Two roads diverged in a wood and I -- I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.

~Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.
~ George Moore, The Brook Kerith

Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
~  Nathaniel Hawthorne

I don't know what it is, but I really am drawn to the illusion of trees and branches and other items that look like hands reaching out of the ground (in this case, as if waiting, always waiting, on guard to prevent something important from leaving land and entering the water). These rare Oregon days, like today, make you forget that the water is ice cold, that yesterday we were wearing sweatshirts and heavy socks, that the sky was ever gray. I'm grateful for days like today, they remind me of the good things about being here when my heart and mind spend most of their time somewhere else entirely.

 I am restless. I am athirst for far-away things.
My soul goes out in a longing to touch the skirt of the dim distance.
O Great Beyond, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, that I have no wings to fly, that I am bound in this spot evermore.

I am eager and wakeful, I am a stranger in a strange land.
Thy breath comes to me whispering an impossible hope.
Thy tongue is known to my heart as its very own.
O Far-to-seek, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, that I know not the way, that I have not the winged horse.

I am listless, I am a wanderer in my heart.
In the sunny haze of the languid hours, what vast vision of thine takes shape in the blue of the sky!
O Farthest end, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, that the gates are shut everywhere in the house where I dwell alone!

~ Rabindranath Tagore, The Gardener

The gold on the ground is pretty. I wish it was in the sky. I try to appreciate the ordinariness of a cloudy day, but long rainy season is long.

Today I had to drive to the east side of the Cascade mountains in southern Oregon. Of course, my luck being what it is, it rained like crazy below 2000' yesterday, last night, and this morning, and snowed like crazy above 2000', which meant the passes across the mountains were treacherous at best. Chains were required to get through the Willamette and Santiam Passes, the Willamette being my usual route

I decided to take a southern route, which took longer - over four hours of driving in the rain - but I hoped would not be as difficult to travel.

It was perfect.

The road between Medford and Klamath Falls is a normal two-lane highway, lightly traveled this time of year. For 67 miles I had the eastbound highway nearly to myself. On an empty, forested mountain road, with the cruise control set at 60, movement seems nonexistent, time slows down, and all that matters is the color of the trees and sky and clouds as the sun touches everything. Add a playlist of amazing music to the mix, and it makes a damn good end to a long day.

It's been a long, gray rainy season and I haven't done a whole lot of sightseeing recently. I was going through old pictures from the last few years, though, and realized that I have seen some awesome things worth sharing, even if I didn't just take the pictures today.

So I'll be posting a mix of old and new things that I think are awesome. This particular shot I took last spring, overlooking the Columbia River. If you've seen the Twilight movies, parts of the scenery overlooking forests and river were filmed just a few miles from this point. Oregon truly is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the lower 48.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!