Beautiful ride

 Since we had one more day left at our LaGrande campground we decided to drive up into the mountains to check out the little town of Joseph, Oregon.   We had planned a motor home stay there two different times before  -  first COVID blocked our way and then Dave's surgery and our Arizona house purchase derailed the plans.     This time we only had one day but, since we were so close, at least we could get a quick feel for the place and then try for a longer stay later.

It was an absolutely beautiful ride along the rushing Wallowa River.    Through thick pine forests and alpine meadows, mammoth hay fields with incredible looking yields and  in and out of small towns that  seem to have hit hard times but obviously still have pride in their communities.       

switzerland?

We arrived in bustling Joseph around noon so we decided to drive through town to investigate the glacial Wallowa Lake, the end of the road.     It was Saturday, in the summer, in the triple digit heat so we weren't surprised to find the swimming area and boat dock at the lake's north end packed with people enjoying the cold, clear water.    We stopped for a few minutes and walked on the dock before following the road around the lake to it's end.    More people.

By then it was nearly 2:30 and the restaurants along the main drag were relatively empty.    We chose one (for no particular reason other than it was in front of the Jeep's parking spot), Embers Brew House, and settled ourselves on a shady picnic table on their patio.     We were far enough from the street to be able to watch the world go by without needing to participate.    We each enjoyed our meals enormously and the people watching was quite entertaining.

Joseph's streets are beautifully landscaped with lovely flowers and many bronze statues depicting things in the area.    In front of the Brew House was a realistic looking mountain lion crawling down some rocks under a shady tree.      The real entertainment was watching strolling dogs (who should not have been on that murderously HOT sidewalk at all - but not every dog owner has the brains they were born with....) do a double take at the big cat.    Some hurried by, pulling their human's arm out of it's socket (fair enough....) but some attacked the lion, barking and snarling at it.   It was a real hoot watching the different reactions.

Yesterday we left LaGrande and headed north to our next stop in Plymouth, Washington.    The landscape along the way was quite a departure from green and mountainous LaGrande and Joseph.     It was all so very blonde   

  

We're in a Corps of Engineers campground just on the Washington side of the mighty Columbia River until Wednesday morning.

Beluga hunkers down in the shade to try and keep cool

It is unbelievably hot here.   I've never been in such heat, and the humidity is higher than we've been used to lately.      Beluga is doing a good job keeping us comfortable but I hate to have her old systems running non stop, 24/7.

Our original reason for stopping here for a few days was to visit a few wineries and  do a little tasting, but the heat has zapped me and the thought of sitting on a patio drinking wine in 115 degree weather is not appealing to either of us.    We took a short drive around the area today just to see what was here and parked beside the river to watch a tug laboring to push two large barges against the strong current.      A quick turn down a gravel track brought us to a marshy area with several small ponds.    We watched birds and ducks for awhile and noticed a shy deer watching us from the shade.

so much milkweed surrounding the ponds - Monarch delicacy!

floating forest

 terrible picture of  mother Wood Duck with her huge brood
quite the responsibility.....

Tomorrow promises to be hotter so I doubt we'll do much more than another short ride around.   Better luck next time.