Trip Report

The Bus Committee always plans to visit unusual places, and on this day, we accomplished such diversity.

The bus left Shopko at 8am with 42 riders, and arrived at the Butterfly Pavilion in Elkton at 9 a.m., for our usual coffee and goodies. Our hosts, Carol, Kris and Sue and others at the ECEC (Elkton Community Education Center) had picnic tables set up for us. We were very impressed with the improvements at their facility - functional cage rooms for the butterfly life cycle, nice gardens and trails, a library, gift shop, a small cafe, an amphitheater - all well organized. Unfortunately, the cool summer, under 80 degrees, has delayed their normal development, so only a few Monarchs and Painted Ladies were active. Everthing is by volunteers, with no public financing.

Nearby is a replica of Fort Umpqua, which is under construction. The stockade and buildings will feature the presence of the Hudson Bay Company in the early 1800s. This project is also handled by volunteers. The community has really come together on these pregrams.

We then traveled to the King Estate Winery for an absolutely elegant lunch. The food, the atmosphere, presentation, the view, service, were all the very best. We honored Bette Hack who is celebrating the BIG 90 - a gala going on for several days. Ron Madden, a professional singer from New York City, performed the Happy Birthday song in Italian - what a treat! Everything was perfect for Bette; a nice tribute for her long Obsidian service - having become a member in the early 1950s!

The last stop was at the Travis Tyrell Seed Orchard, located three miles west of Lorane. It is operated by the BLM to produce superior conifer seeds - mostly Douglas Fir, for sale to nurseries all over the nation. Manager Larry Johnson explained the basic operation, and then led us about two miles to the far end of the property to the Borchert Overlook - which has stunning views. Here Larry demonstrated the art of grafting. A ¾ mile Interpretive Nature Trail is along a creek - perhaps we can do that in the future.

We returned via Hamm Road to Creswell and to Shopko at 5:15 p.m.

Leaders: Sharon Cutsforth and Ray Jensen

Riders were members Ethel Allen, Alice Anderson, Bill Arther, Don Baldwin, Barbara Beard, Paul Beard, Paula Beard, Louise Behnke, Pat Bitner, MaryLee Cheadle, Sharon Cutsworth, Pat Dark, Rosemary Etter, Barbara Flanders, Dennis Flanders, Jeannette Forsman, Bette Hack, Dora Harris, MaryAnn Holser, Ben Jeffries, Pat Jeffries, Ray Jensen, Vi Johnson, Verna Kocken, Kathryn Madden, Ron Madden, John McManigal, Lenore McManigal, Natalie Newlove, Barbara Payne, Don Payne, Virginia Prouty, Liz Reanier, Julie Snell, Dick Speelman, Janet Speelman, Bonnie Ward and Cristy White; and guests Donna Bruyere, Jean Forsman, Jackie Giustina, Mark Irving, Judith Phelps and Meriam Schafler.