Hell's Canyon

I'll try loading some pictures this morning and see if the internet is quicker...

Yes!   Morning is better here I guess.

this is a photo of Baker City as we drove away.  it is a lovely small city, we really like it here.  if it was not plunked down in the middle of nowhere it could be a candidate for a good place to settle.  wide streets, lots of flowers and greenery, very friendly people, beautiful scenery, horses everywhere and lots to do.  even a classical radio channel!

beautiful Powder River runs through Baker City and into the surrounding hills

the highway department was chip-sealing route 86 and took groups of us through following a pilot car.  there were funny signs along the way admonishing us to "keep cattle off the fresh chip seal"!

this guy was riding patiently along in front of us all the way

the Snake River wending its way through the beginning of Hell's Canyon on its way to the dam

we were driving on the Idaho side of the gorge, evidently.  back to mountain time zone  too

the landscape really gets wild from here into the Canyon 

see me standing timidly behind the the jeep? what a wimp I am

Dave took these last few pictures from the top of the dam.  I came as close to having a panic attack as I ever have as we approached the dam.  The road had squeezed down even more and the only way to go forward was to drive right over the narrow dam.  I knew it was at least 300 feet down to the river below and I knew I'd lose it if we tried to drive on the top of the dam.    I made Dave stop, make an 8 point turn on this tiny road and pull off.  A rented motorhome that had been following us looked nervous too and they backed up a long way until they could turn around too.    I felt really guilty because we had driven such a long time to see the dam, so I suggested that Dave leave me where I felt comfortable and go back to see the view.  I gave him the camera and he hiked back and had a good time talking to the workers on the dam.  As a matter of fact, one of the guys invited him to climb up a big ladder so he could get a better view!  The folks from the motorhome parked and walked back to see the river too.  I think they were from England.

The last picture looks very different because Dave accidentally changed the camera setting, but I like it because I think it captured exactly how I felt standing there....