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Writer's pictureRachael Delekta

I can only behold

What quote am I vibing? Quotes from The Way the Mountain Moved written by Idris Goodwin, World Premiere at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

"The heart craves freedom." Martha

"This is Eden. There aren't enough letters to describe it. I can only behold." Lt. Smith

Road Day: 51


Today I had breakfast in Eugene then headed south to Ashland, OR because I had a ticket for the matinee of The Way the Mountain Moved at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.


My friend Joyce often helps me navigate where to eat and menu choices while I'm on the road - I mentioned Breadboard Restaurant which was very near the festival and had high ratings. She let me know there was a "Wild" Turkey Burger - because THIS IS WHERE REESE WITHERSPOON ATE IN THE MOVIE WILD. And it's rumored she ate there during filming. And she ate that burger. I never want people to think my trip is derivative of Wild. The memoir was amazing, but I don't have the gumption to camp outside and carry everything I need for months on my back. I'm enjoying all the creature comforts and maintaining my full time job. I'm no Wild. But who among us can't admit to being inspired after having read that book or seen that movie - it does create a desire to prove that you can make it on your own. So I went and ate the delicious burger. Because I'm an admitted celebrity enthusiast. And because the view from the deck is AMAZING.


After my fanburger, I went to the Shakespeare Festival in downtown Ashland. I had a little time to warm up and soak in the sun before the show. There are three theatres at the Festival. A large outdoor Elizabethan-style theatre, and two more intimate theatres. The show I saw today was in a lovely small space - the Thomas Theatre.


I cannot fully express how good this play was. Set in the 1850's, surrounding a crew of people surveying the west for the ability to create a transcontinental railroad. A botanist, a soldier, a Native American guide, an artist, a sharpshooter. And they encounter pioneers, a black Mormon couple, Native Americans. It's quiet and LOUD, tense and violent, GORGEOUS and lonely. Just like I imagine Utah was at that time. Everyone finding out where they fit in - how they continue - if they can survive. The words were beautiful. The acting was on point. The projections were beyond. Technically - alive and ingenious.


I'm obsessed.


I'll go back up to Ashland Wednesday to see Love's Labours Lost on the main Elizabethan stage. It's only an hour and twenty minutes away, and I need more.


I'm back in Mount Shasta now where my host spoils me with healthy and delicious goodies and fresh flowers. I think I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Definitely one of the happiest.

America's First Elizabethan Theatre

The deck at Breadboard Restaurant

The "Wild" Burger

The Allen Elizabethan Theatre

Production Photo taken by Jenny Graham. From Oregon Shakespeare Festival website. From The Way the Mountain Moved.

The mountain doesn't move for me. I move for the mountain. 😉 New snacks and flowers!

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