Here in Washington, there are only a few roads that cross the Cascade Mountains. The mountains run down the western side of the state and are spectacularly beautiful. There are several famous peaks including Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. All of the highways that cross the Cascades are fun to drive. Many people who drive across the state know only Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90. Since our son has lived in Washington, first in Olympia, then in Mount Vernon and now in Ferndale, we have had the opportunity to drive many of those roads over the mountains and have enjoyed each trip. The most northern pass over the Cascades in Washington, Washington 2, is also known as the North Cascades Highway. It is a summer road that will close for the winter next week and remain snowbound until next May. US 2 crosses a bit farther to the south, over Stephens Pass. Going through the roads from north to south the next highway is Interstate 90. Washington 410 crosses north of Mount Rainier and has great views of the mighty mountain, running from Puyallup to Yakima. Just south of Mount Rainier, US 12 crosses the Cascades from Chehalis and also goes through Yakima. We used to drive US 12 often when coming from or returning to South Dakota when our son lived in Olympia.

Right near where Washington 410 and US 12 come together just northwest of Yakima the alpine climate and vistas give way to the beginning of the interior desert of eastern Washington. The country has for many years been known for its fruit production and there are several large fruit warehouses spread alongside the road. When we traveled that highway back to South Dakota, we knew to start looking for fruit stands in that area because we wouldn’t see many after Yakima. We tried to bring a case of east slope apples back to South Dakota with us each trip and, depending on the time of the year, we could also get cherries, apricots, plums and peaches. Fresh fruit was always a treat of our trips.

Some of those fruit stands are near the tiny town of Tieton, near where the two highways meet, before US 12 joins Interstate 82 from Yakima to the tri-cities of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. Other than a quick stop at a fruit stand, we never spent any time in Tieton and know nothing about the town except for its fruit industry. The town is home to just over a thousand people.

One young man who grew up in the town, Axel Acosta, decided to go to college at Western Washington University in Bellingham, the town where our church is located. We never met Axel and don’t know his family, which is true of most of the students at the University. However, I can imagine the 21-year-old packing his things into his car and driving over the mountains, probably most of the time on US 12 as the quickest route, and getting on Interstate 5 to drive north through Seattle and on to Bellingham to school. I grew up in a small town and went to college in a bigger town in the same state and I remember those drives back and forth with the feeling of independence and the power of entry into adult life.

Axel was a fan of the music of Travis Scott and decided to travel to Houston this fall for a giant concert at Astroworld. It wasn’t the typical college spring break trip, but after a year and a half of pandemic restrictions, including two semesters of distance learning and not even being able to live on campus, he had been looking forward to the trip, the concert, and the chance to get away from Washington to see a bit of the wider world.

He arrived early at the concert and found a place near to the state to be right next to the music. And there, at Astroworld, in front of the stage, is where Axel died, crushed and deprived of oxygen as the crowd surged. Seven others died and hundreds were injured. The youngest to die so far was only 14. One nine-year-old is in a medically induced coma due to severe brain and organ trauma.

I never did anything quite like Axel’s trip when i was a college student, but I did make some decisions that were quite different than what I would choose these days. I can identify with Axel’s father, who might even have tried to encourage him not to go to the concert, to stay at school and keep studying, but who also understood the desire of a young man to take a big trip and attend a big concert. Edgar, Axel’s father, got worried when he heard of the disaster at Astroworld. He called his son’s cell phone but got no answer. Worried, he started calling police and local hospitals. He was initially told that Axel was not among the victims. That news, however, was wrong. It was simply that authorities were at first unable to identify Axel until they circulated a photo of him to get more information.

Being from a small town, I imagine that the news of Axel’s death is big news in Tieton. I imagine that most of the town will show up for the funeral and the lunch to follow. There will be interviews with teachers and coaches on the local news. It is also big news at Western Washington University. Even for students who didn’t know Axel, there is a sense of how close it seems to bring the tragedy that occurred so far away. All of a sudden the headlines on the news strike close to home. College students aren’t used to having death come to the campus.

For some, it is just another grief added to the layers and layers of grief that have been accumulating during the pandemic. Others can’t understand what attracted a young man to travel so far and to work so hard to be at the front of such a large crowd. People in small towns enjoy small towns and many aren’t attracted to crowds and loud concerts. Whether or not they can understand Axel’s choices, they can identify with his family’s grief.

There will be lawyers and law suits and more news to follow. For now, the sense of shock and sadness linger in a small town and on a university campus separated by beautiful mountains.