Day 5: Oregon

We followed the Sierra Nevadas north on I-5 for several hours. Long stretches of farmland eventually lulled me to sleep as we flew toward the endless horizon. The lizard sunbathed timidly on my lap. He’s afraid of fast moving shadows.

We stopped for gas and snow dusted Mount Shasta peeked at us from above the city. One surprise this week was driving through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest! Up and down the mountains, we passed stunning jade colored lakes, towering evergreens, Castle Crag, and the Black Butte lava domes. It was too fantastic, like a wild paradise you dream up for a story. But it was real. And we were there.

The beauty of this land was an introduction to Oregon, whose border was less than an hour away. There's a rest stop near the state line perched on the Klamath River. We pulled over to take a closer look. The river’s course flows southwest from the Oregon Cascade Range into California before pouring into the Pacific. It is home to Coho salmon and rainbow trout.

Rolling green hills trimmed with glistening snow carried us across the border. Millions of trees made the undulating landscape dense with evergreen fur. We stopped again at the edge of some forestland to finally breath Oregon air. The woods were cool and damp. Sunlight dripped through the leaves and branches casting an emerald glow over everything. The size of the trees overwhelmed me. Salty tears fell from my smiling cheeks and seeped into the sodden earth. Tyler whispered that these are small compared to what we’d see in the old growth forests!

A few more hours of driving and we were home.

Blue skies and warm sunshine welcomed us to beautiful Eugene. Brilliant spring wildflowers, enormous blooming rosebushes, and fragrant rosemary ornament every house in town. The streets are busy with people walking their dogs, joggers, bicyclists, and children in hats and wagons playing carefree. Empty lots are alive with new blossoms and grass. No trash in sight. Restaurants, parks, health food stores, and small specialty shops compose the petite but vibrant city.

On our walk to a café in town, we passed a field of dandelion clocks, begging the wind to carry their seeds away to a distant place. I didn’t stop to make a wish.

I think we will like it here.