Up early, I was excited to be leaving one of the world’s natural wonders (the Coastal Redwoods of California) for another of our country’s exceptional natural wonders – Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. It was about a 200-mile drive from coastal sea level into the Higher Cascades of Oregon.  

The huge (286,288 square miles) National Park is centered around the lake. The lake was created in a massive volcanic eruption around 5,700 BC. The explosion is estimated to have been 150 times greater than the eruption of Mount St. Helens.  

As I climbed into the mountains, the air got cleaner and fresher (one reason I love the mountains) with an evergreen fragrance. As you crest the lip of the massive caldera, the stunningly pure blue lake leaps into view. The snow, which covers the lake 8 months of the year, was mostly gone.   

After sitting and contemplating the lake for a while (there was virtually no one around) I decided to drive the 33 mile perimeter road around the lake. Stopping at many of the 30 or so turn-outs to enjoy the different viewpoints, it took me over 3 hours. Being in the mountains, once the sun set, it rapidly got very dark and cold. A mass of stars filled the night sky.  

Driving north toward Eugene on a nearly deserted 2-lane highway, I stopped at a small diner / motel for the night. Getting out of my warm car, it was freezing cold and serenely quiet. After a basic home cooked meal, I crashed for the night.

After a night of profoundly sound sleep, I grabbed a breakfast of bacon and eggs and headed north. After 100 miles or so, the 2-lane highway 58 left the mountains and merged with the big interstate 5 freeway in Willamette Valley. It was freeway driving the last 25 miles or so.

I had never driven into Eugene, Oregon – Track-Town, USA – but I had been here once before in the spring of 1962. As a high school All-American swimmer, I was offered a number of scholarships. The University of Oregon had offered me an all expense weekend in Eugene. I flew up on a Friday. On the plane was Bob Plate – one of the best butterfly swimmers in the nation. I was a good swimmer. Bob was a great swimmer. He swam for Menlo Atherton high school – a real swim power with several swimmers on the team who became Gold Medal winning Olympic swimmers. Bob was a great guy and we had a fun flight. The meal they served us was a joke. Competitive swimmers have enormous appetites.  

The university put us up at a jock fraternity house. There we met a great athlete – Bobby Moore – who became the NFL football star and television commentator Ahman Rashad.  

With plenty of free time, 2 or 3 other swimmers I had swum against in high school explored the lush green campus. A major stop was Hayward Field – the main track and field stadium. The school had a glorious history including Bobby Moore who was a sprint and hurdle champion and probably the most famous Oregon track celebrity Steve Prefontaine.  

It was a thrill to see and explore Hayward Field. Little did I know but I would return in 1976 with my wife who I did not even know existed in 1962. I later met Vicki during Fall quarter, 1968 at the University of California, Irvine. Vicki had been a straight student in high school and was on a full scholarship to the university. We got married in 1969. Vicki taught me how to study and I became an Honor student. She also turned me onto UCLA basketball – her best friend dated the starting center on the UCI basketball team. We all watched Coach John Wooden’s amazing championship run. I turned Vicki on to Pro football (we became Dallas Cowboy junkies), track and field, and the Rolling Stones. Vicki became a Mick Jagger junkie.  

How did we get to Eugene in 1976?  After graduating, Vicki worked full time, went to school full time, made a 4.0 average and earned a 2-year Master’s degree in finance. She was offered full scholarships to the 3 best finance PhD. Programs in the country. Vicki chose the University of Washington in Seattle. We were on our way to Seattle to look for a house and timed our trip to coincide with the 1976 Olympic Track and Field trials at Hayward Field in Eugene. During those 10 days we saw some of the most amazing athletes in the world who later that year won Gold medals and set World Records such as Bruce Jenner (Decathlon Gold Medal winner and World Record setter) and Edwin Moses (400 meter intermediate hurdle Olympic Gold medal winner and who set the world record before the summer was over).  

The atmosphere was so relaxed – track in those days was very laid back – that we could wander around between heats in the morning and during the extended break before the finals at night, and mingle with these amazing athletes. If you have never seen the bodies of world class athletes both men and women – it is difficult to describe in words the magnificent shape these athletes were in. We were gob-smacked.  

So here I was in 1962, having no idea of the astounding future – including a full combat tour as a squad leader in the Marine Corps in the jungles of Vietnam in 1966-1967 including an AK-47 bullet through my right thigh at a place near the DMZ called Con Thien. But those are stories for another day.

On Saturday, the 6 or 8 swimmers visiting the university met at the competition pool. The coaches ran us through a few time trials. After we got dressed, we met one-on-one with the coaches. They offered me a half scholarship meaning it covered 50% of the tuition plus board and room plus a well-paying summer job at a sawmill. I learned from Bob Plate that they offered him a full tuition scholarship plus full board and room. I later swam against Bob’s junior college team Foothill who were a real powerhouse.  

That night, the Frat House we were staying at threw a wild party and I got drunk for the first time in my life. To say the least, it was a fun and very interesting weekend. As you will hear later, there was another connection with the University of Oregon.  

Here is Hayward Field today – one of the elite world-class Track and Field venues in the world today.

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Joe

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