Page 62 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2019

the good life | adventure

dam. More than 200 homes were destroyed and several bridges
washed out by torrential rains. The communities of Laurelhurst
and McLeod were buried underwater. Today, Lost Creek Lake is
a focal point for recreation in the Southern Oregon area.

Following Crater Lake Highway for a few more miles, Joseph
Stewart State Park comes into focus. If you want to stop here for a pic-
nic and swim break, turn left at the first entrance marked “Day Use,”
and follow the road leading to the Lost Creek Marina and Store. The
parking lot closest to Picnic Area A has a marked swim beach. Picnic
tables and bathrooms with running water, flush toilets, and cold show-
ers are nearby.

Your next stop on Crater Lake Highway will be the triple water-
falls of Prospect—Pearsoney, Mill Creek and Barr Creek falls. Two
of Prospect’s founding family’s names, Pearson and Mooney, live
on through the eponymous “Pearsoney” name given one of the falls. Harnish Park and Visitor
Center in Eagle Point
Pearsoney Falls is accessed from the trailhead leading out of the park-
ing lot of the Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint.

Farther down Mill Creek Drive, just over the Rogue River Bridge,
are two larger falls, Mill Creek and Barr Creek Falls. Mill Creek Falls
has a dramatic 173-foot drop and Barr Creek Falls tops that with a
combined height of 240-feet. The parking lot leading to the trailhead
is easily spotted from Mill Creek Drive and features a large map of the
trail network. From this trail, you can also access the Avenue of Giants,
a swiftly flowing section of the Rogue River filled with astonishingly
large boulders.

FAREWELL BEND AND BEYOND
Take time to see two delightful geological treasures of the journey.
Beginning with Takelma Gorge, a 150-foot-deep rock canyon, you’ll
encounter evidence of ancient volcanic fury. Not too nuch further
north lies the Natural Bridge formation. Here, ancient volcanic activ-
ity collided with the waters of the Rogue to create a tangled network
of underground lava tubes. One of these tubes sucks the turbulent Succulents along the way
waters of the Rogue River into its mouth and spews it out several hun-
dred feet downstream, creating what is appropriately named Natural
Bridge. You can easily access both sites from the highway.

Be sure and plan a stop at popular and much-loved Beckie’s Café (about
two miles up the road from Natural Bridge) for a sweet send-off to the
final leg of your journey. Local folks rave about the pies, especially the
legendary huckleberry pies that date back to the original 1926 owner,
Ed Beckelhymer (nicknamed Beckie). Ninety years later, travelers
from around the world seek out the pies, which take over three pounds
of berries each to make. Rumor has it that Beckie’s glass-eyed second
wife Cecil and first wife Nettie still haunt the kitchen and argue about
how best to run the café.

When the last crumb of pastry has disappeared from your plate, all
that’s left is a thirty-minute drive to the entrance of Crater Lake
National Park. A few miles north of Beckie’s, the aptly named Farewell
Bend serves to see you off. By the time you reach Crater Lake National Beckie’s Cafe in Union Creek
Park’s entrance, you will have discovered that getting to Crater Lake Photo by: www.facebook.com/UnionCreekResort
was half the fun of your trip.

60 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | summer 2019