Hell’s Canyon

 Day 32: June 24, 2021 (Happy Birthday, Lynn!)

We drive and eat our way in Hell’s Canyon from La Grande to Wallowa Lake—and back!

What a glorious day. Too many beautiful photos to count. I will try to show scenic beauty as well as local color. The small towns were a joy.

I was ferklempt when I thought I’d missed the “yellow field with the blue mountains and barn” when we drove by too fast on our way “in” to Hell’s Canyon from La Grande. We were able to catch it on the flip side. Of course, it’s not as grand as I first “saw” it in my mind, but I still like this one!

We decided to take this aerial tram up to near the top of Mt Howard and then do some hiking. We’d taken  the tram out of Grindelwald (Switzerland) on our honeymoon and then did some hiking on a glacier. While we did see snow here and there today, the weather was perfect and the ride in the tram car was really spectacular. It reminded me of Switzerland and after we got back down to the bottom, we found that this area is sometimes referred to as “Little Alps”. I can see why. 

I call these weather-beaten trees “ghost trees”. I love them. So otherworldly.

View from the “edge” of the mountain, with Lake Wallowa below.

More ghost trees on the path

Lake Wallowa

Pink mountain heather. I would guess that the climate at the top of the mountain was an alpine climate. None of the wildflowers we saw were very tall; all grew close to the ground.

Scenic Hell’s Canyon barn

Wallowa River

The small town closest to Lake Wallowa is Joseph. It was made for the tourists that flock to the lake and the Lodge and the state park at the lake. I got to walk up and down the Main Street and was impressed with the art everywhere. Joseph is named after Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe; I assume that is him in front of the brick facade (that was the local post office) and would like to think that is him on the left side of this photo as well. None of the the pieces were labeled as far as I saw.

This piece and the wolves, below, are my favorites, both from the standpoint of subject matter but for the setting as well; the bucking bronco in front of the mountains, just as you would see him when driving from Joseph to the Lake, and the wolves piece with them running through the trees. Just yummy.

Love seeing the wolves set in actual, living, trees!

Another scenic barn

Old wheel barrows have new life in front of a gift shop.
I appreciated all the perennial floral displays in Joseph.

Inside view of the Sugar Time Bakery in Enterprise, OR. We ate lunch there on the sidewalk and enjoyed talking with the cyclists who also stopped in for lunch. One older couple gave us some tips on things to see in the area and another scenic drive off the main highway to Lake Wallowa. Meeting people is a lot of the fun of travel!

The Wallowa River

The M. Crow General Store, Deli, Pizza Shop, Grocery, and Sporting Goods Store. I got to talk baseball with the clerk and was directed to the “basket on the floor next to the pinball machine” for the woolen socks I somehow can’t find (I SWEAR I brought 2 pairs with me on this trip!) that I prefer with my hiking boots. This was the craziest combination of types of businesses, and I got the distinct impression that they LIKE it that way. 

Another interior shot of the M. Crow store in Lostine, OR.

By the time we were back at La Grande, we were hungry for dinner (still adjusting to  Pacific Time too). So we stopped by Local Harvest and tried their pizza. This was the second time we’ve had pizza on our trip and the second time that our server asked if wanted Ranch or other dipping sauce. We tried the Ranch with our The Don pizza (yummy crust, pesto, cheese, marinated mushrooms, red onion slivers, with an all-over drizzle of balsamic glaze), but in all honesty, I had no idea what to do with the Ranch dressing. It must be a western thing?? I loved the ceiling at this place: paper plates with kids’ colorful crayon drawings. Our server tonight was a music student at the local Eastern Oregon University; she was working hard!

Tomorrow we head to Pendleton so that I can drool over their products at the Woolen Mills Store; I’ve already picked out our place for lunch—a distillery in Pendleton that has it’s own special take on pizza—pickle pizza! Stay tuned!