Blue Moon Setting Over Oak Harbor

The second full moon of the month about six am this morning, setting over Oak Harbor. 

Where's the Snow?

I took the top photo July 29. Compare the snow pack to the photo below, taken one year ago, July 29.

I knew the snow pack was lacking, but comparing the photos really made it evident. Both of these photos were taken from the Sno-Isle Library parking lot, on the east side of Oak Harbor.

Blue Angels

The Blue Angels were in the sky over Oak Harbor July 29. They are in the area for the Seattle Seafair.

Palouse Falls

Palouse Falls State Park is in the midst of the southeastern scab lands of Washington State. This lower fall is about 200 feet tall. Palouse Falls is the official state waterfall.

The Palouse River Canyon continues on to the west with a water flow that is quite low this time of the year. 

Do you see the human, a fellow in a white t-shirt and black shorts, standing pretty close to the rock spires at the upper left of the photo?

Oregon: Grande Ronde River

When one looks on a state highway road map, topography is not given. I had no idea that, as we were driving north on Oregon Highway 3 and then Washington Highway 129, we would encounter switchbacks with a great elevation drop and gain. Above is the bridge over the Grande Ronde River, just north of the Oregon-Washington border.

This was the view later, looking back down to that valley. The river is at the right edge of the photo.

Now that I look at the map more closely, I guess I should have noticed that the intensely squiggly line meant lots of curves and elevation change. I noticed that on motorcycle adventure web sites this road gets a high rating. 

Oregon: Joseph Canyon

We stopped at the Joseph Canyon Overlook on Highway 3 before we came to the Washington state border.

This canyon was the winter home of the Joseph Band of the Nez Perce.

Oregon: Wallowa Mountains from the North

We had our last glimpse of the Wallowa Mountains from the north as we headed toward the Washington border.

Oregon: Eggleson Road red barn

Several of the Oregon photography websites and books suggested I stop at Eggleson Road between Joseph and Enterprise and photograph the red barn with the Wallowa Mountains in the background. So I did.

Oregon: Joseph

Joseph is a historic town at the north end of Wallowa Lake. It was known by a couple of names but in 1880 settled on Joseph, for Nez Perce Chief Joseph. The Wallowa Valley was the home of Wallowa band of the Nez Perce which Joseph led. Chief Joseph's father, Old Chief Joseph, is buried in a native graveyard at the edge of town.

Many of the buildings are original, well over a hundred years old.

Oregon: Wallowa Lake

Wallowa Lake  and the Wallowa Mountains in the northeast corner of Oregon. This view is from the north end of the lake, looking south. There is a popular state park at the south end of the lake with the town of Joseph at the north end. The south end of the lake was developed starting in 1923 with an amusement park and an inn. People were transported by ferry as there was no road beside the lake at the time. Mt. Howard is to the left.

Oregon: Views from Mt. Howard

The views from the top of Mt. Howard are pretty much in every direction. This view is to the east into Idaho and the Seven Devils Mountains. Below is the view to the north, Wallowa Lake and into Washington.

It was very hazy and we couldn't see as far as is sometimes claimed.

Oregon: the Wallowas from Mt. Howard

The views of the Wallowa Mountains from the top of Mt. Howard, 8,150 feet, were amazing.

There were short trails to a variety of viewpoints.

I think the Olympics have met their match.

Oregon: Wallowa Lake Tramway

The tram begins near Wallowa Lake, at 4,450 feet, and goes up to the summit of Mt. Howard, at 8,150 feet. When the tram was constructed in 1970, it was the longest and steepest lift for a four passenger gondola in North America.

The views of the Wallowas from the gondola were amazing - but they would be even more spectacular at the top.

Oregon: Hell's Canyon Overlook

I had heard so much about Hell's Canyon, we drove out to the Hell's Canyon Overlook. This is the deepest river gorge in North America. We were at 7,000 feet and the Snake River, which is not visible from this overlook, is some 5,600 feet below. The Seven Devil's Mountain range on the Idaho side rise to over 9,000 feet. (The Grand Canyon is 4,000 feet above the river on the South Rim and 6,000 feet at the North Rim.) You can go here to see a comparison chart.

I can see why the Grand Canyon is more popular. The sides of Hell's Canyon are not nearly as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the width of the canyon is ten miles. Also, there is limited access to the canyon edge for views as well as down to the river itself.

Oregon: Wallowa Mountains

We had our first peek of the Wallowa Mountains, our sixth and final "wonder" of Oregon, as we continued east on Highway 86. I was immediately captured by their beauty as they reminded me so much of the Olympic Mountains back in Washington. I could hardly believe there were mountains with snow in northeastern Oregon. We'd get to see them close up in a few hours. By the way, we were gently corrected a couple of times: Wuh-LOW-wuh is the correct pronunciation.

Oregon: The Hole in the Wall Slide

A slide in 1984 formed a dam across the Powder River east of Baker City and buried a stretch of Highway 86. There had been days of heavy rain and perhaps minor earth tremors. I couldn't help but compare this slide to the Oso slide in Washington. While this one isolated hundreds of local residents, the Oso slide was deadly.

Oregon: Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

We spent quite a bit of time going through this very informative interpretive center near Baker City.

It overlooks the Oregon Trail, signified by a wagon on the trail at the lower left.

The workmanship on the displays was amazing. 

We could listen to recordings of excerpts from actual journals being read.

If ever in the Baker City area, this is a must see.

Oregon: Northeast to Baker City

As we motored northeast toward Baker City, we came across a variety of land. Some was farmland,

some was high desert,

and some was pine forest. 

What I had thought would be a boring day of driving turned out to be a wonderful variety of landscapes.

Oregon: Lake Abert

As we motored north and east into eastern Oregon, we came by Lake Abert.

It is an alkali lake next to the Abert Rim, a thirty mile long, 2,500 feet high fault scarp.

The lake was once part of a great basin that covered 460 square miles. An informative sign indicated brine shrimp thrive in the lake.

The lake dried up in 2014, the first time since the 1930s and there is concern for migrating birds that depend on it for food. The lake was once 16 feet deep but is now only two feet deep.