My childhood memories are honeycombed with many trips to Oregon in search of rural property. My dad was smitten with the Oregon dream that also rubbed off on me as a youth. When an interesting add for Oregon rural property appeared in the paper, he would pack the family to make the long journey from southern California to check it out. For me this thousand-mile journey was palatable only because of the anticipation of connecting with the great outdoors. I packed fishing gear, though adequate for bluegill perch, would not have been a match for the powerful King salmon of my imagination. I regularly lost a lot of gear hooking stumps and trees, and even saw a mighty salmon break water nearby. Living in a rural area that was being overrun by development, even the glimpse of wildlife nourished my soul and dreams. So I was always eager for these long journeys that held promise that one-day we would pack up our belongings and make our home among the natural bounty of the lands to the north.
This dream came to fruition many years later after the passing of my dad. Even though we made many trips - saw many run down rural properties - nothing ever clicked. My mother wasn't very excited to move into houses leaning in all directions and if you dropped a marble in the middle of the floor it would not stop until it hit the wall. The farm structures generally weren't much better and my dad wasn't sure if there was any place to sell what he might produce. One add we followed led us to 160 acres with a well-built five bedroom colonial home. There was a guesthouse and some other structures. My mother wasn't put off by the large colonial home but the location was on a gravel road many miles from a town. I was very taken with the property because it had a rushing creek with trout and a beaver pond. I didn't analyze much else - I was sold. This property stayed on the market for a couple of years. The price kept increasing over time from sixteen to twenty one thousand. Dad could never solve the dilemma of supporting his family in the back woods. The place finally sold but his dream of Oregon never went away.