July 20, Day 7, was another long travel time day, as we traveled from Brooking, Ore. to Diamond Lake, Ore., ducking back into California a bit before returning to Oregon. We added some nice shared experiences along the way. It was tough leaving the cool coastal weather behind as we drove through miles of redwood forest toward Interstate 5. We glumly watched the outside temperature slowly climb along our route.
Off to the side of the road, I noticed a rural fire department that it’s name begged more questions than answers as to their coverage area.
When I was driving for Knight Transportation, I often visited or passed through places I’d like to visit again or share with Kari during our retirement travels. It’ll likely be a reoccurring theme as our travels progress around the country.
On this day, I was able to check two places off that dream list, Heaven On Earth and Seven Feathers. We had planned to stop at Seven Feathers and HOE just happened to work out.
Heaven On Earth is a small restaurant along I-5 at Exit 86 in Central Oregon (just south of Seven Feathers). You can’t skip a place that advertises “Home of the Famous Cinnamon Roll.” It’s not advertised, but the restaurant is a bakery too.
I’ve spent nights there while I was driving for Knight Transportation even though they only offer parking in addition to their incredible food. Today we picked up a cinnamon roll and a pecan roll for the next day breakfast and a large piece of pineapple upside down cake for Kari and apple crisp for me for dessert. Plus a couple jars of goodness, one preservatives and the other BBQ sauce. I really should have taken some photos, but I didn’t. The inside photos I stole from Google Maps and they are still accurate.
In my past visits, I’ve overheard the owner, a very nice Christian woman, talking to locals about the business and her plans to expand (pre-Covid). I had told Kari about her the best I could, and was happily surprised when I exited the bakery after buying everything that the owner had bumped into Kari outside and they were enjoying a lovely conversation about each other.
Just a few miles later, Seven Feathers.
Seven Feathers is along I-5 at Exit 99 in Canyonville is a Native American casino resort, much like many others. Good restaurants, super shows, and I’ve lost money gambling there. Yup, typical.
On the opposite side of the highway is a Travel Center that includes services for both the car traveler and commercial vehicle driver. The Travel Center has a pastry and sweets counter that is certainly sourced from the casino’s food and beverage operations, and always has tempting selections. They’ve got a nice grill for a variety of hot and cold sandwiches. They do a good hot pastrami sandwich that claimed me as a victim—again.
There is also a RV park there that I’ve never seen until today. In the past I was tempted to take the casino shuttle there, but never committed to it. We took the opportunity before fuel and lunch to check it out. It’s likely the nicest RV park I’ve ever seen, rivaling one we stayed at in Palm Springs back when we had our Airstream in the late 1990s-early 2000s. We are definitely interested in returning for a stay.
Back on the road to Diamond Lake, which is next to Crater Lake National Park for two nights…and no cell service. The RV park is a basic campground, but was well maintained with a friendly and welcoming staff.
Diamond Lake is beautiful and provides a variety or recreational activities.
