Ashland – Riveted

Another Day in Ashland

Laura Domela — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 19:51:16 +0000

We got up earlyish this morning and decided to head over to the Morning Glory Restaurant for breakfast. The place has great reviews on Yelp and it did not disappoint. Breakfast was great, and just the fuel we needed for another bike ride.

Today we drove up to Central Point (just North of Medford) and rode the other part of the Bear Creek Greenway trail that we didn't cover yesterday (to South Medford and back, about 15 miles round trip). This part of the trail is not quite as nice as yesterday's part of the trail. Some parts are pretty and it still runs along Bear Creek, but most of it is quite close to I-5 (noisy) and there were quite a few transients campers, camping where they likely shouldn't be. No big deal, and still great to have the path at all, but you get the picture…probably just because it's closer to Medford (bigger city).

The weather today is fabulous!

It was a little cloudy this morning, but by midday the sky was mostly clear and it was in the low 70s. After the ride we stopped in town at Mix Sweet Shop for a cappuccino and a macaroon, then came back to camp and Kevin moved a pork shoulder we had brining out of the brine and onto the smoker. Then we went on another smaller ride around part of the lake, and I stayed back to do some work while Kevin extended his ride a bit.

The dinner we put together last night turned out so good! Kevin grilled some halibut (with a little lemon and pepper and butter), and I made an asparagus salad with prosciutto and a truffle viniagrette that was delicious. (Peeled then blanched the asparagus, then cut stalks into "short thick matchstick" sized pieces and tossed them in a viniagrette of olive oil, truffle oil, white balsamic, pepper, and some truffle salt, topped with small pieces of prosciutto.) The salad and the fish went perfectly together (and nicely with the Sauvignon Blanc we picked up at the Dana Campbell winery yesterday). Tonight's dinner will be pulled pork with Carolina sauce, and some fresh organic green beans I picked up at the market yesterday.

We'll head back to Bike Friday in Eugene tomorrow to have a few tweaks done on the bikes before going back to Portland for a few weeks.

Bear Creek Greenway Trail, and Two Wineries

Laura Domela — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 21:25:37 +0000

This morning after breakfast we headed into town with a plan (and our bikes). We parked at the Market of Choice (where we planned to do grocery shopping post-ride) and hooked up with the Bear Creek Greenway Trail and rode from Ashland to the South end of Medford and back (about 29 miles).

We passed through Talent, Oregon and Phoenix, Oregon, and on the way back stopped in Talent at the Avalon Bar & Grill for some lunch. Food was great! We shared an Italian panini and a chopped salad with chicken, cheddar, and bacon, with a homemade basil honey viniagrette that was fantastic! (Basil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, honey, and extra virgin olive oil…I'm gonna try that at home!)

We rode the rest of the way back to the market, shopped, then headed up the hill to check out two wineries we'd read about: Dana Campbell Vineyards (a fairly new winery here in Ashland) and its neighbor Grizzly Peak Winery.

The view of Ashland from Dana Campbell:

The wine at both wineries was good and interesting, and the people were all fabulous. We bought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Dana Campbell to go with dinner tonight: grilled halibut and asparagus salad, and a Syrah from Grizzly Peak (maybe for tomorrow with the pulled pork). Should work out perfectly!

I took ridiculously few photos today, but the trail was great! Yeah, it runs along I-5 some of the way, past a run-down trailer park and another run-down mobile home park, but still…you can ride on a mostly tree-lined paved trail from Ashland all the way to Central Point. It's pretty great if you ask me.

Now we're just chillin' at camp, happily tired.

Tonight in Ashland

Laura Domela — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 02:01:53 +0000

Our campsite here at Emigrant Lake:

After we got settled in our campsite we decided that we wanted to go into town for dinner instead of cooking. We did a little Yelp research and decided on a spot called Amuse. Kevin was reading about the chef, telling me he had lived in Calistoga for a bit, which restaurants he worked, etc. Then:

Kevin: "Hey, the pastry chef — the chef's wife — while they lived in Calistoga, was the pastry chef at The French Laundry."

Me: "Well then I guess we're having dessert."

We got an 8pm reservation and it was a lovely little restaurant in downtown Ashland. The food was great and we'd definitely go back. Highlights: asparagus salad and sweetbreads starters, and the beignets for dessert. The beignets were light and hollow and fluffy…more eggy and almost custardy like popovers and they were fabulous. I'd go back just for those.

Another shot of our campsite from the upper row as we were leaving for dinner:

Hope you all have a great weekend!

We Made it to Ashland

Laura Domela — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 21:23:44 +0000

We did a long drive today (6+ hours) and arrived safely in Ashland, Oregon. We're at Emigrant Lake and it's lovely.

It just started sprinkling so I think we'll head out for some groceries and a little exploring.