Countless Memories Pop Up

 Copyright Photo by John Rezell

By John Rezell

I'm not sure if my neighbors were watching, but if they were, they saw a grown man cry.

Monday morning a single mother with three daughters hitched our longtime chariot of adventure to her truck and rolled away with the Starcraft pop-up camper that brought us to Oregon 15 years ago.

That summer of 2005 created so many memories that I wrote a book about it: You Cook a Dead Crab and Eat It. We lived in that 12-foot camper (A whopping 17 when folded out) for 85 days as we wandered through 8,000 miles in search of a place to call home,

But the adventures did not stop there.

Each summer we hitched up the trailer and explored the American West in good old fashion  family summer vacations.

For two weeks we would leave the world behind an immerse ourselves in nature. Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Grand Tetons, Mesa Verde, Arches, Lake Tahoe, Lassen, Crater Lake, Diamond Lake, Mount Rainier ... the list goes on and on and on.

Our summer road trips were so epic our daughters tagged along well into college. Year after year they would pepper me — sometimes as early as January — with the burning question: Where are we going this year?

Just a year ago on Memorial Day weekend, the four of us were together in the Starcraft for the last time, camping in the Columbia River Gorge. One daughter is a college grad, the other will be shortly.

The stories are endless, but one stands out for me as vindication that the lessons we hoped to impart on our daughters weren't lost.

Once we decided we would plant our roots in Eugene, Oregon we began to look for a place to live. We were downsizing significantly from our spacious home in Tennessee.

As we sat in the Starcraft pondering our next move, Debbie voiced concern that the house we were about to make our home might not be big enough for us.

My older daughter Sierra  swung her arms wide showing off the Starcraft and said, "Is it bigger than this? Because this is all we need."

Oh, the adventures won't end for Debbie and me. We have a new toy. Had to make sure we got one with enough room for the girls to pop in for a visit. Plans already in the making.

Sure, Progress is nice.

But memories are priceless.