Oregon-Beautiful Dissonance
Obscurity Lake, Washington - Alluringly Peaceful Trap of the Biting Fly Apocalypse. Went to Oregon to escape the heat and flatness of Texas and test my mettle backpacking. 3 of my closest old friends live in the area around Portland with their spouses. All migrated years ago from California. This trip was an insightful opportunity to see how others from my youth have chosen to live their lives and retirement years. And also to better understand what it would be like to live in this area. My best friend from high school lives in a wooded suburb south of Portland close to mountains and the Columbia River. Riding horses and hunting remain his passions. Another lives in a beautifully restored 1925 house in Portland surrounded by mountain hiking/biking trails, eclectic food carts, with close proximity to river kayaking. He and I drove 2 and 1/2 hours to backpack for 3 days into the Margaret wilderness north o