Ashland


Ashland Oregon is six miles from Talent Oregon and is one of Oregon’s most charming travel destinations. Ashland is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University, a superb hands-on science museum, and has almost as many bed and breakfasts per capita as Mendocino, CA which I think has the most in tha USA. Lithia Park, right next to the wonderful Shakespeare Festival venue, is a huge city park designed by McClaren who also did San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The Southern Oregon Visitors Association has the best regional website and offers a free guide by mail.

It’s hard to beat a two week vacation in Southern Oregon, which is why I moved here back in 1989. Here are some of the great attractions near Ashland Oregon:

Crater Lake National Park. It’s got to be good if it’s on the Oregon State Quarter Crater Lake is about 90 miles from Ashland, a drive of just under two hours. Allow a full day and take the boat tour, one of the USA’s most unique boat tours which takes you around the lake and out to Wizard Island, the small volcano in the middle. You can swim here as well at at the Cleetwood Cove dock, the only two places to swim at Crater Lake or even get to the water. Cleetwood Cove is a strenuous hike and not recommended if you are not in reasonable shape.

Oregon Caves National Monument, about 60 miles from Ashland, offers really fun and educational tours of the Caves. Stay at the Oregon Caves Chateau, one of Oregon’s most intriguing lodges with bark clad siding.

Jacksonville, Oregon is on the National Register – one of the few towns so designated. Step into the Oregon of the 1800s with historic tours and buildings. Then enjoy top name entertainment at the Britt Festival Gardens (reserved tickets often needed). Britt is a natural open air amphitheater and hosts top acts throughout the summer.

Although Ashland is not on The People’s Coast aka the Oregon Coast, I’ll have a lot more about that at the new blog coming soon.

20 thoughts on “Ashland”

  1. Pingback: Make that TWO laptops per child? « Joe Duck

  5. As I passed by the Ashland Food Co-op in Ashland, Oregon on my way to the Post Office, a young and energetic Greenpeace standing on the sidewalk approached me and asked, “Would you like to save the Polar Bear?”

    Unable to resists such direct question about my concern for the environment, I stopped to dialogue with the volunteer about Polar Bear and several other environmental issues. I found her to be a well informed and dedicated volunteer. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on every issue, but the conversation was cordial. She did ask if I want support Greenpeace by becoming a member, but when I declined to join, she was pushy or insistent. During the interaction she mentioned that they had run into a problem standing in front of the Ashland Food Co-op and soliciting memberships. In fact she indicated that someone from the Ashland Food Co-op told them they could not stand on the sidewalk out in front of the Ashland Food Co-op and if they continued to they would contact the police.

    I was a bit amazed, I assumed an institution like the Ashland Food Co-op would support the efforts of an organization like Greenpeace. The Greenpeace volunteer was a taken back by their response as well.

    In spite of the objections of the Ashland Food Co-op, they remained there and continued to speak with the people coming and going about the Polar Bear and other environmental issue. Apparently Greenpeace had acquired a state wide permit to canvas for membership, and as long where not engaging in this activity on Ashland Food Co-op property and remain on the public sidewalk, there was nothing the Ashland, Oregon police or the Ashland Food Co-op could do to remove them.

    I had things to do and places to go, but this chance encounter stuck with me through the rest of the day. Know that there a two side of every store, I call the Ashland Food Co-op when I got home in late afternoon. I spoke with the floor manager, since the manager had gone home for the night. She said that they had received complaints from there cliental about the aggressive way that they where approached by the Greenpeace people out in front of their business. That is why they where asked to leave and the Ashland Food Co-op had consider call the police on them.

    Greenpeace can be aggressive in their efforts to save the environment, that they are famous for confronting, for confronting those logging old-growth timber, confronting those that govern us about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and confronting corporations and government whose practices are destroying the planet we live on. These are the people who where willing to put the selves between the whaling ship and the whales, risk life and life in the process.

    The Ashland Food Co-op is a place of business and I can only assume from the floor managers comments, that the last thing that their customers want is someone bothering them on their way into the their co-op. From the perspective of the Ashland Food Co-op this is not the way to work for the environment and way Greenpeace approached their customers could not be tolerated.

    I am only left to wonder if the Ashland Food Co-op and Greenpeace are unable to find a way to get resolve such differences when they arise, how can one expect the rest of the planet to muster the kind of co-operation that is require to hopefully resolve the environmental, political and economic problems our world now faces.

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  6. Thomas thanks – really interesting story, and I think a great point about how often groups assume that all the world needs is to come around to their way of thinking… unfortunately we have a LOT of different thinking people thinking that…

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  7. Hi, Joe, this is Joy Henkle from Whitewater Warehouse. Hope you remember me (us)! Anyway, I have been writing a blog for about a year now and would love to be featured on your blog list. The blog features southern Oregon travel/tourism sites.

    You can check out the blog by clicking on the website listed above. It is now my number one referrer to my Whitewater Warehouse site….according to Google Analytics!

    Hope to hear from you and I hope you are doing very well. No doubt you are, you are one very smart fella….Joy

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  8. Hey Joy! Great to hear from you. I’ve sort of practiced “total internet immersion” since leaving SOVA with mixed results but I really enjoy the freedom to do what I want.

    Great to see you are blogging and I’ll link you up to some of my new websites.

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  9. Joe, thanks so much for hooking our http://www.whitewaterraftingblog.com up to some of your new websites. What started out as a primarily Rogue River-oriented blog has really turned into a southern Oregon blog about interesting people and places.

    Just wanted to let you know that you have always been my internet-god! Glad to read you are still out there going strong spreading your good-joe vibes!

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  13. dear joe.duck //
    just got done reading your post on needing more originality in blogging // i couldn’t agree more. // after that i saw you’r ashland link !! // i just moved out to nyc but hail originally from yreka (( southern neighbor )) // anyways, nice blog && keep up the great work (:

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  15. Everyone should go see Mid-August Lunch at Ashland’s Varsity Theatre on 166 East Main Street. It’s delightful!
    Here’s a synopsis:
    The charismatic Gianni Di Gregorio (co-scenarist of the smash hit Gomorrah), stars in his directorial debut—an utterly charming tale of good food, feisty ladies and unlikely friendships during a very Roman holiday. Broke, and armed with only a glass of wine and a wry sense of humor, middle-aged Gianni resides with his 93-year-old mother in their ancient apartment. The condo debts are mounting, but if Gianni looks after the building manager’s mother during the Pranzo di Ferragosto (Italy’s biggest summer holiday, and the Feast of the Assumption), all will be forgiven. Then the manager also shows up with an auntie, and then a doctor friend appears with his mother in tow… Can Gianni keep four such lively mamas well fed and happy in these cramped quarters?

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  20. I am really loving the theme/design of your site.
    Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility problems?
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