Greetings from the road!
Ken, I, and the dogs are having our first family road trip, a journey motivated by the wedding of our dear friends Kurt Ehrler and Marcea Wiggins of Portland, OR. They are marrying this Sunday, in the small community of Wallowa Lake, OR, where Kurt grew up.
The drive from San Francisco to Wallowa Lake was over 15 hours, definitely one of the longest drives I've made in such a short time. We drove up to Ashland, OR late Thursday and slept from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday morning. We then departed toward Portland, and cut over on Hwy 84 as the sun was setting. We still had 5 hours to drive to Oregon's most north-eastern county of Wallowa. We arrived around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and checked into our hotel, the Wallowa Lake Lodge, and again didn't go to bed until dawn. The Lodge is absolutely charming, and the website photos simply do not do it justice. It sits on the shores of Wallowa Lake, a beautiful body of water nestled at the base of the nearly 10,000' peaks of the Wallowa Mountains.
This area of Wallowa county is nicknamed "Little Switzerland" or the "Swiss Alps of Oregon." We understood why today; we drove into the nearest town today, just five miles away, and upon our return we were able to see the sheer enormity of the largest peak, a monolith far wider than it's 9800' peak that towers into the sky. The mountains here are spectacular.
The town just up the road is called Joseph, named after a Native American chief known as Chief Joseph. Kurt grew up in Wallowa Lake and Joseph, and this place holds a very special and nostalgic significance in his heart. His family still lives here, and he returns annually for one of his favorite events, Chief Joseph Days. Chief Joseph Days is a rodeo and cowboy gathering in its 64th year. The event website says, "64 years celebrating western heritage and small town hospitality." I don't see where the usage of the town's namesake comes into play, but, hey, I'm new to these parts.
Chief Joseph Days means that the town has a huge influx of cowboys, cowgirls, and families steeped in the working traditions of western heritage. Lots of cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans, boots, and trucks. And don't forget the rodeo. Most of the wedding party is at the rodeo right now, an event that I didn't have much interest in attending.
Ken and I spent the earlier part of the day on a rented boat motoring around the lake. Ken fished. I relaxed with the dogs. Then we did a bit of exploring around the very small community of Wallowa Lake. It turns out the Ehrler family is quite an anchor in Wallowa Lake; Heidi, Kurt's sister, owns Heidi's Gift Shoppe (the only gift shop in town), and the family also runs Ehrler Cabins, centrally located. It seems that there is a steady summer and winter seasonal economy here, judging from the amount of resorts and cabins available for rent (all of which are full this weekend of cowboys, cowgirls, and at least one wedding party).
We spent the latter half of the day cruising through Joseph, and had a lovely meal at Joseph's only Mexican restaurant, which has a beautiful garden and pond outside to sit by. The weather here is wonderful. Dry and in the low '90's during the day, on the cooler side during the night. The night sky is alight with stars, and the roar of crickets is deafening. Visiting up here is splendid.
On Monday we will be heading west to Portland. We will first be making a stop in a "town" called Biggs where we will be meeting with a business associate of Ken's to visit a wind farm. Then on to Portland for a night. We'll be staying at the Hotel Monaco, which Ken is really excited about. The Hotel Monaco is a Kimpton Hotels (local Bay Area) property, and one of the distinguishing marks of the Monacos across the country is that each hotel has a resident dog. It was at the Denver Monaco that Ken first encountered the Italian Greyhound breed, which sparked a love affair that eventually led us to adopt our IG named Moon. At this hotel they offer dog massages and canine fortune telling. This is going to be amusing...
On Tuesday morning I'll be dropping Ken off at the airport and then driving to Ashland, and then home to SF on Wednesday. But for now, I get to enjoy Lake Wallowa and Joseph. We're about to head into town to meet up with everyone post-rodeo at the cowboy bars. I'm betting that I'm going to hear that song "Save a horse, ride a cowboy!" tonight. Shhh, don't tell...I actually like to hear that song occassionally. Hehe...
