Anniversary Quest
A quest often connotes something heroic or perhaps noteworthy. My quest was not heroic, but perhaps noteworthy. Mr. Webster explains that a quest is an act of seeking, so my return to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon fits the definition.
For a Tennessean, it is not easy to experience this wondrous place in southern Oregon. But things that are worthwhile usually require some effort. So, Becky and I flew to the Pacific Northwest to be with our Portland, Oregon family, celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and revisit a place that remains on my top ten list of destinations.
Sharing something beautiful like a piece of music, a great movie or a book with someone gives me joy. And sharing an experience or a place brings people closer together.
Because Crater Lake is relatively remote, my Oregon daughter and her family had never seen this remarkable place. The lake was formed in the crater of an ancient volcano, which blew up 7,700 years ago with an explosion 100 times greater than Mount St. Helen’s eruption. As the magma was ejected, the 12,000-foot volcanic mountain collapsed into a caldera, forming a crater with a circumference of 22 miles. And over the millennia, annual snow falls of 44 feet a year have filled the crater, producing a lake with trillions of gallons of water and a depth of 1,900 feet. The water is crystal clear and reflects blue wavelengths of light, giving the lake an intense blue color.
There is a saying that the journey is more important than the destination. Family road trips are an example. So, we traveled south from Portland through the changing topography of the Columbia River basin to the high desert, which gave way to the national forests of Lodgepole and Ponderosa pines. We saw elk, mule deer, Steller’s Jays and groves of quaking aspens. They say Ponderosa pines have a butterscotch smell, but not to the nose of a 74-year-old man.
Even the ash-like soil and volcanic rocks of the Crater Lake area reflect the ancient eruption and are different from Portland’s alluvial soil of the Columbia River basin. Ancient lava flows were commonplace as we approached our destination. Even the gravel along roadways is of volcanic rock.
Forest fires are a constant concern in Oregon forests, as they are in our Smoky Mountains. Most of the majestic Ponderosa pines had blackened trunks from forest fires, which reminded me of the giant Sequoias of Muir Woods in California. The thickened bark is fire-resistant. And when fire has burned away the brush, light can reach the forest floor. Then, as heat opens pine cones, seeds are released for the next generations of trees.
I remember the terrible fires in Yellowstone National Park some years ago. Becky and I saw the so-called apocalyptic destruction, but several years later, we were back and saw the rejuvenated forest, which even the alarmists agreed was better than ever. We saw the same process at work in Oregon forests.
I have been blessed to have traveled extensively all of my life, visiting scores of countries and traipsing across five continents. In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy discovered that “there’s no place like home,” and I believe she’s right. Travel certainly expands your horizons, but it makes you appreciate your own country more. So, Ferguson’s axiom is, it’s good to go, but best to come home.
You only get one 50th anniversary and mine was blessed. Becky created a marvelous book of pictures of our life together over the last 50 years. She even included captions! We weren’t supposed to give each other anything except the trip, so her defense was, “It’s for both of us,” and it is! And then my daughter wrote and performed a parody of Paul Simon’s song, “50 Ways to [Keep] Your Lover”! They are both so clever.
I told a friend that Crater Lake was on my top ten list of wondrous places. He asked me for my list, and this prompted considerable reflection. I’ve already mentioned the remarkable Yellowstone National Park with geysers and hot springs, which sit atop a huge magma collection. And I mentioned the magnificent giant Sequoias of Muir Woods. And here are some other notables:
– Views from the south rim of the Grand Canyon and later rafting down the Colorado River through the canyon with the rim a mile above
– Mount Cook, New Zealand
– Fjords of Cape Horn, Chile
– Glacier Bay, Alaska
– Crusader castles in Rhodes and Malta, Carcassonne, France, and in Slovakia – overlooking brilliant yellow rapeseed fields
– Heather in the Scottish Highlands and atmospheric effects like those of our Smoky Mountains as seen from our cabin above the Townsend, Tennessee valley
– The bay entrance to Kotor, Montenegro
– The Sistine Chapel, Vatican
– Niagara Falls and the Thousand Islands
– The Acropolis, Greece
– The ruins of ancient Carthage near Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
– Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia
Well, it’s obvious I had trouble selecting a “top ten.” Thinking about my list has been a trip down memory lane, where I will probably do my traveling in the coming years. I did my best to pare the list, but I had to expand to my top 15.
Hopefully, this essay stimulated some memories of your own. Better still, maybe it will generate your own family road trip.
So, if you turned to this column to read about the latest controversy, mayhem or murder, I’m sure you were surprised. However, I’ve done travelogues before, and if I continue to be blessed with life, you may someday read of another Ferguson adventure. But there will never be another 50th wedding anniversary or a fourth expedition to Crater Lake … in my memories.
