12 July 2014
What a quiet morning. With a full camp ground I was expecting more screaming, music, car horns, etc, but it was quiet during my entire visit. I was up early, showered, and got up to make myself some coffee with my French press. This was the only time I made coffee on the entire road trip. All other early morning caffeine came from McDonald's.
Three young elk sauntered through the camp, sniffing around from site to site. They must have been pros at this, as the presence of humans was not a concern for them. People came up to these elk to pet them. A nearby site, which had also gotten up early for yoga, let the elk come up to sniff their food. Sadie never barked.
I sat there at my site's picnic table, sipping my Brazilian blend and watching life around me come up. Many people were up early and packed before I even started. What was the rush? I've been getting up early every day to be able to take advantage of daylight. Then I stay up past dark. It was nice not to have to take off.
The sunrise wasn't as spectacular as yesterday's sun set was. I finally drove off from my site after 9am (!) to check out Joseph, named after the Nez Perce chief who is buried nearby.
The town was already awake. A small Farmer's market was getting set up, tourists were driving in for breakfast, and the town's main street parking lots filling up. There were statues at ever street corner. I looked at them all, crossing the street at every intersection to photograph them. Joseph is a bigger town than I thought.
My next goal was a quiet drive through Hell's Canyon, I drove east from Joseph on a rural road, with dairy farms reminding me of Upper Bavaria. This was a pretty, green drive with little traffic. I turned right (south) on the Wallawa Loop Road, a narrow two-laner that was down to two lanes for road repair. This road wasn't listed as a scenic road, but it showed that it took me to the scenic vistas.
The Wallawa Loop Road is a popular road for bikers. I saw more bikers here than car or truck traffic. The mountains here looked pristine, with few trails off the road. Joseph's Canyon to the West and then later a view into the actual Hell's Canyon toward the end of my drive through this wilderness made this a worthwhile drive. But why weren't people here camping out or hiking? I saw plenty of off-road trails and dispersed campsites. Was the heat and the dry ground scaring people away?
Hell's Canyon is best enjoyed either from the Snake River, or in the fall when the river trails are more lush. I was surprised there were few creeks flowing through this mountain range. I had plenty of water for Sadie, but dogs do better when they can wade in shallow water and drink at their own pace.
The drive from Joseph at 10:30am to the Idaho state line at 2:50pm was broken up with a late meal at a roadside cafe near the River, the Hell's Canyon Cafe. I was allowed to take Sadie into the back patio (the only reason why I ate here), where other guests who walked passed me told me she was a beautiful dog. Sadie indeed was at her best behavior again, sitting by my side and resting. I had a feeling the older woman, the cafe owner, wasn't too fond of big dogs, although there was a table with a smaller, yappier dog when I walked into the outdoor seating area. My cheeseburger and fries were nondescript, but it filled me up.
Another bar/restaurant next door was full of bikers, revving their engines as they came and left.
I was now leaving Oregon. I crossed the Snake River. not realizing that I was now near the Hells Canyon Dam, a dam that was guarded by county sheriff deputies. The road ended, I was confused, and crossed the river again into Oregon to look at my map. Just then a county sheriff deputy, a husky man, drove up and asked me if I needed help. He showed me the way to go. I had missed the turn-off on the Oregon side that took me along the river for a short distance before I finally crossed into Idaho, departing Oregon permanently.
I never got to see Hells Canyon at its best. The land is badly scorched here by lack of rain fall. Crossing into Idaho showed no relief, either, as the river continued to meander gently through lower hills and farmland.
MORE TO COME
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