There's a place in southern Oregon called Medford. Just some pass-through town on I-5 on the way to Portland. But stop, stay awhile. Within an hour or two drive from Medford in almost any direction one can find natural vistas of the caliber that e.e. cummings meant by the phrase “illimitably earth.”
When we think of vacations we often think of big name places or big name cities. See: Hawaii (big name place), Paris (big name city). We might think of cruises, or famous architectural feats, or cuisine. These used to be my mental associations with vacationing. Lately , I’ve begun to appreciate the unassuming places that pack a big impact on the spirit when you go there. I’m not talking about a religious retreat, either.
I had the privilege of living in Medford, Oregon for three months last year. And it was an absolute privilege to call that town home. Medford is nestled among some of the most spectacular natural feats that are sure to shake your soul up if you encounter them with your eyes and imagination wide open.
Upper and Lower Table Rock are plateaus. Medford is a city nestled in a valley. A waaaay long time ago during the Ice Age, the valley was filled with water. The plateaus were formed when massive glaciers floating in the water that filled the valley sheared the tops of mountains off. Residents and travelers alike climb the plateaus and enjoy the view of Mt. McLoughlin on the skyline.
There’s also the Siskiyou National Forest which extends down into California if you venture far enough. The hiking trails around Applegate Lake open to panoramic views of quintessential Pacific Northwest vistas.
The turquois lake waters are perfect for kayaking or fishing. The hiking trails are remote enough that the only other humans you might encounter are glimpses through the trees of fisherman floating silently in their little boats on the water.
Speaking of pristine lake water, about an hour and a half drive from Medford is a place called Crater Lake. Some of the most pure water on planet earth is found in this lake formed from melted snow in the mouth of a sleeping volcano called Mount Mazama. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and considered the deepest lake in the world when considering lakes with basins entirely above sea level.
There’s a mystical aura about Crater Lake. Ancient lava eruptions formed a place called Wizard Island. The volcanic legacy doesn’t seem to be a bygone. Thermal activity perseveres deep below the surface along the lake floor. Silent eddies break the surface waters which look like blown glass. The crisp air at Crater Lake is one of anticipation. Will we hear from Mount Mazama again soon?
Until then, snow rules the top of the once fire breathing mountain gone quiet.
The mystical aura of the top of a dormant volcano is nothing in comparison to the depths of the caves located in Cave Junction just about an hour away from Medford. During a tour of the caves, the guide will have all of the lights shut off and you will get to experience utter darkness that cannot be replicated anywhere else on earth except in extreme ocean depths. It is an otherworldly kind of darkness that makes you question for a moment whether anything is real at all. Time itself seems different deep in the mountain. The walls of the caves have been carved out over millennia of water movement. Water is still etching its mission out with a steady drip drop drip drop in the darkness.
Keep going south from Cave Junction and you’ll eventually end up in another place where time seems to function differently. The Sequoia National Forest. Two thousand year old trees reach for the heavens. You can stand at the trunks of these behemoths and wonder at how nature abides. These old giants have withstood the test of time just seedlings at the time that Christ walked the earth thousands of miles away.
Lay your hands on the outer bark – some trees have been licked by fire and survived due to the fire-retardant bark – you’ve touched history. Living history. There’s nothing else on earth like it. Where else do you find two-thousand-year-old artifacts? In museums where they were carefully placed behind glass after being handled delicately by hands that probably wore gloves. You can touch the ancient Sequoias. You can kick them. Hug them. They abide and remind you how mortal you are. Perhaps you should be put behind glass by glove-adorned hands because your human merely being cannot compete with the magnificence of these silent giants.
I hope this was a convincing account of the experience anyone could have in and around southern Oregon. If my words aren't enough, let the pictures speak for themselves.
Note: All pictures are my own.