Page 114 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

112  P A CIFIC NOR THWEST REGION B Y REGION

j Ashland
Road map 1 A5. * 20,000.
n 110 E Main St, (541) 482-3486.
∑ ashlandchamber.com
At first glance, it may be difficult
to believe that every year some
125,000 theatergoers descend
on Ashland, an amiable town
surrounded by farms and
orchards. What draws them
is the Oregon Shakespeare
A park ranger giving a tour in the Oregon Caves National Monument Festival, established in 1935,
and now presenting, between
g Oregon Caves h Jacksonville February and October, an
National Road map 1 A4. * 2,600. annual schedule of 11 plays by
Monument n 185 Oregon St, (541) 899-8118. Shakespeare, in addition to other
∑ jacksonvilleoregon.org works by classic and contem-
Road map 1 A5. n Oregon Route 46, porary playwrights. Theater
Cave Junction, (541) 592-2100. In this Gold Rush boomtown, buffs can also view props
Open 9:30am–5pm daily. & time has more or less stood still and costumes from past per-
8 hourly Apr–Oct. ∑ nps.gov since the 1880s, when Rich Gulch form ances at the Festival Exhibit
Creek ceased to yield gold and Center, and take backstage
Visitors on the 70-minute the main railroad lines bypassed tours of the festival’s three
guided tours of these vast the town. Jacksonville is now venues: the 1,200-seat, open-air
underground caverns follow the heart of the burgeoning Allen Elizabethan Theatre; the
lighted trails past strange southern Oregon wine region, Angus Bowmer Theatre, which
formations, cross underground where over 80 varietals are seats 600 people; and the
rivers, squeeze through giant grown in diverse microclimates. modern Thomas Theater.
ribs of marble, and clamber With more than 80 brick
up and down staircases into and wood-frame 19th-century _ Oregon Shakespeare Festival
enor mous chambers hung with buildings, Jacksonville has been 15 S Pioneer St. Tel (541) 482-4331.
stalactites. Discovered in 1874 designated a National Historic ∑ osfashland.org
by a hunter chasing his dog into Landmark. A walking tour (a map
a dark hole in the side of Elijah is available from the information Environs
Mountain, the caves have been center in the old railroad depot) Many commercial outfitters
formed by the steady trickling shows off the town’s wealth of launch raft and jet boat trips
of water over the past hundreds architecture and history. The from Grants Pass, 40 miles
of thousands of years. Above Beekman House (c.1876) is a (64 km) north of Ashland on I-5.
ground, three trails cross a museum that offers a glimpse The Rogue River rushes 215
remnant old-growth coniferous of how the town’s prosperous twisting miles (346 km) through
forest and lead to an ancient burghers once lived, with original Siskiyou National Forest and
and noble Douglas fir, famous furnishings and actors dressed other wilderness before reaching
for having the widest girth of in costumes of the period. the Pacific Ocean. Elk, mountain
any known tree in Oregon. The beautiful hillside estate lions, and bears are often seen
of 19th-century photo grapher roaming the riverbanks, and
Peter Britt is the setting of bald eagles fly overhead.
the annual Britt Festivals, the
Pacific Northwest’s premier
outdoor performing arts
summer festival. Internationally
famous artists representing
various music genres –
including rock, country, jazz,
folk, bluegrass, and pop –
perform beneath a canopy
of ponderosa pines (see p35).

P Beekman House
352 E California St. Tel (541) 773-6536.
Open by appointment. & =
_ Britt Festivals
Jacksonville’s Beekman House, built during 216 W Main St, Medford. Tel (541) A Renaissance stage set at the Oregon
the Gold Rush 773-6077. ∑ brittfest.org Shakespeare Festival
For hotels and restaurants see pp286–8 and pp296–8

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