Coveys Great Adventure

#72 September 2020 - Thompson’s Mills – Shedd, OR

About noon on September 8, 2020

I will always remember the smoke. The size and speed of the fires this year took Oregon by surprise. Unlike California, Santa Ana – type winds are uncommon up here. Strong northeast winds combined with unusually dry conditions and a large dry lightning storm ignited over 230 fires. The east-west passes though the Cascade mountains funneled the winds, concentrating and accelerating the fires to levels that Oregonians hadn’t imagined possible. In three days over 1 million acres, twice the state’s annual fire acreage, burned. Several towns that we have driven through recently were heavily damaged or destroyed.

The ducks never missed their daily bath

At the Mill, we were directly downwind of one of the largest fires. It rained ash. The smoke was more dense than from the Simi, Camarillo or Westlake fires that we rode out in Thousand Oaks. For over a week we didn’t see the sun. Although we weren’t in any danger, we certainly were nervous and checked the web several times a day to monitor the fires' progress. OPRD suspended all non-essential outdoor and indoor activities, eliminating our already-easy duties completely. Visits went from a few a day to none, literally. We had nine cars enter the park in seven days, most to use the restroom and then leave. It was weally, weally quiet.

Tomato pie? Delicious!

Throughout it all, however, the family farmer tended her garden. Weeds were expunged, tomatoes were staked, and the pumpkins and squash harvested. After the fire risk abated, no visitor was allowed to leave without produce. She also turned out delicious zucchini and squash breads, tomato pie (really) and fried green tomatoes in an effort to use the overwhelming abundance of fresh food. The chickens and ducks got so many veggies that they started to get picky.

We didn’t do much last month except work at the Mill and go shopping, so as soon as the fires abated we decided that we needed a break. There are dozens of wineries within an hour’s drive of Shedd. Kayeanne picked Cardwell Hill Winery in Philomath, and she hit a winner. Philomath is just west of Corvallis, set in rolling hills. It is home to several wineries, and Cardwell Hill is certainly one of the best. We picked up lunch (excellent) at Eats & Treats on the way through town and got to the winery shortly after noon. We had the place to ourselves and had a delightful time tasting great wines and talking wines and wine making with the owner and founder, Dan Chapel. He has been winning awards with his Pinot Noir for many years and we tasted several, all very good. His 2015 Monet Blocks Reserve is the best Pinot Noir I’ve tasted, and we broke our wine price buying rule. I’m glad we don’t have much space in the coach or it might have gotten seriously expensive. We had a great time and hope to return, soon.

Then, on the way home we decide to run through a car wash to remove the ash and grime. One of the revolving brushes ripped the rear bumper cover right off the car. I started to look for someone to kill, but the manager took immediate responsibility. He made a call and sent us down the street to a body shop who had us in and out in 15 minutes. Luckily, the cover wasn't damaged, but our Mexican paint job got scuffed up a little. The cover actually fits better than it did, a welcome surprise. They replaced all the fastenings that had failed over the years and from 10 feet away it looks like new.

Last year we hosted several events at the Mill. In normal times it is a popular destination for school class trips, car club meetings, motorcycle club rallies and bicycle group lunches. This season most group activities have been cancelled or outright banned in Oregon, so we were happy to open the grounds after hours to a paddling club from Corvallis. On our last evening at the Mill about 15 people spent an hour or two paddling their kayaks and canoes in the millrace. The weather couldn’t have been better for it, and everyone had a great time. I’m sure that Ratty and Mole would agree: it was a perfect evening for just messing about in boats.

That was a nice way to end our stay at the Mill. The next morning we packed up and headed northwest, back to Nehalem Bay State Park to camp host for our sixth year.

We found several good wines this month:
Fallen Bridge Petite Syrah 2017
Trader Joe's Reserve Syrah - Paso 2018
Pomelo Sauv Blanc 2018

I enjoyed reading Steven Brust's Good Guys, too.

More soon,

Bob