We went to the Wallowa Mountains last weekend. It’s a place located in the northeast corner of Oregon. I had heard how beautiful it was from a couple of people so was excited to go.
The campsite was about six miles from the town of Joseph, OR, nestled in a canyon at the base of one of the peaks. The East fork of the Wallowa River was close to the campground. We were excited to learn that the Kokanee Salmon were spawning, so the river was full of bright red fish. Some were splashing as they spawned. These salmon don’t go to the ocean, like some of their cousins do. Our first night we gazed at the Milky Way in a black sky, which was something we hadn’t seen on a long while. I must mention that it was quite cold this time of year: daytime was around 45F and nighttime was in the 30’s. It was COLD! Much time was spent bundled under lots of layers and sticking close to the fire pit.
The next day, we spent in Joseph, which has many bronze statues downtown. We spent part of the day staying warm touring a bronze foundry. We learned just how much work goes into a metal poured sculpture and why they cost so much. Then we drove out to the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, the largest wild grassland prairie area in North America. While we were out there, we took a short hiking trail that put us amongst cows grazing on the wild grasses. On our way back, I spotted a good sized herd of elk on a hillside, so we pulled over to the side of the road to watch. They were a good half a mile away, so we used our binoculars to watch these three bucks bugle and strut back and forth, while the cows and calves just ignored them or got out of the way. Two of them looked like they were going to face off! The antler racks were enormous. We watched for a while since I’d never seen anything like this.
The last day was spent doing some more exploring. Had to dodge some wild turkeys in the road, and watched two 10 and 12 point deer bucks grazing in downtown Joseph.
Even though it took 6 hours to get there, the drive went by fast. A gorgeous part of the country indeed.
A Sphinx Moth – about the size of a small humming bird.
DEDICATION:
This trip was dedicated to Fred “Derf” Carrington. He introduced me to photography, hiking and nature. One class period in 1980, he skipped algebra and put up a slideshow of images from the last hiking trip he led with his wife and other kids from school. The images were set to music (Boston- Foreplay/Longtime). As I sat in the dark classroom watching the images of deep clear lakes, craggy mountains and the fun those kids were having, I was hooked. The next year I was introduced to the High Sierra and hiking boots and blisters, heavy packs and backaches, clean air and cold lake water. I learned that cotton was the worst thing in hike in, brook trout and wild onions was best enjoyed at 8,900 feet outside while sitting on a log. We had mosquito attacks, cow-pie fights and I slept under the stars for the first time along with 16 of my classmates. I made some good friends those summers. Without a doubt, Derf is a major reason I became a photographer.
I made it a point to see him about 10 years ago. We went on a hike. It was great. He recently passed away. I said a silent thank you and goodbye over a campfire on our last night in the woods.
