Oregon/California Road Trip Day 6 06/01/2019 Photo Album

Another gorgeous day in northeastern Oregon beckoned us to enjoy an outdoor activity. Amy transported her mountain bike from Portland, and she was not part of our rural roads loop ride on Thursday, so we decided to repeat the experience. Our planned ride deviated somewhat from Thursday’s version, as we eliminated the detour to Enterprise and replaced it with a small add-on of Crow Creek Road.

Clouds Hang Over the Mountains

Once again we enjoyed clear skies and perfect temperatures in the low seventies, as we cycled along lush green pastures and ranch fields. The snow capped peaks reminded us that it was still spring, and we were ever watchful for a random deer crossing. The loop totaled 17.7 miles on my Garmin watch, and we all agreed that our cycling choice was perfect.

Pose Time

The free state parks day activities included more music on Saturday along with frisbee golf and fishing skills demonstrations. Once we completed our lunches we walked to the wooden picnic pavilion and discovered another group of onlookers. During a break in the music a woman was presenting a birds of prey talk; and two owls, a falcon and hawk were perched nearby. We listened to the end of her talk and a question and answer session, and then before the bands resumed, I decided to make a final attempt to land a fish from Wallowa Lake.

Head Twisting Demo

Amy and Jane remained at the concert, while I hustled back to the campground and prepared to fish, and this adventure is detailed in a separate blog post. By the time I returned to the campsite shortly after 5PM, the free day activities were complete. Amy, Jane and I debated dinner options. The original plan included spaghetti, but Amy spotted an interesting brew pub sign in Enterprise, and I read about it as well in a northeastern Oregon travel pamphlet. We agreed to visit Terminal Gravity for a beer, and then return to the site D09 for dinner.

Terminal Gravity

Our arrival at Terminal Gravity revealed a fairly crowded outdoor tasting “room”. Picnic tables were scattered on both sides of a tumbling brook, and many were occupied by obviously satisfied customers. We spotted an open table on the side of the creek opposite the main brewing building, and we quickly claimed it. The sun remained bright in the sky and the temperature was absolutely perfect. Young children entertained us, as they splashed and played in the water by the bridge.

Fathers’ Day Material

We each ordered very tasty craft beers brewed at Terminal Gravity, and then we sipped them, while we perused the menu. Once again our good intentions for a camping dinner went by the wayside, as we ordered from the brew pub menu. We were not dissatisfied with our decision.

Amber Brew

Saturday was our last night at Wallowa Lake State Park, so I once again constructed a fine conflagration, and we huddled around the flames and coals for warmth upon our return. Another fun day occupied our dreams on Saturday night.

Oregon/California Road Trip Day 5 05/31/2019 Photo Album

Friday’s weather forecast was very encouraging, and the blue skies and lack of clouds suggested meteorological accuracy. With Amy now on board we decided to undertake a hike on the West Fork Wallowa River Trail. The trailhead was a mile from our campsite, and we appreciated the convenience. I wore shorts and a fishing shirt with rolled up sleeves, and Friday was a rare occasion, when I exhibited less skin coverage than Amy and Jane.

Steep Gradient

The round trip hike was nearly six miles, and it tracked the West Fork of the Wallowa River. The small stream crossings were manageable, and the river crashed and tumbled its way down the high gradient river bed throughout our trek. We marveled at the powerful forces that nature can generate.

Log Collection Point

Our Snack Spot

Our turnaround point was a crude log bridge that connected the West Fork Trail with the Ice Lake Trail. A group of four young women and a dog were just ahead of us, and we paused to watch them carefully cross the raging river. A large log spanned the river, and it was flattened on the top to create a wide surface for walking. As an added safety feature, a rustic log railing was positioned on the upstream side of the log to create a makeshift hand rail. The bridge was our chosen turnaround point, so we did not test our balancing skills.

Log Crossing

The return hike was uneventful, and we returned to our campsite for lunch in the early afternoon. The free concerts at the trailer stage were scheduled to begin at 5PM, and we had some time to kill, so we made the short drive to Joseph, OR, so Amy could browse the small town. Joseph is a small resort town with a few restaurants, shops and bars. Quite a few eye catching sculptures are on display throughout the Main Street area. We stopped at a few shops and purchased some additional grocery items at the market, before we returned to the Wallowa Lake State Park for music.

Fish Sculpture

Our threesome strolled to the trailer stage by the marina, but the parking lot and stage were devoid of human beings, so we entered the marina store and inquired about the free state parks day festivities. A young man behind the counter informed us that the concert was moved to an indoor picnic pavilion near the bridge due to threatening weather. With this change in venue Jane, Amy and I carried our chairs to the wooden pavilion and joined a small crowd of spectators.

Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs

A pair of young women played some delightful folk tunes for an hour, and then they relinquished the stage to Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs. This band was a blend of bluegrass and country; and Amy, Jane and I enjoyed them immensely. Since my return from Oregon I researched Laney Lou and discovered that they are from Bozeman, MT, and they released six albums.

Deer Enjoy the Playground

After the concert we began to hike back to our campsite with the intention of making spaghetti, but along the way we encountered a taco truck. The purveyors of Mexican food were smart in their choice of location, and we could not resist the lure of authentic street tacos. After our impulse dinner we returned to our campsite and mellowed out with another campfire and a game of Oh Hell. Another fun and eventful day in the Wallowas was in the books.

Oregon/California Roadtrip Day 4 05/30/2019 Photo Album

Of course the anticipated highlight of day four of our road trip was the arrival of our daughter, Amy, in the evening. Amy secured a half day of vacation in order to make the five plus hour drive from Portland to Wallowa Lake State Park. We were very anxious for her to join us.

Would we simply idle away the hours at the campground, as we awaited her appearance? Of course not. We transported our mountain bikes from Denver to Oregon, and we decided that Thursday was the day to spin the tires. On Tuesday we asked Sara at the national forest service office about cycling trails, and she suggested an area by Ferguson Ridge Ski Area. On our way back from fishing at Kinney Lake on Wednesday we detoured to the ski area road, but all we found was a fairly steep packed dirt road. We decided this was too much work and discarded it as a cycling destination.

I followed our route on Oregon 82 on the road map on Tuesday, as we approached Joseph, OR, and I noticed several back roads that connected Joseph and Enterprise. Enterprise is the next town downstream from Joseph along the Wallowa River. The map was not very detailed, but it was clear, that we could complete a loop from Joseph to Enterprise and back without touching the busy Oregon 82 highway.

The weather on Thursday morning was quite nice, although we could not bank on that bit of good fortune to continue indefinitely, so we hustled to put on our cycling clothes and loaded the mountain bikes on the bike rack. In a flash we traveled from the state park to a public park in Joseph, and we parked the car there and began our loop ride.

Green and Snow

For the first half of the ride we followed Wallowa Avenue to Airport Lane and then turned right on to Hurricane Creek Road. We were thrilled with the lush green farmland and the snow capped ridges in the distance. The ranches in the area were very well maintained with cattle, sheep, and horses dotting the landscape. We startled at least five small herds of deer along our route and crossed numerous small streams that were nearly overflowing their banks with high rushing water.

Deer Everywhere

Hurricane Creek Road led us into Enterprise, and we tracked the main street for a few blocks, until we stumbled into a Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. Jane and I locked our bikes to a stand and entered the visitor center, where a very helpful lady offered us a Wallowa County cycling map and suggested a return route that was different from our outbound path. We were quite pleased with this bit of good fortune.

We Liked the Sign

The return route traversed equally pastoral surroundings, and we arrived back at the Joseph Public Park a bit over an hour and a half after we left. We did endure a brief light rain shower within three miles of our car. We reloaded the bikes on the rack, and since we were in town, we stopped at the market to pick up some necessary groceries. We also returned to the forest service office to query Sara on additional hiking options that would avoid crossing swollen tributaries such as Falls Creek.

After lunch at the campground we walked to the marina at Wallowa Lake. A trailer was set up as a stage with straw bales for seating in the parking lot near the marina. Saturday was a free state parks day, and various rock and folk bands were scheduled to perform Friday evening and Saturday afternoon at the trailer stage. We decided to circle past the shop at the marina, and then we strolled to the end of the boat ramp. A fisherman was tossing a spinner to the space between the boat ramp and the opposite bank of the lake, and when queried, he replied that he caught ten trout. He also mentioned that the lake was stocked with 10,000 trout the previous day. This information had a noticeable impact on me.

Hello There

Jane and I proceeded along a long narrow cove between the boat launch and the far shoreline of the lake, and we both spotted some fairly active fish feeding on the surface. Stocked fish and surface feeders stoked my optimism, and we hustled back to the campground, where I prepared to fly fish in Wallowa Lake.

My fishing experience is covered in the next post, but when I quit at 5PM, I returned to the campsite. Jane and I killed 1.5 hours, and by 6:30PM we could no longer contain our anticipation of Amy’s arrival. We began to walk toward the park entrance, and just as we began to cross the bridge over the upper Wallowa River, Amy appeared in her little red Versa. One of us rode in the car with Amy, while the other hustled back to D09 campsite.

Happy hour followed, and we caught up on each other’s weeks. Dinner consisted of quinoa vegetable soup, and afterward I once again constructed a fine blazing fire. Unlike previous efforts, the flaming source of heat was not extinguished prematurely. We were happy campers, and we looked forward to more fun activities on Friday.

Oregon/California Roadtrip Day 3 05/29/2019 Photo Album

As Jane and I departed Kinney Lake, a small cluster of storm clouds gathered in the southwestern sky; however, they never produced rain on our return route to Wallowa Lake State Park. We quickly devoured our customary small lunch at site number 9, and then we decided to embark on our first hike in the Wallowas. With a series of threatening clouds overhead and to the west; I pulled on my rain pants, raincoat, and hiking boots at the campsite. For our Wednesday afternoon adventure we chose Hurricane Creek; one of the trails recommended by Sara at the national forest service office in Joseph.

In order to reach the trailhead we followed a narrow paved road for several miles until we reached a small turnaround with a bathroom. We prepared to hike, but before we made our first steps, thunder rumbled and lightning sparked across the sky. We wisely decided to initiate a rain delay, and we waited in the car until the core of the storm passed to the northeast. Since we were protected from head to toe in rain gear, we began our hike in light rain.

Hurricane Creek Behaving Like One

We followed the Hurricane Creek trail for .4 mile, and at this point we encountered a significant hurdle to our progress. A tributary, Falls Creek, rushed toward its confluence with Hurricane Creek, and a bridge or crossing was nowhere to be found. A large log spanned the creek fifteen yards upstream from the marked trail, so we moved closer to inspect this crossing option. The log was of adequate size, but it was very wet as a result of the rain; but more worrisome was its position seven feet above the raging creek. Good sense ruled the day, and we reversed our direction and found the intersection with the Falls Creek Trail.

Falls Creek

Indian Paintbrush

This trail was also marked as an option by the forest service employee, but it was an unending uphill climb. In the absence of better options Jane and I accepted the challenge and scaled the steep switchback laden trail for 1.5 miles, before we turned around and returned to the car. We shed layers in rapid succession, but eventually we earned some spectacular views of the Hurricane Creek valley, snow capped mountains and an array of seasonal waterfalls. The thin ribbons of water began as snow packed chasms and then transitioned into plummeting chutes of water.

Rain and Snow Melt

The Falls Creek hike sapped our energy, so we returned to our campsite for our normal evening routine. We quaffed some craft brews, before we ate the lentil/sausage soup that existed as a frozen block of broth on Tuesday evening. After dinner clean up I once again constructed a blazing fire with damp kindling and purchased firewood, but again our toasty comfort zone was interrupted by rain showers. We adjourned to the dryness of our tent and warmth of our sleeping bags and settled into another early slumber.

Lots of Remaining Snow

05/28/2019 Oregon/California Roadtrip Day 1 and 2 Photo Album

Our daughter, Amy, resides in Portland, OR, and several months ago Jane and I concocted the idea of visiting her in the May or June time frame. My devious mind is always influenced by my affection for fly fishing, so I suggested that we combine a camping trip with a visit to Amy, and May and June happened to overlap with the months, when Colorado streams were blown out by snow melt. The 2018/2019 snow pack was significantly above average in all drainages, so an opportunity to escape to Oregon was a welcome option to this avid fly fisherman.

I recalled a trip in September 2002, when I drove Amy back to college at Whitman, and I lingered in northeastern Oregon to fish the local streams. During this visit I enjoyed a fantastic day on the Wallowa River between Minam and Wallowa, and I wondered if I could resurrect the magic in 2019. I researched the camping options in the area and settled on Wallowa Lake State Park as our destination. The on line reservation web site enabled me to reserve a campsite in the park for five nights beginning on May 28 and then departing on June 2. Amy arranged some time off from work, so she could join us from Thursday evening May 30 through Sunday June 2. Needless to say I was very excited to spend three plus days with our daughter with the possibility of fly fishing in some trout streams in Oregon merely icing on the cake.

In preparing for the trip I bought four new tires, since the originals logged more than 50,000 miles. We packed the Santa Fe to the ceiling with camping, hiking, fishing and cycling gear; and departed from Denver early on Memorial Day. Day one was spent driving for ten hours to Twin Falls, ID, where we found a room at the La Quinta Inn and ate a tasty meal at Johnny Carino’s. The highlight of the driving portion of our trip was listening to an audio book by C. J. Box entitled Out of Range. Jane and I love the Longmire series about a sheriff in Wyoming, and Box’s western mysteries about a Wyoming game warden fall within the same genre.

On Tuesday, May 28, we continued through western Idaho and then angled northwest on Interstate 84 through eastern Oregon, until we reached the small town of La Grande. Here we veered to the northeast on Oregon 82, and we followed the highway to Elgin along the Grande Ronde River. This was my first sighting of river conditions in northeastern Oregon, and the picture was not auspicious. The river flowed very high, and the clarity was rather murky. The next section took us down a long hill to the confluence of the Minam and Wallowa Rivers, and my hopes for stream fishing transformed to despair, when I viewed the raging current and turbid conditions.

Oregon 82 followed the Wallowa River to Joseph, Oregon, and since this was the last town before entering Wallowa Lake State Park, we stopped for information. First we visited the Joseph Fly Shop, and the gentleman behind the counter dispelled all my hopes of fly fishing in flowing water. He informed me that all the local rivers and streams were blown out due to the cold wet spring. Normally by this time of year the shop was booking guided fishing trips on the highway section of the Wallowa, but he speculated it would be at least another two weeks or longer until the 2019 season kicked off.

As an alternative he suggested that I make a trip to nearby Kinney Lake. It was six miles from Joseph, and he reported that anglers were enjoying success on woolly buggers and prince nymphs. In addition some surface action was available for short periods during the day. He sketched a crude map on the back of a piece of paper, and I purchased five flies and some tapered leader in exchange for his information.

We departed the fly shop and stopped at the forest service office in Joseph. A nice young lady named Sara suggested some moderate hikes within the local national forest lands. We purchased a nice waterproof map for $16 and anticipated some fun treks near our campground. I consoled myself with thoughts of hiking and cycling with Jane and Amy to replace the fishing time, and my spirits once again elevated.

First View of Wallowa Lake

We were now on our way to the campground. We drove along the eastern shoreline of Wallowa Lake, and since we were already registered at the campground, our stop at the entrance station was brief. The young lady manning the window handed us a tag to place on the rear view mirror and provided directions to our loop and campsite.

Our Space for Five Days

Jane Doing the Heavy Lifting

Jane and I quickly unloaded the car and assembled the canopy and tent. Large clouds continually floated across the sky above us, so we made shelter a priority. Once our campsite was in order, we visited the wood shed and purchased a cart of firewood. Heavy rain the previous day rendered the kindling a bit soggy, but I managed to use newspaper and thin splinters from the purchased logs to get the campfire blazing. As this scene was evolving, a herd of deer arrived, and they began to browse among the neighboring campsites, as if happy hour on loop D was a commonplace occurrence.

Near the Bathroom

Meanwhile Jane discovered that the lentil soup on the menu was a block of frozen broth, and without access to a microwave oven, we were forced to consider alternatives. A trip back to Joseph seemed to be the simplest answer, so we jumped in the car and returned to The Embers Brew House on main street. The choice proved to be a winner, as we enjoyed ice cold draft beers and dinner, before we returned to the campground. Tuesday was a long day, so we climbed into the tent and our down sleeping bags early. For some reason I sleep very soundly in a sleeping bag on a Thermarest pad, and Tuesday was no different.

Dinner and Beer