Wallowa Lake, OR
Our last stop on the Wild West Extravaganza II is Wallowa Lake in eastern Oregon. After several weeks in the dry, hot, bug-ridden climate of southern Utah, Oregon is a great “welcome home”. We’re camping for two days in Wallowa Lake state park, and it’s a real treat.
Snow-capped mountains and waterfalls welcome us back to the northwest. Both of us noticed the difference immediately. No more breathing dust, no more dry eyes, no more gnat rain plastered on the license plate of the truck. It rained on us a little our first evening (the first time our tent has felt rain on this trip), but it was no big deal.
Lake Wallowa is a beautiful place, and the adjoining towns of Joseph and Enterprise have some interesting breweries. Terminal Gravity is in Enterprise and Joseph boasts both a brewery (Mutiny Brewing) and a micro-distillery (Stein Distillery). Mutiny is a small brewery with just two beers on tap. Both were decent. Stein distillery is a new player in town, and thus doesn’t have any barrel-aged alcohol for sale until later this year, but their vodka is sublime, and their rhubarb cordial is quite unique. Erin has promised to come up with drink recipes and to mail the Steins with her ideas. Joseph is also a beautiful town, with bronze sculptures and wildflower gardens adorning every corner.
We did a small hike this morning and have spent most of the rest of the day bumming around town. Neither of us can quite believe that it’s been a month since we left our driveway in Carnation, but it is so. Tomorrow we leave for home. Homecoming will no doubt be bittersweet. It will be nice to sleep in our own bed, see our friends, and tend to a no-doubt weed-ridden garden. This nomadic existence, however, has its draw. This month has gone too quickly.
