The Importance of Community, Volume 4

*UPDATE* I couldn't locate my photos when I originally published this story. I've added a few today, to give readers a better idea of the beauty of the place.

Today is the perfect day to write this installment of my series on community. Yesterday happened to be the 16th anniversary of the day my wonderful wife, Pam and I tied the knot. Not only was it a special day, but it was one of the most fun and unique weddings ever, and it took place at Big Valley Woods, a Manufactured Home Community and RV Park. If that sounds like we had a trailer park wedding, it's because we did. And we wouldn't have had it any other way.

Just 5 miles from the town of Sandy, Oregon, Big Valley is far from a typical trailer park. You won't find tightly-packed rows of trailers. Instead, when you enter through a rustic arch at the front gate, you'll meander through the forest, past duck ponds, gorgeous picnic areas, playgrounds, beautiful homes on wooded sites, and a circle of RV sites alongside a live stream. Nestled snugly in the forest, you won't realize it's so close to town.

Pam and I had moved there to be close to, but not living with, her family in Gresham, a suburb of Portland. We were living in a 32' motor home that belonged to her parents. When we found the Park, we immediately fell in love with the Creekside area and rented a spot right next to its laundry room and rec center with a pool table.

It's hard to overstate the beauty of the area, and we were in the most secluded part of the park. The back edge of our space was sheltered by redwood trees that shaded the back side of the motor home. Less than 30 yards from our front door was Deep Creek, a stream that was part of the upper salmon run in the fall. The park is only 14 miles from Gresham, Oregon, part of the Portland/Vancouver metroplex.

Along with Pam, myself and Beauregard (Beau), our 100lb Chesapeake Bay Retriever, there were only 3 other spaces directly on the creek, and one of them was empty. We became fast friends with the people in those spaces, and another person that lived just slightly above us. We gathered for weekend bonfires in the empty space in front of our homes, with hot dogs and S'mores. There may have been tequila occasionally, as well.

Just a quick segue here to say that I have written about Beau before, and talked about life at Big Valley Woods in an earlier piece. I highly recommend reading that to learn how Beau adapted to life there and how he adapted the creek. I'll post a link to it at the end of this story. There are other stories that stem from things I've mentioned here, and I'll post those as I complete them.

The relationships we built with our close neighbors there were special, and we're still in touch with them, almost 20 years later. Margi and her husband, Marcelino, who worked as a stone mason at a nearby lavender farm, had a female Border Collie, Niña, who had a crush on our boy, Beau. Ruth, an incredibly independent divorcee who loved hunting and fishing as much as us, had a huge smoker and we learned a lot from her about brining, etc. Randy, a quiet, single guy, kept mostly to himself, but was always ready to help out when anyone needed it. We knew others around the Park, but these people became family.

Life brought incredible adventures during our 3 and a half years there. We helped each other through one of the area's worst spring snowstorms ever, that brought 30” of wet snow and snapped massive branches. We pitched in together when the thaw from that storm brought a wall of water down from the mountains. (We were close to the foot of Mount Hood) and swelled the creek so that it washed out huge gaps in the park roads, along with a log jam that threatened to bring the creek to our doorsteps.

Pam and I were invited to the farm as Marcelino's guests during the Lavender Festival, and enjoyed an incredible day touring the facilities of the extraction plant where essential oils were made, trying lavender beer, lavender ice cream and other treats from some of the vendors that set up booths there.

The Park has several walking trails and we took full advantage of them. Beau loved the walk. We'd encounter small wildlife now and then, and were surprised once by a bobcat crossing the trail a few yards ahead of us, followed by two kittens, who scrambled up the trail bank behind her. They weren't aware of us, but Mom kept a close eye on us until the youngsters caught up, then hustled them up the hill. There was always an adventure to be had in our little neck of the woods.

I was hired by the park staff to create online maps, which are still active on their website, though the maintenance of the site was later handed off to an agency. After they had wifi installed,to replace the expensive cable service, I helped reset nodes, etc. when there were problems with the service. Some of the residents that didn't know us reported that someone in a Suburban was parked beside the road with a laptop.

Last, but far from least, Pam and I had our wedding there in the park, in a large, group picnic shelter. My mom came from Amarillo to attend, and Pam's family came from Gresham, of course, as did the pastor from the church they attended, along with us as often as possible. Our neighbor, Randy, drove one of the Park's golf carts to drive guests in from the parking area.

The Park staff let us use the large Community Center for our reception and waived the rental fee as a wedding gift. Our friend Randy helped out again, by manning the barbecue grill, turning out plenty of hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. Meanwhile, the youngsters that came were allowed to play in the shallows of the creek beside the building, under parental supervision, of course. Guests told us they had never attended such a fun wedding.

My mom would stay with us for a few days, and we took her on a whirlwind tour along the Historic Columbia River Scenic Highway. Some of my favorite photos with her are from her stay and that trip.

Our time in that amazing place came to an end when my daughter called from Eureka, California and said she needed her dad. That translated into a move, and a new set of adventures with with her and the grandkids. There's another community story in that.

As I'm sure you can see,our time at Big Valley Woods will always be treasured in our memories. There's much more that took place leading up to and during that time, such as my first bouts with cardiac issues and surgery, some challenges with homes, and other little tidbits along the way. Chances are, most will work their way into upcoming stories.

A/N Thanks for reading my story about another community that helped make me the person I am today. If you're interested in reading the previous volumes, and I hope you are, please visit the link below to the first in the series and follow the links at the end of each to catch up, as well as stories related to this one, as they come available.

Volume One:

About Beau: