Washington - Oregon Trip Wrapup

Wallowa Lake

We spent the rest of the week just visiting with friends that arrived on Thursday.  We went out to favorite eating establishments for various meals at the lake and in Joseph, OR.  The Cheyenne Café is the favorite for breakfast, the R & R Drive-In makes great burgers and shakes for lunch when we were in town.  The La Laguna Mexican Restaurant in Joseph is good and Vali's at the lake is a definite favorite for dinner. 

On Saturday and Sunday Vali's makes pastries that you have to order ahead to be sure they are available so it is just pastries and coffee.  They only serve dinners Wednesday thru Sunday and there is only one item on the menu each day.  We have eaten there on various nights in the last few years and loved whatever they choose to serve.

Saturday night we (the four couples) had a potluck barbeque with each bringing their choice of meat.  It was great fun with all the joking and ribbing that goes on all week.

We pulled out early Sunday morning (on the road at 7 am) heading for home.  As it is a 13+ hour drive we stopped at Winnemucca, arriving about 4 pm.

We have never been very satisfied with the RV Parks available in Winnemucca but a new one opened in the last couple of years which is suitable for the location.  New Frontier RV Park is on the east end of town had has a small casino and a Wingers restaurant adjacent to the park.

The pull through sites are paved and level and long enough for the longest of rigs.

There is only gravel between sites but this is the desert of Nevada.

Additional back-in sites are gravel but long and level.

We were on the road by 8 am and had lunch in Carson City, NV and after a detour near home arrived around 2 pm.  I am ready for the cool weather we had at Wallowa Lake as it was 98 when we arrived home and will be up to 102 for the rest of the week.

It was a great month on the road and we are glad to be home again except for the heat.  Already thinking where we want to go next.

Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, June 13th

For the last several years we have taken side trips to surrounding locations and scenic areas.  Two years ago we went to Buckhorn Overlook of the Snake River canyon and out to the Zumwalt Prairie.  Last year we drove Highway 39 from Joseph to the Hells Canyon Overlook near Halfway, OR.

We have been told that the best overlook is Hat Point which is about 65 miles from Joseph with the pavement ending 31 miles out at Imnaha, OR.  From there is a narrow gravel road with steep drop-offs  and up to 16% grade for the first part of the 24 miles out to the point.

I've wanted to go to at least Imnaha for the last few years and eventually out to Hat Point. Today we went as far as Imnaha as we weren't ready to spend all day getting out there this time.

It is a pretty drive out and part way we encountered a small cattle drive that had stretched into a couple of groups of cattle.  The first was led by a cowboy on a 4 wheeler and the last group of cattle were driven by Border Collies followed by a pickup with a horse trailer with more Border Collies aboard in reserve.  The Border Collies were doing all the work.

Watch the one of the Border Collies race up the hill after a wayward cow in the first part.

Imnaha Store

The Lady in the store (she and her husband own it) as been at it for 37 years.  She was busy preparing chicken and other ingredients that would later be cooked to order.  The store is for sale if you want to do the next 37 years.

Imnaha River

We learned that Walter Brennan's ranch was just south of the town of Joseph.  Monday Kevin and I drove out to see.  We were told it was 26 thousand acres which is 40 square miles.

This is his ranch and his descendants now have the property.

We were told there was a symbol on the barn but they didn't know what it signified or meant.

I was pretty sure it was a brand for the livestock on the ranch and started researching Oregon Brands. I came up with this registered brand on the Oregon Book of Brands  and even though it is not exactly like the one on the barn it is registered to his descendants in Joseph, OR.  Close enough for me.

In the research I found that Walter had purchased the 12,000 acre Lightning Creek Ranch in 1940 and may have purchased additional property later but I could not find any record of it.  So it may only be 12000 acres.  Currently 10,000 acres of the Lightning Creek Ranch are up for sale.  Maybe the descendants decided that 2,000 acres was plenty for the family.

Walter Brennan donated to a number of projects in the area.  He funded a movie theater in Joseph on the condition that they would only show his movies.  That may have been him just having fun with the group wanting the movie theater.

Beautiful view from town to end a great day!

Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, June 7th -11th

We arrived at Wallowa Lake on the 8th after traveling to La Grande, OR and spending the night.  It was warm when we got here but when the rain and thunder showers started it cooled down quickly.  There weren't lightning strikes nearby but the thunder sounded like it wasn't far away.  We've had showers off and on since then but not enough to affect what we wanted to do.

Friday, Linda and Pauline attended and enjoyed the Wallowa Mountain Quilt Show.  They mentioned that it gets better each year.   Saturday was the Oregon Mountain Car Cruise show in Joseph.  Due to the weather there were a lot of cancellations.  We estimated that there were a third to a half fewer cars this year than last.  Still, even with a few rain drops, Kevin and I enjoyed checking out all the cars.

This year the site we normally reserve was taken so we were in 33 instead of 29 with Kevin and Pauline in 31, their normal spot.  Linda likes 33 better so we have already reserved it for next year.  You really need to reserve way ahead due to the quilt and car shows.  It may be a little quieter this coming week.

Our site 33

K & P's site 31 and note the satellite dish Kevin set up so Linda wouldn't miss the NBA playoffs.  (Woohoo!  Thanks, Kev)

Between our sites

View of the river from our site

The event cabin which is now better known as the Quilting Cabin as Linda and Pauline have taken it over to work on their quilts.  Last year there were three of them quilting.

The Wallowa River is flowing high and fast behind the park,

The river looking downstream from our site.

Saturday night we attended the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers show at the local Grange Hall.  The Grange ladies put on a chicken dinner for $8 and pie was $3 or $4 with ice cream.  The show was $5 each unless you performed, which then was free.  We couldn't get Linda to perform.

The show included performers from around the region with a wide range of talent and ages.  Some were very good and some were beginners and you really had to admire some for getting up in front of an audience and performing.  There were some ladies that were in their mid 80s that performed and were very good!

There were two women that stood out, one a violinist and the other a fiddler,  Linda explained that just from the way they played, the tuning and how they held their bows you could tell the difference in their training.

The Grange Hall was nearly filled for the performance.  It felt good that they began the evening with all attendees facing the Flag and playing the Star Spangled Banner.  During the anthem everyone had their hand placed over their hearts.  Those things are still very important in this part of the country.

Video of one of the groups featuring the banjo player.

Video of the violinist.

The video of the fiddler didn't come out very well.

This morning (Sunday) we went to Vali's for blueberry cinnamon rolls and coffee/tea.  The restaurant only serves dinner Wednesday thru Sunday and each night they feature a single item on the menu.  Saturday and Sunday mornings they make all kinds of fantastic pastries and each time the offerings are different.  So if you ever make it to Joseph and Wallowa Lake make a reservation at Vali's.   It is located just past the Y at the end of the lake.

Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, June 1st - 6th

Our visit with our daughter, family, and many of their friends and relatives is about to come to an end.  

We have had a great time seeing things in the area, looking at property, attending grandchildren's baseball and softball games, barbecuing, and roasting marshmallows for s'mores.  Best of all is the time we spent with our daughters and their families.

Just to show you that isn't all we did the photo below is one of our activities; watching the corn grow!

If you recall the picture of the corn when we arrived it was barely 3-4" tall.  Now 12 days layer is 12-15" with some even 18".

When we arrived

Now

Tomorrow we move on to La Grande, OR, for a night where we have some trailer maintenance to be done then we will head on to Joseph, OR and Wallowa Lake.

Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, May 30th - 31st

Tuesday we covered a lot of ground looking at areas that we could consider moving to.  We really didn't find any that really appealed to us but we will continue to look at homes and property in the area and next week we may check out places around Tri-Cities.

Tuesday night it was softball games for two or our granddaughters, one in Royal City and one in Moses Lake.  A thunder storm rolled in and the the games were cancelled in the first inning.  There are more games scheduled.

On Wednesday we went to Grand Coulee Dam and took a tour of the pumping facilities.  

Pictures of the dam are deceiving.  Due to the width of the dam it doesn't look that tall but when you see it in person you can observe just how massive and tall it really is.  It produces more electricity than any other dam in the North Ameria.  Even combining the output of some of the larger dams wouldn't match its output.

Pumps that feed water over the hills to Banks Lake.

On the drive up from Soap Lake on there are a series of lakes and the entire route is very similar to being in the Columbia Gorge on I-84.  As I hadn't really looked at a map I kept wondering where the Columbia River was.  It wasn't until we got to the dam and the river was flowing north that I looked and saw that the river wasn't near the route we took.

Banks Lake which is 27 miles long

Banks Lake Video

The Columbia River comes down from Canada then across some of northern Washington to Grand Coulee Dam where it turns north and then goes west before turning to go south.  The route we took to the dam was the Grand Coulee.  Grand Coulee Dam backs up the Columbia River forming Roosevelt Lake for 150 miles.

The last lake before getting to Coulee City is Banks Lake which receives water pumped from the Grand Coulee Dam.  Banks Lake feeds a series of canals that provide water to the Columbia Basin.  Without the water the basin was a desert.  The water turned the basin into an agricultural bonanza with numerous crops, orchards and vineyards everywhere.

We learned that all the other lakes we passed were natural lakes and spring fed.  There are a number of State and local parks for camping/RVs and RV parks/resorts, many with marinas as fishing is a favorite activity.

Grand Coulee Dam Video

We plan to return to the area sometime in the future to camp and do some fishing.

Last night we went to our grandson's baseball game.  It started to sprinkle but not enough to affect the game.  

Not much planned for the next few days other than spending time with our daughter's family.