Before leaving the Elkton RV Park we ventured down to the Umpqua River. It was an easy walk. We took a few pictures, found a couple of interesting rocks and stuck our feet in the water before leaving. We took Hwy 138 southeast toward Sutherlin, another nice drive.
In Sutherlin we fueled up the van and bought groceries and ice. At the grocery store, Shop Smart, Diane stayed with Slinky and I shopped. We have one paramount shopping guide wherever we are and that is buy local products whenever possible. This guideline also applies to beer and wine. Looking through the wines a bottle of Red Table Wine caught my eye, Touchdown Red an Umpqua Valley wine. I also bought two 6 packs of beer one from Ninkasi Brewery and the other from Deschutes Brewery, both are Oregon breweries. While we have enjoyed beers from these breweries in the past we have not seen these two brews, Pacific Rain Pale Ale from Ninkasi and Twilight Summer Ale from Deschutes.
At the checkout I was greeted by a very nice lady. As she was going through each item she came to the Touchdown Red. After scanning the Touchdown Red she asked me if I would like to hear the story of how the name came about. How could I refuse? There was a guy behind me in line but he didn’t seem to mind as the story unfolded. The owner of Girardet Wine Cellars in the Umpqua Valley was piloting a friend and himself to Portland on his private plane. As they were ascending into flight altitude the pilot noticed something was not right with the engine. All the instruments registered nothing was wrong but the pilot thought they should turn around and they did. After turning around the engine failed and the pilot had to quickly find the nearest piece of smooth real-estate available to land the plane. That real-estate happened to be the southbound lanes of I5 between Sutherlin and Roseburg. So in July of 2013 Marc Girardet made a successful glide path landing on I5. The Touchdown Red wine, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah, is a celebration of that landing.
Our journey to Elk Haven RV Park wasn’t that exciting. The wine was tasty and the beers were good too.
Love the sun shade!!