Northeast Oregon
Wallowa Lake State Park
As we traveled around Oregon, people kept telling us that we needed to visit Joseph and Wallowa Lake. We managed to get 5 nights with full hookups in the state park, so we could checkout all of the hubbub. Our first two days were pretty cold with lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. The space heater was working overtime as we awoke to snow one morning. The park ranger said that the campground was not too full since many people asked for refunds and left early. That just made more room for us.
Wallowa Lake is a glacial lake at the base of the Wallowa Mountains in the Eagle Cap Wilderness.
We had full hookups but no WIFI or Sprint service at our site. Once a day we would walk to the marina and use their WIFI and watch the fishermen catching kokanee salmon.
We hiked along the Chief Joseph Trail on the West Fork of the Wallowa River to the BC Falls on our first hike even though it was chilly and rain was in the forecast for later in the morning.
Many of the small wildflowers were in bloom.
We hiked through several sections of landslides that gave me the willies.
Our handy bear spray was nearby for an easy reach. But when a dog came charging and showing his teeth at us on the trail, we were glad to have our poles in our hands. He saw them and headed around us. Shewww!
The second bridge to the second waterfall had been washed out but we could see it from where we were standing.
Town of Joseph
We enjoyed the small artsy city of Joseph named in memory of a Native American chief which is just 6 miles from the campground.
Chief Joseph, respected in his Nez Perce tribe, was misunderstood by the white man in the 1800s, and especially by the U.S. government. Today, however, he is recognized as having been a strong, compassionate leader.
The Wallowa band of the Nez Perce had lived peacefully in the remote Wallowa Valley for centuries.
As white settlers began to move west and north, they eventually reached the land of the Nez Perce. Chief Joseph recalled:
“The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark . . . . They talked straight and our people gave them a great feast . . . . We had a great many horses of which we gave them what they needed, and they gave us guns and tobacco in return.”
This was in 1805, and the good feelings lasted for several decades. But in the 1870s, settlers and the U.S. Cavalry started to force the Nez Perce from their homeland. Chief Old Joseph had signed a treaty in 1855, but when the discovery of gold nearby prompted the government to take back millions of acres, he renounced the treaty. In 1863, a new treaty divided the tribe into treaty and non-treaty bands.
The chiefs eventually agreed to new boundaries, diminishing their lands to one-tenth their original size.
Wallowa Lake Tramway
The small Wallowa Lake Tram carried us up the steep 1.8 miles from 4200 feet to 8150 to some beautiful views and nice hiking trails on Mt Howard.
On our last day, we trekked up the steep East Fork of the river from the Alpine Trailhead. The river was running high with multiple waterfalls along the way. Fortunately, the temps were in the low 70s.
There are so many trails to hike and small towns to explore I this area. But we chose to stay nearby the state park.
A local man was hiking the West Fork with his son and was showing us the mushrooms and how to distinguish between different types and how to prepare them. This one sells for $24\lb in the market. We saw a few morels but left them for the deer.
La Grande, OR
Heading to La Grande, south of Joseph, we stayed at Grande Hot Springs Resort on Hot Lake. The warm hot springs were refreshing for our sore muscles.
Grande Hot Springs hot mineral water is sourced from Hot Lake Springs. It is collected at 171F and pumped to the property. The large pool was 96 degrees and small spa 104.5 after being mixed with 77 degrees domestic well water which is geothermal mineral water.
The hot springs were a great place to visit at the end of our hike or bike rides.
The Grand Bikeway goes through Union which has a rural charm with a population of just over 2100 and Victorian style homes, buildings and tree-lined streets. This was where we would start our bike ride through the farms and ranches towards Cove.
Cove with a population of 680 is known as the land of the big prize cherries, and the home of apple pies. As we rode by the farms and ranches the cherries trees looked ready to be picked.
The winds were strong on our final day blowing in rain. As much as we would have liked a bike ride, we opted for a hike in the Mount Emily Recreation Area. It is a huge area and happened to be having a mountain biking event. We just chose trails that weren't in their plans for a nice hike. La Grande turned out to have much more to offer than we had expected.
It has been quite an interesting couple of months in Oregon. From the beaches of the Pacific Ocean to the Willamette Valley, Cascades and the eastern farms and mountains, Oregon has not disappointed.
