EASTERN OREGON ROADTRIPS

DORMANT FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT...

2011-10-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have been out and about, but haven't been posting here. I have mostly been posting pictures of NE Oregon daytrips and routes on my Facebook page... but I will get some of those pictures onto this website during the next few months. Not necessarily with mileage logs, but in order, with the trip routes described! Stay tuned!

THE IZEE HIGHWAY

2009-10-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is a route I always wanted to take when I was a young kid. The old Oregon highway maps didn't show it as a paved route connecting Prineville and US 395 south of John Day, but once I found out it was paved all the way across I was fascinated. I finally got the chance to take the route about 12 years ago, and todayThursday October 8 was my fourth time.

What's so great about this route, you might ask? Once you're about halfway across it you might be thinking "There's nothing out here at all!" But to me, that is the best part of it. It is a stretch of pavement that extends roughly 119 miles, with only a handful of farms and ranches and one little town (which probably only has at most about 100 people) along the way.

0.0 Junction at US 395 16.7 miles south of downtown John Day.

Looking west from junction with US 395.

0.6 Looking south from the road, into Bear Valley.

3.6 Geary Campground Road to the right.

5.1

Today I saw all kinds of birds, including a golden eagle, and too many deer to count. Here, at around mile 7.8, Mom was out for a walk with her kids.

The deer were in the edge of a large burn.

This is also at mile 7.8, looking west up the road.

8.0 Entering Malheur National Forest land.

11.0 The highway winds along the upper Silvies River. This was taken at the junction with US Forest Service Road 24.

14.5 The road crosses a divide, and a sign reads "Rough Road 51 Miles"! There aren't any potholes in the road at this point, but it has been patched extensively and has no shoulder stripe or center stripe in places.

15.6 Heading downhill.

15.8 Leaving Malheur National Forest land.

18.2

19.5 View to the south of the road.

20.0 Cross another divide.

20.3 Heading down toward the South Fork of the John Day River.

23.7

24.8 Just about at Izee. There isn't much there... a house or two, and a few old, deserted buildings.

25.8

26.7

30.2

32.0 At junction with South Fork Road, looking north.

32.2 The return of the center stripe and shoulder stripes. The road is smoother here, but has numerous seams running across it, contributing to a slightly bumpy feel.

32.9 Start uphill again.

37.5

38.8 Looking back down, to the east, from the hill we have been climbing.

39.0 Cross a divide, head downhill briefly.

42.0 Heading back uphill again already, with a view to the south.

42.7 Cross another divide.

42.9 Heading down the other side, looking west.

43.7 The road is now good, very smooth.

44.6 South Weberg Road and Delintment Lake Road to the left.

47.2

49.5

51.2

54.6

59.4 At junction of Beaver Creek Road and Rager Ranger Station Road (that road takes off to the right). Looking west.

63.0 Turn left into Paulina.

Paulina Store and Post Office.

An old church.

The Paulina school facility.

63.8 Back at the highway, looking west.

67.9

70.3

75.4 Looking northwest.

Also at 75.4, looking north.

79.6 Cross South Fork Crooked River.

80.2

81.1 Looking south.

84.9

85.4 Tower Point Lookout Road to the left.

88.2 Pine Creek and Antelope Reservoir Road to the left.

92.4 South Newsome Creek Road junction. This picture looks south up Newsome Creek Road. Note the forest fire in the background.

93.6 Post, the geographic center of Oregon!

94.1

94.6

99.2

100.7 More deer!

102.1 Sharp 25 mph corner to the right, then highway leaves the Crooked River and heads up a side canyon.

103.9 Castle Rock

106.1 Looking back down the hill to the south.

106.4 Top of the hill.

108.3 Looking northeast, toward the Ochoco Mountains.

Also at 108.3, looking ahead down the road.

110.4 Looking north from the road, Ochoco Mountains in background.

111.3

116.0 (below)
116.8 I just about hit three deer at this point! Click to enlarge the picture, and you will see several more.

117.2 Three-way stop. Juniper Canyon Road to Prineville reservoir goes to the left. We are now on the edge of Prineville.

118.0 Street leads to Fairgrounds to left.

118.6 The Izee Highway ends at US 26 on the east end of Prineville.

OREGON ROUTE 207 - COLUMBIA RIVER TO MITCHELL

2009-07-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

OREGON 207 FROM COLUMBIA RIVER/HERMISTON AREA to MITCHELL

As with all posts on this blog, this one will be a work in progress. And as always, you can click on the pictures to see them in larger format.

I'm not sure why I decided to do a post about Oregon Highway 207 from one end to the other, but it is probably because I love the towns along the route. I also love how isolated the route is, and how beautiful the countryside is at nearly all places along the way.

Route 207 meets US 730 north and east of Hermiston, along the Columbia River. Hat Rock State Park is nearby.

I was on US 730 heading west when I started this route. I turned left onto Oregon 207.
In a future post I will do a photo essay on the city of Hermiston, and I may also add pictures to the first part of this post. In the meantime, here is their city website: http://www.hermiston.or.us/ .

2.1 - Walls Road. Mostly open. pleasant countryside. Fair amounts of sagebrush!
3.5 - Punkin Center Road. At this point the scenery is still fairly rural.
4.0 - Houses are becoming more concentrated.
5.6 - Diagonal Road, goes left to City Center.

5.9 - Hermiston city limit, speed limit reduces to 40. The population of Hermiston is roughly 16,000 and its elevation is 450 feet above sea level.

7.0 - Junction OR 207 and US 395. US 395 is somewhat of a commercial strip, and there are places to shop and eat nearby. To stay on OR 207, go straight ahead at this intersection.

7.7 - Pool.

7.8 - Good Shepherd Hospital on the left.

8.0 - OR 207 makes a left turn at a Shell station and heads south.

8.6 - Hermiston Avenue heads left toward the City Center.

9.0 - Intersection with W. Highland Avenue.
10.0 - Now back in the countryside, speed limit back up to 55 miles per hour.
11.0 - Intersection with Feedville Road.
11.8 - Intersection with Hinkle Road.
12.1 - Road crosses Umatilla River.
12.5 - Comfort Inn, Space Age Truck Stop are on the right.
12.7 - Junction with Interstate 84. To continue on 207, just go straight ahead.

12.7 - Highway 207 heads south from Interstate 84.

17.1 - Oregon Trail marker.

18.1 - You can turn left here to go to Echo on the Lexington-Echo Highway.

Typical countryside between Hermiston and Lexington on Oregon 207.

19.5 - Windmills... it's hard to go anywhere in the Columbia basin without seeing them!

25.6 - Butter Creek Road takes off to the left. It is a paved connector road that heads ESE until it meets Vinson on OR Route 74.

28.5 - Alpine Lane.

Coming up ahead at mile 35.4, a connecting road to Boardman takes off to the right.

37.2 - Martin Road to right.

39.1 - Baseline Road.

42.9 - Lexington Grange Road.

44.2 - Start down hill into Lexington.

45.1 - Junction OR 74 and OR 207. The two highways share the same route for a ways. Turn left toward Heppner. This is a picture looking east along Lexington's main street. At the time of the 2000 census, Lexington has a population of 263. According to Wikipedia, Lexington has experienced a population loss of roughly 10% per decade since 1960. The elevation at Lexington is 1,454 feet.

45.7 - Leaving Lexington.

50.5 - Bunker Hill Lane.

52.4 - Old Kinzua complex.

53.2 - Dee Cox Road.

53.4 - Heppner city limit. Hepper's population is 1,415. It was incorporated in 1887, and it is 1,955 feet above sea level. It is the county seat of Morrow County, and was named for Henry Heppner, a Prussian immigrant who came to America in the 1850s and worked in Heppner and surrounding areas from the 1860s on.

As you enter Heppner, you will see this very nice little welcome park. The Morrow County Museum is to the right from here, a few blocks away. I didn't go inside the museum, but the murals painted on the outside are amazing. I will post pictures of those in my upcoming post about the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway, which also goes through Heppner.

54.4 - After crossing Hinton and Willow Creeks, head up Main Street. Heppner experienced catastrophic flooding in 1903, when severe flash flood conditions caused a wall of water 40 feet high to come down Willow Creek Canyon, destroying the town. Willow Creek has since been dammed.

54.9 - Junction. Hwy 74 goes to the left to Pilot Rock, while OR 207 goes straight ahead, up the hill.

Just a few blocks down Highway 74 is the Morrow County Courthouse. It is a magnificent building!

55.8 - To the left is the road to Willow Creek Reservoir, Cutsforth Park, and Ukiah.

59.2 - Looking back down the hill toward Heppner.

59.2 - A view to the southwest from the top of the hill.

63.0 - The road heads down a hill into a canyon.

65.5 - RUGGS. There is a large grain elevator here, and as I recall there are a couple of houses. At this mileage point, Rhea Creek Road leads to the left ("Ione 22"). To the right is Upper Rhea Creek Road.

65.7 - Junction at Rhea Creek. To continue on OR 207, go LEFT ("Hardman 9, Spray 44"). If you bear to the right you will follow OR 206, 33 miles to Condon. After making your left turn onto OR 207, the above picture is a view from the highway looking northeast. Ruggs is in a scenic canyon bottom area along Rhea Creek.

67.4 - Looking up the road out of Ruggs. The road begins to climb here.

68.6 - Porcupine Lane.

70.8 - Side road up side canyon.

74.0 - The road reaches the top of the hill.

74.1 - HARDMAN. looking south at OR 207 enters town. Hardman is considered a "ghost town". To learn more about it, this is a good link: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/or/hardman.html

74.5 - Looking north up Hardman's main street, near the point at which the highway leaves town to head toward Spray.

75.0 - The road heads back down hill.

76.5 - After a sharp corner, you start seeing more trees.

77.2 - Deadman Hill Loop.

The highway follows a scenic canyon along Rock Creek.

80.1 - Looking south on OR 207.

80.3 - Anson Wright Memorial Park to the right. From the Heppner Chamber of Commerce Site: "A 25-mile drive south of Heppner on Highway 207 will bring you to Anson Wright Memorial Park. In 1970, Walter and Mildred Wright deeded the 18 park acres to Morrow County as a memorial to Anson Wright. The park has 5 wide pads with double hook-ups which will accommodate 10 trailers, 4 sites without hook-ups, but with water available, picnic areas, children's' playgrounds, restrooms with showers, both a pond and a creek for fishing, and trails for hiking."
Fishing pond at Anson Wright Park.

Some nice open space at the park.

84.6 - Typical scenery for this area, looking west from the highway.

84.6 - Typical scenery for this area, looking south along the highway.

85.2 - The other end of Deadman Hill Loop.

87.5 - Morrow County OHV park to the left.

87.5 - Near Morrow County OHV Park.

88.9 - Enter Umatilla National Forest land.
89.4 - Kinzua Road to right. This gravel road will lead you to the area of Wetmore.
90.5 - Enter Wheeler County.
91.6 - Road narrows.
92.7 - Summit, elevation 4,612 feet. From here, the road starts down a very long grade with numerous sharp curves.

94.8 - The road is narrow in this area as it heads down hill.

99.5 - Leave Umatilla National Forest.

99.6 - Kahler Basin Road to the right. The sign reads "Winlock 15". This interesting paved road will take you through some isolated, scenic country. Maybe I will do something about Winlock in a future road trip post!

100.0 - At this point, you are pretty much out of the forest.

102.8 - Looking south down the highway.

106.5 - Junction with OR Route 19. A left turn here will take you to Kimberly, and then on to the Sheep Rock unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. But to stay on OR Route 207, turn right at this intersection. Routes 19 and 207 share the same route for about the next 15-16 miles. The above picture looks left from the junction, southeast along Route 19.

This is looking west along Routes 207 and 19 toward Spray, which lies a couple of miles ahead around a bent to the right.

109.1 - Enter SPRAY, population about 140, elevation 1,772 feet. Spray is known by some as The City by the River, as it sits beside the John Day. Every Memorial Day weekend, Spray has a rodeo and a half marathon race. If you would like more information, here is Spray's town website: http://www.sprayoregon.us/index.htm

109.2 - Riverfront Park to the left.
109.6 - Kahler Basin Road to the right.

The Spray Pioneer Museum.

The main street of Spray.

Local cafe and grocery store in downtown Spray.

110.2 - Just past the edge of the town of Spray, heading west. From here, the highway follows the John Day River through scenic canyon country.

110.3 - Looking west, just past the edge of Spray.

112.4 - Highway 207, heading west along the John Day River.

117.6 - More John Day River scenery heading west along highway 207.

119.3 - Muleshoe Mountain above Highway 207, heading west.

119.7 - Alder Creek Road to the right. This gravel road will take you up Alder Creek to the Winlock area.

119.9 - Muleshoe Recreation Area.

122.0 - Junction. Turn left to continue to Mitchell on OR 207. If you go straight ahead about a half mile on OR Route 19, there is a store and cafe at Service Creek.

Service Creek has a store and cafe with restroom.

From here, Highway 207 crosses the John Day River and heads up a side canyon, winding its way up a hillside.

124.8 - This is above the junction, looking northeast.

128.4 - Junction. RICHMOND, elevation 3,200 is about a mile to the left. It is a remnant of a town, and like Hardman, is considered a ghost town. A few people live here, but not very many. A number of the buildings are very old and are deserted. The road into Richmond is paved, but it is full of potholes... beware!

An old house in Richmond.

This looks like it might have been a church at one time.

For more Richmond information, you can check at http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/or/richmond.html

133.6 - This is looking northeast from the highway.

134.3 - Summit.

137.1 - Girds Creek Road to the right. It will take you to Twickenham and to the John Day River.

139.0 - Looking east from the highway, into the hills.

139.6 - At another summit, looking south.

142.7 - Wide open country along Highway 207, looking south.

145.5 - The road heads down the hill toward Mitchell.

145.9 - End OR Route 207 at junction with US Highway 26.

The route is about 146 miles long. It takes you through agricultural lands, forests, mountains, canyon country, and some fantastic wide open spaces. In order to take in sights such as the Morrow County Museum in Heppner, to spend time looking around in Hardman and Richmond, and to simply relax and enjoy the scenery I recommend taking 6-8 hours minimum.

As time goes by, I will add community links and other links to informational websites about this area in the "Links" section.

MORE ROAD TRIPS ON THE WAY

2009-05-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have neglected this website for some time now, but not to worry. I plan to put up a few more photos and road logs this summer. Stay tuned. The next one will be up within a few weeks.

ROAD TRIP 2: LA GRANDE to ECHO on OLD U.S. HIGHWAY 30

2008-06-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

The route of U.S. Highway 30 has largely been replaced by Interstate 84 in Oregon. However, there are still sections of Old Highway 30 you can drive on. These sections are generally narrow and winding, and they lead to scenic views, old towns and plenty of history.

This road trip covers the roughly 82 miles from La Grande to Interstate 84 near the small town of Echo, with all available remaining sections of Old U.S. 30. Sections of Highway 30 are noted in red.

0.0 Starting at Island and Adams

Looking west from just past Island and Adams, into downtown La Grande.

1.1 Head west up the hill on old Highway 30 and leave La Grande.

1.3 Gangloff Park and viewpoint.

Historical marker at Gangloff Park.

View north toward Mt. Emily from Gangloff Park.

View south from Gangloff Park, toward La Grande and Glass Hill.

View east over La Grande and into Grande Ronde Valley, with pioneer cabin in foreground.

1.9 Entering canyon of Grande Ronde River on Interstate 84.

3.9 Exit for Perry. To follow Old US 30, go straight ahead at the stop sign.

Looking north under the railroad tracks into the small community of Perry.

4.2 View of Grande Ronde River looking west.

4.9 Upper Perry.

5.1 As of 6/15/08 there was construction on an old bridge near where Highway 30 re-enters I-84.

5.6 Looking west on I-84 between Perry and Hilgard.

7.7 Looking west on I-84 near Hilgard exit.

8.2 Exit for Hilgard, Hilgard State Park, and Oregon 244 to Ukiah.

11.8 Looking west on I-84 near Spring Creek Road exit. The elevation here is about 3,500 feet.

12.4 Exit for Spring Creek Road and Kamela. Take this exit to continue on the next section of Old US 30.

12.6 Turn right at the stop sign, follow sign indicating Kamela.

13.0 The railroad tracks are below you as you cross on an old concrete bridge.

13.3 Junction to Blue Mountain Crossing, an Oregon Trail interpretive site 2.5 miles to the north on a paved road. Excellent exhibit, beautiful spot. I will feature this site in a future entry.

17.8 Looking south at an area of clear cut logging. Because of the dry climate in eastern Oregon, it takes forests much longer to regenerate from clear cuts than it does in the wetter western part of the state. Some timber harvesting outfits do a good job replanting, anyway.

19.8 The sign indicates that this is Kamela. It is mostly a few cabins/houses and a railroad siding.

20.4 Leave Union County, enter Umatilla County.

21.6 Poor forest management leads to forests crowded with small trees and undergrowth, leaving the forest susceptible to fire. Also, as the hardier tree species are harvested, without good management they can become replaced by trees more susceptible to disease and infestation. This is a picture of forest that is in serious need of thinning and selective cutting. I wasn't able to get a decent picture looking across the road the other way, but some good forest practice is going on there.

21.7 Looking west from the summit of the Blue Mountains along Old US 30.

If you want to continue on Old US 30 once you get back to I-84, it can get a bit confusing. I hope this helps:

24.1 Junction - go left - sign indicates Meacham, Pendleton.

24.2 Go right - sign indicates Pendleton. You'll go under I-84.

24.3 Go left - signs indicate Meacham, Pendleton.

24.4 Go right, where sign indicates Meacham.

25.1 Enter Meacham.

25.3 Looking down the "main street".

25.5 Historical marker.

"Downtown" Meacham.

25.9 Leave Meacham. Highway 30 parallels I-84 for a while, although the freeway isn't immediately visible.

28.3 Cross over I-84 on bridge.

28.7 Emigrant Springs State Park.

29.4 Cross back to north side of I-84 again on bridge.

29.6 Turn right where sign indicates "Scenic View".

31.1 Enter Umatilla Indian Reservation.

31.5 If you want to go 0.1 mile up a gravel road to a great viewpoint, turn right where the sign says "Scenic View". The viewpoint was formerly known as Squaw Creek. Many sites with this place name are getting new names. I don't know if the canyon you will see from the viewpoint has been renamed, but whether it has or not, this is a nice view.

Looking east.

Looking north.

31.9 Some eastern Oregon sunshine, also known as balsam root.

34.7 Deadman Pass. Turn right for the rest area. There is access to I-84 at this point.

To continue on US 30, go straight ahead at the stop sign.

36.3 The view south, across the Blue Mountains. In this area, the road winds its way along the side of the ridge, near the ridgetop. There are lots of nice views.

39.4 Access to I-84 at this point. Keep to the right to continue on US 30.

39.6 The road heads down Cabbage Hill.

40.3 Looking south at the westbound lanes of I-84.

40.7 Old Highway 30 snakes its way down the hill toward Pendleton.

43.3 Looking west from Cabbage Hill.

46.0 At this point, the highway is mostly off of the hill and is now heading toward the Umatilla River bottomlands.

48.3 Junction - Bear to the left here. Cayuse Road heads right, to the east from here, following the Umatilla River.

Head through the Umatilla Nation headquarters area.

49.9 Four-way stop - go straight ahead here toward Pendleton. You will be on Mission Road.

If you go left at this stop, you will head south up the hill toward Wildhorse Casino/Hotel/Golf Course and I-84.

If you go right at this stop, you will be heading toward Adams, Athena, Helix, Milton-Freewater, and eventually to Walla Walla, WA.

52.5 At the stoplight, go straight ahead. Memory Lane is to the left, the Mission Frontage Road is to the right.

53.6 Historical marker. There is an osprey nesting platform close to the edge of the hill, and during May and June there are often birds on the nest.

53.7 Junction - go straight ahead. A right turn will take you on OR 11 to Walla Walla.

54.0 Hal's Hamburgers is a good lunch stop. It has been in the same location for as long as I can remember.

54.3 St. Anthony's Hospital.

54.7 To go to Pendleton Woolen Mills, turn right at the stoplight onto Court Place.

55.3 The intersection of Court Avenue and Main Street, the heart of downtown Pendleton.

Hamley's Western Clothing store.

Looking south down Main Street.

Looking north up Main Street.

The Curio Shop has always been one of my favorite places.

55.9 You will be passing Round-Up Stadium, home to the famous Pendleton Round-Up rodeo and the Happy Canyon traditional Native American activities held at Round-Up time.

56.4 Head up a bridge to a stoplight, go straight ahead.

56.6 Junction - go straight ahead. A right turn will take you up the hill on OR 37, which eventually leads to the Columbia River between Hermiston and Wallula.

57.4 Historical marker at west edge of Pendleton.

58.0 Airport Road.

58.1 Bear to the right as US 30 crosses from the north to the south side of I-84.

58.3 Go straight, sign will indicate Rieth.

59.6 Mill at Rieth.

59.7 Enter Rieth. This is the "downtown".

60.3 Leave Rieth.

60.7 View west along Old Highway 30, which follows the Umatilla River.

63.9 Barnhart Road is a gravel route that leads up a side canyon and eventually to I-84.

65.2 Another view west along the old highway.

65.8 Another view west.

66.2 The remains of an old house have become the target of creative graffiti artists.

69.2 Yoakum Road takes off to the right. This is another gravel route leading up a side canyon and eventually to I-84.

69.3 A view west along the Umatilla River.

70.8 There is large colony of cliff swallows at this point.

73.1 Nolin Grade Road leads off to the right.

80.0 At this stop sign, you are at Echo. The high school (home of the Cougars!) is to your right.

80.1 At this intersection you can turn left to go into downtown Echo.

80.6 Head up the hill and out of Echo.

81.6 Access to eastbound I-84 to Pendleton.

81.7 Access to westbound I-84 for Boardman, and eventually Portland.

If you go straight ahead you will soon be in Stanfield, then in Hermiston, and after that at the Columbia River.

ROADTRIP #1: PRE-MEMORIAL DAY EXCURSION - OREGON HIGHWAY 82 - LA GRANDE TO WALLOWA LAKE STATE PARK

2008-05-17T18:15:00.001-07:00

Hey, it's time for the first Eastern Oregon Roadtrip!

I will start all my little excursions from the intersection of Adams Avenue and Island Avenue in downtown La Grande, shown above. The mileage will be shown from this location. Unless otherwise noted, all trips will be made in Trusty Car, my 2006 Toyota Prius.

At the end of the post, you will get to know what music I listened to, what the temperatures were during the trip, and how well Trusty Car did on gas mileage.

Clicking on the pictures will probably make them bigger. In some cases, you will want to click to read the notes on historical markers, see details up close, etc. If I take a picture through a dirty windshield and you don't like it, you can chew me out in the comments section.

Enough blabbering... Let's go!

0.0 Going east on Adams, turn left onto Oregon highway 82.

1.5 Enter Island City.

2.4 At the main intersection in Island City, Highway 82 makes a sharp left to the north.

3.2 Some nice views, first of Mt. Emily (elevation about 6,000 feet) and then of Mt. Harris (about 5,400 feet) taken from Halley Road intersection on Highway 82.

Highway 82 heads north-northeast through the Grande Ronde Valley. La Grande is at the southwest end of the valley. The valley is roughly 20 miles long form north to south, and 15 miles wide from west to east.

10.0 Looking north toward Imbler.

11.8 Enter Imbler, population about 300.

12.0 Imbler main street.

16.2 view of Mt. Harris looking SE from OR 82.

17.5 Looking north toward Indian Valley on Highway 82.

19.5 Enter Elgin, population about 1,600.

19.8 Elgin's main street. The mainstay of the local economy is a mill where plywood is produced. I worked in the Elgin schools from 1989 to 1994, and enjoyed it very much. The people of the town tend to be very nice.

20.0 Elgin Opera House. This is a great place to watch a movie. One night when my wife Kit and I were watching a movie there, a bat flew out of a ceiling light fixture and terrorized some teenage girls. The theater manager tried to pass it off as a blackbird, but Kit and I knew better. Another time, the popcorn machine caught fire and the movie had to be stopped for a while so they could air out the theater. I tell you, the place has character!

20.3 Leave Elgin. Highway 82 heads up a fairly steep hill for a mile of so to get onto the gentle rolling area known as Cricket Flat.

24.0 View of Cricket Flat

26.6 More views of Cricket Flat, first looking north, then looking northeast.

28.6 Minam Hill summit, elevation 3653

29.1 View of mountains and Minam Canyon area looking SE, just past Minam Hill summit.

30.5 Viewpoint at corner on downhill. Slow down, stop here, and take a look! This first picture is looking south up the Minam River canyon, into the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area. I think this viewpoint is 400-500 feet above the river. Drive carefully!

This picture is looking to the northwest as the road continues down the hill to Minam.

30.7 Viewpoint - looking north down the hill toward Minam.

33.2 Minam is at the bottom of the hill. There isn't much here, maybe a couple of houses, a motel, and a store. This is the place where the Minam River meets the Wallowa River. From here, the Wallowa flows north to meet the Grande Ronde River en route to the Snake. This is roughly where you enter Wallowa County from Union County.

Rafting is a popular activity on the lower Wallowa River, and many people who do it "put in" at Minam.

This is looking downriver along the Wallowa from the Minam bridge on Highway 82.
33.8 The Wallowa River canyon.

34.9 Big Canyon Rd.

36.8 Wallowa River Wayside rest area

39.0 Johnson Timber Wayside. These big trees were donated to the state of Oregon by a couple who wanted them preserved. These are big, pretty ponderosa pines!

39.4 Another, older rest area. The first picture is looking up the side canyon behind the outhouses. The second one is a shot of Trusty Car posing with the Wallowa River canyon in the background. South-facing slopes in the Blue Mountains tend to have little in the way of trees, while the north-facing, shaded slopes tend to be thickly forested.

41.0 Water Canyon road and property. This is a beautiful old parklike place with a nice older house and a new one too. It is a private residence, but there is not law against looking at it and admiring it from across the river.

41.8 Leave the canyon, and enter the Wallowa Valley.

44.2 view SE toward town of Wallowa.

44.6 Promise Road intersection. Promise Rd. leads north to the location of the old logging community of Maxville, and the locale known as Promise. The small town of Troy, on the Grande Ronde River, is 39 miles north along this road. It's gravel all the way. One of these days I will do that drive and document it for you.

46.0 Enter Wallowa, population about 800. Wallowa is the town where my father lived as a boy and where he graduated high school. My grandmother lived there until her death in 1988, and from the time I was born until the time I graduated high school, we spent at least one weekend per month in Wallowa with Grandma.

46.5 Evans Park in Wallowa, named after my grandparents James and Myrtle Evans. Grandma lived in the big white house to the left in the picture. When she died in 1988, the land went to the city of Wallowa, and the park was created. When I was a boy, I spent many hours exploring the huge yard and catching bugs in this place!

46.7 The Little Bear Drive-In, a great place to get a good old fashioned burger, fries and shake. I have eaten here many times, as a traditional meal after a backpack trip or long day of hiking in the Wallowa Mountains!

46.9 Wallowa's main street.

47.1 Whiskey Creek Road, to Wallowa Cemetery.

SIDETRIP: The Cemetery is 1.2 miles from town. This is where my father and his parents are buried. I won't be able to go to the cemetery on Memorial Day because I will be at the Sasquatch Festival at The Gorge, so I went there today to take some flowers from our flower beds to the grave sites.

Here is an amusing sign along the road to the cemetery.
Grandparents James Ward and Myrtle Maud Evans:

My dad, John William Evans:
The cemetery is a pretty place, with some big old evergreens and lots of old gnarly-looking bushes. Brewers' Blackbirds like to nest in the bushes, and it is not uncommon to get dive-bombed by protective birds if you get too close to the babies!

And then back to Wallowa and Highway 82.

RESUME TRIP LOG

47.3 Leave Wallowa. Highway 82 follows the Wallowa River along a hillside.

49.0 Leave river, enter open valley area.

49.4 Nice view of the Wallowa Mountains, looking SE up the valley toward Lostine.

54.1 Enter Lostine, population about 300. Not sure where the town got its name, but supposedly it was named after some place in Kansas.

54.5 Lostine's main street, from inside the car.

54.7 The Blue Banana coffee shop in Lostine is not only a visual curiosity, but they have excellent coffee!

54.9 Leave Lostine. From Lostine, Highway 82 follows the Wallowa River in a shallow canyon for about eight miles. Beautiful, hilly scenery.

60.3 Sunrise Road

63.0 Fish Hatchery Lane

63.8 Historical marker, with some great views of the Wallowa Mountains to the south:

Looking SE toward Joseph and Wallowa Lake. Chief Joseph Mountain is to the right in this picture. Aneroid Mountain is in the distance in the center.

Chief Joseph Mountain to the left, Hurricane Creek canyon in center, Twin Peaks at right center.

64.0 Enter Enterprise, population about 1,900.
64.6 Junction with OR Hwy 3 north to Lewiston, ID

64.8 I like Wallowa County's old stone courthouse in Enterprise. If I read the Roman numerals correctly, the date on it 1909 (MCMIX).

65.1 Hurricane Creek Road

65.5 Leave Enterprise. Highway 82 skirts the edges of low unforested hills as it heads east to southeast.

66.0 A great view south from the highway. Look for Clydesdale horses in this area! They weren't out today, or I would have posted pics of them.

68.1 Buckhorn Springs Road takes off from the highway for Zumwalt Prairie and a great viewpoint overlooking the lower canyon of the Imnaha River and into Hells Canyon of the Snake River. I think it's about 35 miles of good gravel up Buckhorn Springs Road to the view. I'd like to get out that way at some point this summer, and if I do, I'll take pictures. Anyway, at this intersection Highway 82 heads due south for Joseph.

70.6 Enter Joseph, population about 1,300.

70.9 This sign in Joseph is well-known to people in NE Oregon.

Joseph is home to some bronze foundries, and the town has developed an arts community over the past decade or two. As the timber industry has declined, other things have taken hold, including arts. The local refrain in Wallowa County is usually "the mills have had to close down because of the environmentalists", but I would think other factors were in play, such as changing economic times and decades of poor forest management... but that's another matter, probably for my other blog. Anyway, here is a nice bronze work.

Joseph is a friendly town with a lively main street area. I have two cousins in Joseph. One runs a coffee-brewing company with friends, and they call their product Motley Brew; her husband is building a distillery which he will help run! She and my other cousin are both accomplished photographers too.

Also of interest: I have seen many, many Ron Paul signs in Wallowa County. Seems he is popular up this way. (I wonder if any of the supporters here know about his newsletters from the past... heh...) I was quite surprised in this very conservative area to also see quite a few yard signs for Barack Obama. People here are mostly conservative, but they definitely know when it's time for a change. The fact that I saw no Clinton or McCain signs was very encouraging!

Here is that lively main street:

71.9 Leave Joseph. Highway 82 climbs gently for the next .6 mile through the glacial moraine at the outlet end of Wallowa Lake.

72.5 Old Chief Joseph grave site. Here is an interpretive display:

Here are a couple of pictures of the grave marker. In the second picture, check out some of the offerings people have left. The partially-smoked cigar is probably my favorite.

72.7 View of Wallowa Lake looking south

73.0 View of Wallowa Lake looking south

77.0 Wallowa Lake Lodge:
From the lodge, a side road leads one mile north into what I call the "business area" at Wallowa Lake. Along this spur road one can find Russell's Gift Shop and Restaurant, Heidi's Gift Shoppe, Eagle Cap Chalets, the Wallowa Mountain Tramway, a mini-golf course, go-carts, cabins, condos, etc. Wallowa Lake is a happening place in the summer, with lots and lots of people there.

77.4 Wallowa Lake State Park. The first pictures is looking south with Mt. Bonneville in the background.

Wallowa Lake State Park - Mt. Howard in the center background. Wallowa Mountain Tramway has a gondola ride to the top, with many incredible views!

Looking north across Wallowa Lake from the state park.

At Wallowa Lake State Park near the marina.

From

SIDETRIP: HURRICANE CREEK ROAD

This is an enjoyable alternate route between Joseph and Enterprise. The mileages are shown starting at Joseph.

1.0 View of Hurricane Creek Canyon. Peaks are, from L to R, Twin Peaks, ???, Sawtooth Peak, and Scotch Butte.

1.6 Mule deer.

2.1 Hurricane Creek Grange and junction for road to Hurricane Creek trailhead. The trail is a fairly easy grade, and takes the hiker 12 miles up Hurricane Creek to the Lake Basin in the heart of the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area.

6.9 Enterprise City Limits

7.1 Fish Hatchery Lane

7.2 Highway 82 in Enterprise

SUMMARY:

It was a great trip today. The weather was very sunny, and it was unseasonably warm at 88 to 91 degrees all afternoon.

Music for the trip was the 2-CD "David Live" by David Bowie (live show from 1974... GREAT stuff!) and The Stone Roses' "Complete Stone Roses" CD.

165 miles were driven in all, and Trusty Car got 57.0 miles per gallon on this trip.

TIME TO DO SOME EXPLORING!

2008-05-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

Photo of Mt. Emily near La Grande, Oregon, from website http://www.visitlagrande.com

I live in La Grande, a town of about 13,000 people in the northeastern part of Oregon. La Grande is in the Grande Ronde Valley. It is home to Eastern Oregon University, a four-year state college where my father worked as the head librarian for many years. I was born here about 51 years ago, lived here until I was 20, went away to college and then to a job in Port Angeles, Washington before moving back to La Grande in 1989.

My purpose in writing this blog is to introduce readers to this beautiful area of the world, sometimes directly through travelogues, and sometimes less directly through my personal observations. Although I have lived here for 39 of my nearly 51 years and call this area home, I often feel like an outsider because I do not see things the same as most of the people around here do. While much of what I post here will be complimentary and beautiful to look at, not everything will be nice. I love eastern Oregon, but I will write about it warts and all.

You will find me registered to vote as a Green or a Democrat, both minority parties in this part of the world. I write an occasional letter to the local paper expressing dismay about George W. Bush or some similar abomination, but lately I have felt a need to think more about local matters than national issues. Progressives used to not do so badly in this part of Oregon until about 30 years ago, and since then the area's voters have been taken in by the "religious right", the special interests who are anti-environmentalist because it affects their bottom line, and by those groups who are concerned about land-use issues. Anyway, I tend to keep my mouth shut around here for the most part. I'm not going to go changing too many minds, and it's usually just easier to get along.

Sometimes I feel like an outsider around here in other ways. I don't care if other people hunt, but I don't hunt... I would rather watch the wildlife and try to photograph it. I own a rifle, but haven't fired it in over 25 years; that doesn't mean I might not get it out and fire it at a tin can on a fencepost someday. I have never logged and I detest poor forest management, but I view the timber industry as necessary to the economic survival of many people in this area. I used to fish with my kids when they lived at home, but I have never been very good at it... I often like to describe myself as "the Woody Allen of fishermen". I don't ride motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles in the mountains around here, as many locals do.

So what DO I do? I spend time with my family, work, play music, read books, blog, surf the internet, watch the tube, work in the yard, and get out and about to look at wildlife (birds, mainly) and scenery when I can. I used to do a lot of hiking and backpacking; since surgeries on my left knee in 2000 and 2004 and a spinal fusion (discs L4 and L5 in 2007), it hasn't been as easy to hike, and I have only done a couple of brief backpack trips... but I am hoping I can still do some of those things and share some photos and experiences with you.

I plan to take pictures around this end of the state and post them on this blog, with descriptions of the places I visit. There will be a lot of photos of the Grande Ronde Valley and Union County, and neighboring Umatilla, Baker and Wallowa Counties. I will venture south to Malheur, Grant and Harney Counties from time to time. With a bit of luck, I might even get into central Oregon, and there might even be some shots of SE Washington, western Idaho, western Oregon and other places. Who knows!

This is a very scenic part of the world, and this treasure trove of beauty is unknown to many. One purpose of this blog will be to provide some information for people who might wish to visit eastern Oregon or for those who simply want to know more about it.

From time to time, photos which appear here may be taken by people other than me. If I use other people's photos, I will acknowledge and thank them for the use of their pictures.

I will gradually add links to other sites which will provide you with more information and pictures.

I won't post very often, but when I do I will let you know on my other blog. I will post soon about La Grande, its history including what it is like today, and my feelings about it. There will be a post soon about my weekly Wednesday commute from La Grande to Halfway, OR and back. I will undoubtedly get a few in this summer about the Grande Ronde Valley and La Grande's neighboring communities of Cove, Union, Elgin, Imbler, Island City and Summerville. There will probably be at least one post about the beautiful Wallowa Valley in Wallowa County, and hopefully a few about some personal favorite areas that are within an hour or two of where I live.

Stay tuned!