Hells Canyon is our technical location, but it doesn’t feel like it as we awake to another round of morning rain. We head to the main house to pay the nice hosts for our stay the night before, and come to find out we aren’t where we thought we were and there is no way in hells canyon we’d make it over the 67 mile trek to the lake from this road. Nor did we have the gas to make it over the first grade, and in the next mile was the last of the residents in the area. Thank god we stopped, we would have been screwed. Turns out we aren’t on the 129 and we are not on the Snake River. We are actually on the Grande Ronde, a prime spot for steelhead fishing in September. Dale and V are the nicest people and they opened their door to us as we sit and learn about life on the Ronde for a few short hours. Pretty good living out here, with his Oklahoma accent, Dale filled us in on the politics of the area and how he and his wife sit on the front porch and watch as the big horn sheep come in around October, as well as wild turkeys and bobcats, deer and cougars. They love having the RV site and the company, as many as 27 have been there during the season and they get together and have wine and big dinners. Dales dad (Pa) and brother (Bubba) live up the road in the first property he purchased and they all seem really close. In fact Pa came down to visit while we were there, 91 years old and spry as they come, he comes in chasing the 9 year old nephew who is teaching V how to access her email, ha ha. Pa just actually got married in an Indian ceremony 2 months ago to a 70 something year old woman, though he is not Indian -his new wife must be. They are a kick, they give us sweet corn that the neighbors just harvested , he knows every person by name on the hole 27 mile stretch and is friends with them all. He also doesn’t charge us for the night which is really thoughtful and sends us back on the right track, what a nice guy. After a nice egg breakfast we hit the road again... in search of Wallowa Lake. We find hwy 129, the sign was hidden behind a tree of course, there was no way we would have spotted it the night before, but we all agree we are glad to have taken the detour to Dales RV park. The road is much like coming into Moscow, rolling wheat fields with a red barn and house every hundred acres or so and the sky is as big and sprawling with cumulous clouds as I have ever seen it. The sun is out and the drive is so relaxing ,its hard to stay awake. We reach a pretty epic grade that winds for about 40 miles and right in the middle at the bottom of the base is a restaurant that serves burgers fries and old fashioned shakes, Dale recommended we go, he goes there a couple times a year for fun with his wife. At Boggans Oasis there are a few cabins located behind the restaurant and the Ronde River runs beneath the only road in and out, we wonder where the 2 old waitresses live and if they journey out much. In the mean time we fish, Matthew catches a small mouth bass and good size rainbow trout right off the bat, I almost caught a snake. After a good old fashioned root beer float we hit the road to finish the grade and cross back into Oregon territory. We put the XM radio on Elvis and I sleep for the next hour. We pull into Enterprise a town about 12 miles out from the lake for a few supplies and internet than hit the amazing lake. It is beautiful and bigger than I remember. After scoring a perfect campsite tucked into our own private corner on the North fork of the Wallowa River we come to the conclusion that it’s another perfect end to an awesome day. We live it up and make bbq scallops for dinner with our fresh sweet corn and salad and ride our bikes around the campsite until dark~ we aren’t going anywhere!
Love it!
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