The Dire valley is in Northern Oregon. It is a long and narrow strip of land, between two mountain ranges, and follows the river winding and twisting up the coast until it falls at last into the Pacific Ocean.
It was the perfect combination of nature and humanity. Great amounts of people, but not enough to take away from the beauty of the landscape and feel of Mother Earth.
It would always be considered home, to Erme. He grew up there and knew every secret it held. He would routinely reminisce about his childhood. His friends, the adventures they went on, and the girls who seemed to come and go from his life. But now was not the time for daydreams.
The crowd roared with anticipation as the clock ticked down, Erme snapped back to reality. The slow drowning out of the crowd, the chants of the cheerleaders, and his teammates on the field put him right back into laser focus. The score was already 43-35. If the Eagles could clinch this they would win the game. Erme was always fond of the attention after a big win like that.