There are places on this Earth that have such beauty it stuns you when you experience them. Photos can only do so much to convey that beauty. The physical experience is key. One of those places is Crater Lake in Oregon.
I lived in Central Oregon for a few of my younger years. For some reason, we never went to Crater Lake. It wasn’t until a few years ago that my brother, my cousin, and I–on a motorcycle trip–got into the park and saw this sight. We were fortunate because most of the park was still closed due to snow, and it was mid-July 2017.
Crater Lake’s beauty is enhanced by the physical dynamics that created it. More information is available here, from the National Park Service.
Mornings
Sometimes, beauty just hits you when you walk out in the morning on the banks of a river taking in the dawn glow, the mist rising from the river, the trees reflecting on the surface, and the cool air. The peace and beauty just take your breath away.
I’ve posted this image on this site before, but just had to include it again here. It’s one of my favorites. This area along the Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon, had an Army training post during World War II. Later, a few folks built mansions near the air strip and the area gained the name Sun River. It was also designated an archery hunt and an old high school friend and I would track deer through the terraced hillsides around there. Now, Sun River is a bustling tourist area.
Mountains
There are mountain ranges that take your breath away, too. I’ve been to Stanley Basin, Idaho, many times. The Sawtooth Mountain Range marching across the west side of the basin always amazes me. I did backpack up into those mountains once a very long time ago. This photo is from another motorcycle trip with my brother and cousin. I used this photo for the cover of my father’s memoir.
Stanley Basin is surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in Idaho, and the basin itself has a number of hot springs, Redfish Lake, Hell Roaring Lake, and–of course–the Salmon River. The River of No Return.
Yellowstone
Other mountains, passes, vistas, and peaks can take your breath away. Some years ago, I took my daughter on a motorcycle trip through Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Glacier Park and Yellowstone Park were included. One of the most memorable parts of that trip was the ride from Red Lodge, MT, over Beartooth Pass, into the Silver Gate of Yellowstone Park. That trip lives in our memories.
Of course, some of the memories was riding the motorcycle through part of the Yellowstone Park with lots of buffalo near the road. Amazing and a little bit scary.
A trip my brother and I made from Southern Idaho to Bozeman, Montana, was filled with some great experiences like views of the Grand Tetons from the west side and a snow-bound Henry Lake Basin as we rode to West Yellowstone. But, the Bridger mountains near Bozeman were the prize. When we headed home, my brother went back south and I headed west over the Continental Divide and on home.
Remote
There are places that can only be accessed via narrow, winding, mostly gravel roads. One of those, in 1977, was Atlanta, Idaho. Not an official town, just a small oasis in the middle of the wilderness. The camera and film then was just black and white, but it still captured some of the rustic, rugged beauty surrounding this little haven in the middle of nowhere.
I made the trip to Atlanta, then, in my old ’69 Mustang. Probably not the best choice for the trip, but it survived.
Another place I’ve always wanted to see was the Grand Canyon. I got to view from the North Rim in 1995 when friend Bill and I rode through the canyon lands and Northern Arizona. I was most impressed, then, that I could stand on the lookout on the North Rim and look down on the Colorado River, more than a mile below.
Grand Canyon
I returned in 2015 with my wife and we got to tour the South Rim. The descriptions and photos of all these places fall short of actually being there.
There are still beautiful places I have yet to visit and experience in our country, and I plan to do just that.
Keep writing!
