First Post Office Visit - Broadbent, OR 97414

Monday - January 30, 2012

My first post office visit wasn't by motorcycle. Instead it was in the comfort of a Toyota Tundra 4x4 pickup but that didn't make the trip any less exciting.

Cindy and I were in Medford for the weekend and decided to take Forest Service Roads west of Grants Pass towards the coast. Without much cold weather we weren't concerned about snow over the coastal mountain range. Little did we know rain had more then made up for the lack of snow over the past week.

We started our adventure from Medford at 8:30am with expectations of arriving at the Agness Post Office before noon. West of Galice, Oregon we got on Bear Camp Road. This is the same road the Kim family took in 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Camp_Road) which had a sad ending. After about 20 miles we were greeted by a locked gate. I guess after what happened to the Kim family the county isn't taking any more chances.

We had to backtrack on Bear Camp Road then headed north to Eden Valley Route (FS-3348)and thought we'd arrive in Agness around 1pm. This road is both paved & gravel and only about 1 1/2 car widths wide. The scenery was beautiful and we were having a great time.

Cindy at one of the waterfalls along Forest Service Road 3348

Along the route we encountered rocks and fallen trees on the road but nothing we couldn't get around. Then less than 200 yards from where FS-3348 intersects the main Forest Service Road (FS-33)we ran into a barrier. Nowhere along the route were there any signs indicating this road was washed out and washed out in a big way.

At first I though maybe I could drive on the edge until I noticed the earth under the pavement where I was standing was washed out also.

Just one more corner and we'd have been on Forest Service Road 33 which you can see below.

With no other choice we turned around and backtracked on FS-3348 looking for another route. The first intersection we found was FS-5520 and the GPS showed it connected with the main road FS-33 so we took it. This road was narrow and overgrown with brush but looked promising until we ran into another barrier. Again no signs at the junction warning the road was washed out. Thanks for nothing Powers Ranger District. ;-)

The entire width of the road was washed out.

Now it was around 1pm and we were still in the mountains looking for away to reach FS-33. We worked our way back to FS-3348 and then backtracked on FS-3348 until we came to the junction with FS-3358. Would this route also be washed out or blocked? We decided to take a chance so off we went on FS-3358. Along the way we saw storm damage from wind and rain and after driving for an hour wondered if we'd made the right decision. We came across a few patches of snow covering the road but 4x4 got us by these spots. Having not seen a car all day on any of these Forest Service Roads maybe all the roads had been washed out. After driving a few more miles we finally spotted another vehicle coming uphill towards us. It was a Forest Service pickup with good news. The road we were on was open (barely) as it almost washed out with last weeks storm. We thanked him and continued down FS-3358. We reached FS-33 around 2:15pm and drove south to the point where FS-3348 had washed out and got this uphill view:

I think it's going to take some time to fix Forest Service Road 3348.

With the Agness Post Office still 20 miles away we couldn't make it by closing time and it would be dark before we'd get off FS-33. We decided instead to head north on FS-33 to the Broadbend Post Office which was open until 3:45pm.

At the Broadbent Post Office I met Irena, the Postmaster, and we had a nice talk. She understands small post offices like her's aren't a money maker but they do provide service to the locals in the area. She did tell me the Postmaster in Agness told her the Agness Post Office was removed from the US Postal Services cut list, which was good to hear.

With Irena at the Broadbent Post Office

After getting a postcard hand cancelled by Irena we left Broadbent and continued north on FS-33 to Myrtle Point. We drove through the old downtown area of Myrtle Point and saw many vacant buildings and store fronts. From what I'm seeing in my travels on the back roads, small town America is dying.

We decided to have dinner and fuel up in Myrtle Point and I hope the money we spent helps the locals in some small way.

This is the route we drove. About 400 miles over 11 hours:

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