Grants Pass, Oregon and the Siskiyous

The drive from Portland to Grants Pass was long(ish) but pretty.  The farther south we traveled, the prettier the scenery.  Somehow I have no photographic proof of this, but trust me...it was lovely ;).  Anyway, from the top of the state to nearly the bottom we drove until we reached Grants Pass...time to get out and stretch those legs a bit!

We checked the map, found a park that looked nice, and all piled out for a little walk alongside the Rogue River...

a beautiful little park...

But wait!  There was something blocking our path!  What could it possibly be?  Oh you know, just a crazy herd of pigeons(?) that WOULD NOT GO AWAY.  And NO, we did NOT feed them nor were we eating anything.  They were just loco...

...the weirdo birds, though!  heeeere they come...

ack!

go away birds!...

...yes, YOU!

The boys had headed straight for the water and managed to get away before the pigeons found them, so the girls and I headed that way hoping the birds would stay up by the car...

ahh...looks so nice and peaceful, doesn't it?

Nope!  The herd followed us...weird birds...

i mean SERIOUSLY birds?  we could hardly take a step for fear of tromping on one...

We walked a little bit, but finally escaped back to the car and got back on the road.  The birds could have the park, I had an ocean to get to!  haha!

Leaving Grants Pass, we headed off into the Siskiyou Mountains.  We had wanted to visit the Oregon Caves, but a quick check online told us that they had already closed for the season.  Oh well, there's always next time ;).

We kept driving and soon the road led us deep into the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.  Old growth forests full of giant Redwoods and swaths of velvety green moss...yes, please, and thank you...

Those magnificent old trees take my breath away every single time <3.  More to come later, ya'll :)...