Category: OUTDOOR FUN!

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DISCOVER LET'S EAT! OUTDOOR FUN!

U Pick Organic Cherry-picking Days at Valley View Orchard

June is cherry-picking month in Southern Oregon!  If you don’t have your own cherry trees to pick from, consider heading over to Valley View Orchard at exit 19 in Ashland next season.

 

This organic Farm also offers U-pick peaches, apricots, grapes and more when in season, so mark your calendars and follow them on Facebook for their Picking Times.

 Taking children on an outing to the farm teaches them where their food comes from and gives them a sense of accomplishment as they “hunt” for the best produce to choose.  But make sure it is an organic farm or orchard to insure the safest, pesticide-free foraging for the little ones.

Dress comfortably in loose-fitting close to accommodate lots of reaching, stretching and walking.  Tennis shoes (no open-toes) are a must, and wearing a hat naturally protects little faces from sun and the heat of summer.  Buckets are provided by the farm, but keep in mind that the trek back to the farmhouse to pay can be a long one with a full bucket of cherries.  We always ask for two buckets each and fill them only half full or less to make the return trip and checking out a breeze.

Be prepared to hear, “This was my most favoritist thing to do ever!” , as you drive away from the farm, with little  lips smeared in cherry juice and smiles that reach from ear to ear.

Karen Daggett Austin
Owner, True Juice organic Café’ and Nana to five kiddos who LOVE to garden and pick fruits and veggies

 

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FEATURED IT'S FREE! OUTDOOR FUN!

Railroad Park Opens for the Season

City of Medford Railroad Park Opens for the Season
Opening day for Medford Railroad Park is Sunday, April 8th, 2018! Dozens of volunteers have been working hard to bring you an even more special park! Ride diesel trains and a motor car, view unique model railroad layouts and the Hogwarts Express, ride Thomas and Percy, tour historical railroad equipment and more. Bring the whole family, pack a lunch or eat at the Park. It’s fun for all ages.
Medford Garden Railroaders. See a G-scale logging railroad, trolley barn and lines, and seaport areas, including five water features! A separate Thomas and Friends garden railway will especially please the youngest railroad lovers, and the Hogwarts layout, added for Harry Potter fans, is designed so that tweens can run the Hogwarts Express train by remote control. New this year “Butterfly Garden” with over 150 plants designed to attract butterflies, bats & Osprey.

 

Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club. Ten HO scale trains, engines whining and horns blaring, operate across hundreds of scale miles of track, through working signals and crossing gates at the Highway 99 railroad crossing, between Medford and Klamath Falls, on the Pacific and Eastern Railroad, including the heavily forested climb out of Keno along the Klamath River. Children can help operate trains on a special HO layout.
The Southern Oregon Live Steamers. 2018 is their 37th year of offering free train rides to the public. Pulled by a variety of locomotives on almost two miles of track, each exciting train ride takes about nine minutes to go over and through all the tunnels, bridges and hills. The park favorite for the very young is the Thomas and Friends loop encircling the large Garden Railroad layout, with Thomas and Percy leading special trains built for small kids only.
The Southern Oregon Railway Historical Society. Tour restored 1910 and 1942 cabooses and a 1959 flanger (a type of snowplow), and view restoration work under way on Medco 4 ─ a local 1925 steam locomotive. Ride the motor car, visit the Museum, and the “Learning Caboose.”
The Railroad Park is open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from April through October. The park is operated by volunteers, and admission and parking are free. No tax monies are used in the operation of this park. All four clubs rely on the generosity of the public for donations to help offset the various costs involved in maintaining and expanding this one-of-a-kind Northwest attraction. This popular attraction is a unique collaboration between the City of Medford Parks and Recreation Department, the Medford Fire Department, and the four volunteer-based clubs.
The Railroad Park is located adjacent to Fire Station No. 4 at the intersection of Table Rock Road and Berrydale Avenue in Medford, just a few blocks north of the Rogue Valley Mall.
Note: Parking is limited. We encourage visitors to carpool or use public transport when possible.
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DISCOVER OUTDOOR FUN!

Geocaching provides hours of free outdoor adventures for the whole family!

 

   Geocaching provides hours of free outdoor adventures for the whole family!

By Alex and Amanda Smith

Geocaching has been around since 2000 and in recent years has expanded into one of the hottest family activities for all ages. Geocaching is a treasure hunt using GPS technology to find real life treasures hidden in plain sight all around the world and even in your own backyard! A GPS device or smart phone, a good pair of walking shoes, a writing tool, and a sense of adventure are all you need to geocache. It’s easy to begin. Go to Geocaching.com, set up your free basic membership (or for a small yearly fee become a premium member and have access to more geocaching options and possibilities), search your home address and let the adventure begin! Each cache will have a description of what you are looking for and sometimes a hint. You can also read the past logs of other folks who have found that cache. Once you discover the physical cache you will find a log sheet to write your geocaching name on. Then you can log the find online via smart phone or computer and share your experience with other cachers. Often, inside the cache you will find small tradeable items so make sure you have a trinket if you want to swap something! This is a favorite part of the game for young cachers. See Geocaching.com for more details on tradable items.

 In beautiful Southern Oregon, there is no shortage of hiking trails, stunning scenery, and outdoor adventure. Geocaching takes people to places they have never been to or perhaps didn’t even realize existed right here is Southern Oregon! From the top of Mt. Ashland to the river banks of the flowing Rogue River and all places in between, there are hidden caches and treasures to be found.

Visit our website at www.sogeo.org or www.facebook.com/Southernoregongeocaching to learn more and see some of the fun things we have going on.

If you have any questions about current or upcoming exploration opportunities, email us at [email protected].

We look forward to hearing from you and sharing more about this amazing adventure for the whole family!

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