Our journey this past week included cherished time with family and friends with some amazing sights along the way through Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and California.

We met up with Joe’s brother Chris east of Portland in Hood River, OR where we camped alongside the beautiful Hood River in Tucker State Park. The three of us hiked the Eagle Creek Trail to Punchbowl Falls (only Chris made it all the way) and survived several slippery, narrow sections by hanging onto the guide wires bolted onto the cliff. The burn ban didn’t take effect until July 1st so we enjoyed sitting by our solo stove fire and talking in the evening. It was a special visit and a great outdoor camping experience with Chris!

Our next stop was Portland, OR where we had a lovely lunch on the Columbia River with our friend and Joe’s former boss, Matt Finucane. It was great to see Matt and catch up on his relocation to Portland. So difficult to imagine we’ve known and worked with Matt for more than 30 years and now we’re all retired from Penn and having lunch on a Friday afternoon!

During this period of our trip, we’ve especially noticed longer vistas and the numerous windmills across the western states, including large trucks transporting oversize blades.

We’ve also witnessed the devastation caused by past wildfires across many acres and miles in the Pacific Northwest. Although burns are a natural benefit to healthy forests, the extent of the destruction was alarming. Large swathes of mountain sides across numerous miles were grey and black instead of forest green including: the Holiday Farm wildfire caused by lightening that engulfed the McKenzie River Valley in 2020 and burned over 173,000 acres and destroyed more than 400 homes; blackened trees in Crater Lake National Park from a time when the National Park Service let fires burn and extinguish naturally; and the Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia Gorge that burned more than 50,000 acres, started in 2017 by a 15-year-old boy igniting fireworks during a burn ban. As we hiked the Eagle Creek Trail we were surrounded by the grim reminder of the young man’s careless moment.