Pacific Valley proved to be cathartic, peaceful getaway

COTTAGE GROVE – My wife and I escaped some of the heat that has tormented the Willamette Valley this past week. We went camping. There was a reason behind this movement to the wilderness. My wife’s old husband had passed away and their kids wanted to take his ashes to a place they had enjoyed camping together as a family when they were small.  

The location was high in the Sierras (8,000 feet), off…