Traveling ( Oregon Splendor in Smith Rock) Part 1 of 4

I was diagnosed with a severe heart condition years ago. I did the only thing any sensible fly fisher would... I formulated a plan; one big trip a year.  I said to myself that when I had the money I would see the world, or, at least as much as I could. In June 2018 I boarded a plane headed west. Touching down in Redmond, Oregon was the beginning of years of ruminating, hours of dreaming, and seconds of anticipation.
    Only when faced with death do some of us finally summon the courage to live. I was alive.

My journey would consist of 4 legs.

1. Crooked River, Smith Rock
2. Lower Deschutes River
3. Crooked River, Lone Pine
4. Metolius River

Smith Rock

The view literally took my breathe away. I always thought that phrase was moronic until I was the moron it was happening to. The basalt outcroppings which emanate from dry, withered desert are almost to massive for my Upstate NY accustomed eyes.  

A hiker saw me with my fly rod and said, "Your wasting your time. The only thing in here is whitefish." I just nodded in agreement. If I had explained to him the Mountain Whitefish was the reason I was here he would have thought me mad. Life and the experience of it always comes down to perspective.

The Reason

And still another

Smith Rock is believed to be the home of Sport-climbing in the U.S.

Driving back to my hotel, the snow capped mountain glistening in the setting sun like Mountain Whitefish-scale gave this trip an otherworldly, multiverse aspect and feel. Nothing about this excursion felt familiar; exactly as I had been hoping for years, hours, and seconds.