch, elevating and icing my ankle, and supervised the kids as made dinner.

My view from Armitage to Valley of the Rogue

Nolan and Michael got the new grill set up. They did great.

 

I cleaned up - you can almost reach everything by standing in the middle of the trailer - and Michael and the kids went out and explored the campground/river.

Rogue River

Rogue River behind the camp site

We topped the night off a round of Dixit and a Tim Hawkins comedy show.

New Bifocals May Be Hazordous...

I exited the Caboose with energy and purpose....we were off to explore Crilly Trail and walk along the McKenzie river before we took off for the Rogue River.

Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that hikes with new bifocals can be treacherous.... the steps got me.  Michael walked back to the campsite and brought the van to retrieve me. I settled in with ibuprofen and ice, while the kids continued their hike and he ran a couple of errands in preparation to moving.

I had a bit of crying jag and realized it is because I so desperately want to make a zillion fun, family memories in face of Michael's recent "transition diagnosis."  Then I realized - this is our LIFE. If we miss this hiking trail, or this evening of s'mores - there will be plenty more. We are not camping.

Armitage County Park

This beautiful campground is located inside a Lane County park, on the outskirts of Eugene, OR.  The park provides lots of picnic areas and fields, a horseshoe pit, boat ramp, 2 acre leash-free dog park, hiking trails and a volleyball pit or two.

The campground itself has approximately 31 full hook-up sites,  as well as tent sites and group sites in a lush, wooded area. There are some pull through sites.  Each site is allowed one RV and two tents or three tents - making this a great place to meet up with friends or let kids have a side-adventure.  If you reserve online you will be told if your site has strong, fair or weak wifi. The sites along the river have "weak" which means you can see they are there and may be able to log on, but won't be able to post or upload photos or videos, unless you have a wifi extender.  The sites near the camp office have "strong" wifi.

 

The bathroom/showers are CLEAN and well-maintained. The laundry room is state of the art, shiny and again CLEAN and well-maintained.  A load of wash is $2 and the dryers are .25 for 15 minutes.

The highlights of this campground are the hiking trails - right alongside the McKenzie river at mile 7.3, as well a Crilly Trail.  Armitage boasts lots of fishing spots and swimming holes, boating etc.

The day use park closes at dusk and the park becomes very quiet. Lane county does a great job of maintaining this campground. With the full hook ups and laundry, minus the pools and hot tubs....Armitage feels like a blend of state campground and RV Park.  We'll stay again. It's a blessing to so quickly find a nice campground close to family so we can make lots of visits.

You can make reservations online  - and from what I see it's advisable to do. There is a reservation fee which doesn't go towards your camping fee.  We paid $30 per night. Reservations and Information - 541-682-2000; campground office 541-357-5481. Located at 90064 Coburg Road, Eugene, OR.