Subject: G & M Travels 2011 #14
Hello Again,
Well, we're winding down I think. It's time. Probably be back in Seattle in less than two weeks and then fly home
in early October.
The photos attached were taken during the two weeks that Joyce was traveling with us. She le for
home yesterday from here, in central Oregon. We stuck around and Mike is trying to make some use of
the one week fishing license he purchased a few days ago. He's out there now but I did notice that he
took some pork chops out of the freezer for dinner. Hummmm.....maybe he's not terribly confident
about the catching here?
When last I wrote we were waitng for Joyce's rig to be repaired. We stayed at the state park at Lake
Wallawa for a couple nights before the part (supposedly) arrived and it could be towed. What actually
happened is that the part was the wrong one and it was obtained in short order in the next town during
the repair! Helpful and entertaining workers made this bump in the road smoother.
It was a long day so we decided to stay in the same area and found a nice spot by the river at a private
park on the Wallawa River. Lots of deer! And they were not shy. We stayed two nights so that Joyce and
I could drive around in her rig for an hour or two to make sure it was running ok the next day. It was,
thank goodness, though it did give us a few scares on other occasions before and since.
We had planned on taking the route down towards Hells Canyon but we decided to go the more traveled
roads through the Wallawa National Forest as a lack of confidence in Joyce's rig was s ll looming a little.
But, wouldn't you know it, the campgrounds along this route were up a pretty remote road with lots of
bumps and grinds and may have been worse than going the southern roads.
Thankfully, we had no problems while coming and going into the Lostine River Corridor.
We camped
near the river and were treated to a huge lightening storm the first night. We sat under the awning, out
of the rain, and watched flash after flash and listened to the thunder. It was cool!
Next morning, Ranger Steve, showed up. Now I mention him because he was a hoot. Claimed to be a
"cowboy poet" and a "cowboy preacher". He had an extremely positive attitude and says he finds
humor in everything. He had some stories to tell about some of the folks (he calls them pine nuts) that
come camping up the Lostine. The best one was about the "hippie" who took off her t-shirt to let her three year old son at both "milkers" while having a conversation with him. He said it was difficult to pay
attention to what she was saying. After the feeding the gal announced that her son was tired so she had
to go. Steve said he could not help himself and he remarked "Yep, after a lunch like that a feller has to
take a nap!" He's going to try and figure out how to make the story into a poem and maybe even use it
in one of his sermons. That I would love to hear!
We went on a hike way up the hill toward some lakes that we never found but the views were great and
it was good to walk some. It was hot and we were pooped after. Joyce didn't take the entire hike but
went up high enough to see the waterfall and some nice views.
Our next destination on was Anthony Lakes but it was a ways away. So we made a couple overnight stops.
One at Minam State Recreation area which was on the river and had these big "woody" woodpeckers
hanging around. Then we went to an RV park near Hot Lake just south of La Grande that had an old
hotel nearby with a hot springs and breakfast! It is along the old Oregon Trail and someone said it was
haunted but the waitress denied that story. It was an interesting place and had a museum, etc.
On to Anthony Lakes. It was almost Labor Day Weekend so we planned to get there on a Thursday and
to stay through the holiday. We got nice spots in this US Forest Service Campground at 7,200 foot
altitude. I had been there a very long me ago and remembered that it was beautiful. I was right. What
I didn't remember is that there are numerous other lakes around that are wonderful hikes. So we did a
couple of those and spent time on the lake in our kayaks. All good. Joyce and I even shared a bottle of
champagne on Sunday afternoon while drifting around and enjoying the peace of the lake rather than
the busy shoreline. Nights were very chilly but the days were perfect.
On the way out of this remote area we went through a couple of small towns before stopping for lunch
at Sumpter. We only lost Joyce once!! Lunch helped get over the stress of that occurrence! And there
was a flea market going on and we found some cool stuff. Mike found some sheet music from the 30's
for a dime and a wrench he needed. I got an old vinegar and oil container that is very cute and I'm
taking it home.
Our goal was to get to the area where we are now located....east of Bend on Cascade Lakes Scenic
Biway. Again, we took another couple days to get this distance. One night at John Day and the next at
Prineville. I've not loaded any photos since we passed a covered wagon by the side of the road on the
way...so I'm not talking about it until next time.
Aloha,
Gayle and "Fisherman" Mike
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