Sunday, January 8th

We have had an uncharacteristically dry winter this year! The valley has been covered in fog, but just a small gain in elevation, and you’re in glorious sunshine!!!! Lucky for us, that small gain in elevation is just an hour down the road in Silver Falls State Park. This is our third visit in a month and we have yet to explore even a fraction of the the park!

A mossy walk.

The weather forecast was looking good this weekend, so off we went again. We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday and enjoyed a walk to the falls just before sunset. Warm soup and bread, a fun movie and a campfire topped off the evening. We awoke Sunday morning to clear skies and freezing temps…It made for a lovely, brisk walk around the nature trail that circles the campground.  This walk is probably spectacular in the warm months when all the trees are in bloom, but the freezing temps and low mist over the wetlands provide a different type of beauty during the winter.

Tucked in the trees.

Warm inside.

A little bit of sunlight!

We have found that we are really enjoying camping during the off-season. Oregon has a wonderful state park system…beautifully maintained grounds and facilities, but unfortunately the state parks camp sites are usually rather small and tightly packed. They were our least favorite places to camp during the summer due to lack of privacy. During the winter months though, you nearly have the campgrounds to yourself.  It’s quite wonderful!

The lodge.

We are looking forward to our return visit (site 37)…hopefully sooner rather than later!