Last weekend was a trip off our usual path (home/beach/city). We combined a visit with friends, a civic event, and some imaginative sight-seeing with Doug and Marie as our guides, in a place we never go (though we had been once years ago) but will go again, I’m pretty sure. Joseph, Oregon, is in the far NE corner of the state, in the Eagle Cap Wilderness comprised of the Wallowa mountains, a beautiful lake, the amazing Zumwalt Prairie, the Imnaha Canyon and more. We stayed in Enterprise facing the mountains…while Doug and Marie stayed in Joseph at the trendy Jennings Hotel…
We took a peek at the Jennings…
and of course checked the street level store….
But this trip wasn’t about shopping…we checked out Wallowa Lake…
had a coffee…
and headed out to see John and Cheryl. They bought this property 10+ years ago and have slowly built a road, managed timber, put up fences and built a house. We saw the rock bed John only discovered was once a river bed when a geologist came out… and then the really gorgeous “buck and rail” fence they helped build to keep grazing cattle and elk away from this water hole…
John made martinis for us … and we went out to the “glamping platform”
and after talk of thinning trees, peeling bark, tools and machines for working, elk stew, composing operas and making art and quilts, (and many hugs and kisses) we headed back to get some sleep for the next events.
Saturday was the trip to the amazingly beautiful Zumwalt Prairie where we found many small wooden buildings in decay, took a hike, had our lunch at Buckhorn looking down into the canyon formed by glaciers and the Imnaha River. This was the land of the Nez Perce and Chief Joseph…land cruelly taken from them as they were “relocated” to Idaho. Coyote made the river by drawing a stick through the ground to separate this land from the “Seven Devils” mountains…in today’s Idaho. The place leaves you speechless, the stories of native people and settlers alike do too.
Then on our way back we took a side road and found “Patti’s Trail” and I’m already planning my trip back in May to see the wildflowers…
But time to change and get out to the Blue Barn where the Willowa Resources group (a group that supports the creative use of land and water, that supports the education of children and adults in how to live well on the land and use the resources wisely) was having a fund raiser and a Barn Dance! The men were handsome, the women were beautiful and the food was FABULOUS!
Once inside I sat facing the opening to the hayloft as the sun went down…
and after all the good people supported the work of Willowa Resources, the dancing began…
On Sunday it was time to say goodbye to new friends and head not very far down the road for lunch in Lostine at the M.Crow store…formerly a much loved general store with hardware…
and though it looks the same on the outside…
It now houses terrific pizza (white morel with arugula)
a radio station…
and fancy clothes…
We checked out the nearby Lostine Tavern, which hasn’t fared so well…
and the local thrift stores…and then bid farewell to our guides and headed west to the gorge
and dinner with George and Jennifer…
arriving home late and suddenly remembering we have new floors!
See you on Patti’s trail in May!
On The Way 
Think you captured east of the mountains just after “10 yrs After the Prom”. Remember, “enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm”. Beautiful exhibit at George Fox.
Thank you 🙏 unfortunately “enlightened statesmen…” is still in play…
Ahhh, the road less traveled, such beauty! Sign me up for Patti’s Trail.
And your floors, they couldn’t be better!
No kidding…imagine if your good deeds included saving a wildflower meadow Shirley…walking that trail will be like going to church…xo
Delightful tour, Bonnie! I enjoyed it ,and I really like the old hut with the blue sky and old fencing . The old hut has a way of pulling at the heartstrings. Your new floors look wonderful!!
Thanks Deb…these prairies with
Small wooden houses knocked me out…too much to think about…(and I’m still in love with the floors)…good to go/good to come home…
Thank you for taking me along your wonderful adventure. One of my most favorite places in Oregon and almost anywhere. Glad to have you home safe and sound.
Thanks Irene! Xo
Stunning photos, beautiful words, and I want to retrace your entire trip to experience it first hand!
Dayna you guys would love it…road trip! Co
[https://bonniehull.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/img_3844.jpg?w=560] Dear Bonnie: Someday you’re going to send pictures and/or drawings and I’m going to think (secretly: I’d never say so out loud) that “Oh, ho hum, how conventional—even banal. How Hallmark card-ish”—but I may end-up waiting a long time for such an event. (Like Godet.) I love every one of these pictures—they are so tactile that I can feel the grain of the wood surfaces or hear the wind teasing the tree branches.
Love to you and Bonnie,
Lisa
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Would love to do Patti’s trail with you. Let me know when you know when you are going.
Bonnie, great photos..Eastern Oregon. Love your floors
Thank you!
What a wonderful travelog!