Do Deer Attend SOU?

... was the main question on Maddie's mind, when we took a tour of Ashland's Southern Oregon University campus and found three deer wandering around the lovely grounds. While Maddie has demonstrated some interest in the colleges we have visited in the past year (in Nashville and Seattle), she has never been quite as enthusiastic as I saw her today at the prospect

of attending any school. However, it was difficult to imagine a better introduction to a city. We spent the morning on a self-guided audio tour that took us through the town square, into a wonderful park, where the kids played in the creek and the playground, then took us down a residential street of charming, historic homes (one priced at a mere $995,000 ;)

There was a delightful outdoor market, which weaved along the creek, where every cafe has outdoor seating (which we enjoyed for both lunch and dinner). After our walking tour, we headed for the car for a more thorough exploration of the city and of SOU. Here we found more deer (after encountering one on our walk in the park) and more charming neighborhoods.

However, since no day can seem to come without at least one misadventure, our casual attempt to take I-5 as an alternate route to get to another destination on our map found us instead driving towards California, with no exit immediately apparent. Luckily, Mt. Ashland, the winter playground of these parts (at an elevation of 3000 feet) offered us a chance to turn around about nine miles later. Unfortunately, just as we were doing so, Dana looked, for apparently the first time in a long time, at his gas gauge, which helpfully informed him that we had "0 miles to reach empty." Clay had wondered after my earlier post whether the Ford Fusion could be trusted; Thank goodness it cannot. We drove - or should I say coasted - down the very steep hills from Mt. Ashland to Ashland proper for a gut wrenching (but somewhat hilarious) 9 miles, only to find that the first exit to Ashland didn't offer a Shell station for another 3 miles. When we finally pulled into that station, greeted by our second full-service attendant, we were quite relieved (and still laughing).

With a full tank of gas, we explored a few more of Ashland's lovely neighborhoods, then returned to downtown for an evening stroll and dinner along the creek. Tomorrow, we have another full day of driving - with a couple of alternatives to take us to Portland, where we will spend our last three nights before heading home. However,

if Bambi has her way, we may be spending a lot more time in this part of the world just a few years from now.

And that would be perfectly fine with me :)