Friday, September 23, 2011

That annual thing we do...


It's become a tradition. Every year, my man, my pup and I go on a trailer road trip. When we lived in the city, we were able to get away on these trips much more often, but now that we're on property, and with a lot of critters, we have to really try hard to make it happen.

This year I had a lot of help getting ready to go.

Roopert and Spongebob enjoyed kicking dirt into the driveway as I was loading:

Skippy thought maybe she'd like to pack her bags and join us - and she told me l-o-n-g stories all about it:

George, as usual, had his feet in all of my business:

He finally decided that exploring the top of the trailer would be his helpful contribution. (WARNING: poor quality iPhone photo to follow) See him?:

Roxy placed herself smack in the middle of the trailer where she knew I wouldn't forget to take her along:

Beau, though, couldn't believe his ears when I broke the news that we were leaving. "You're going WHERE, Mama?!!":

Chester, who always considers himself the center of every situation, wanted me to know that all I had to do was bring the trailer by and he'd "climb right aboard":

This year, we've headed into the far eastern most part of our pretty Oregon state.

Our destination was the Wallowa Valley in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest - and a campground at Wallowa Lake, an incredibly beautiful location, known for its scenery, pristine waters, and friendly wildlife.

Our first view of the lake was late afternoon under an overcast sky - quite dramatic:

One of the first things we did was climb aboard the mountain gondola, or tram. This tram is the steepest four-person gondola in North America, ending at the 8,256-foot peak of Mt. Howard:

Extreme heights and I aren't generally the best of friends, but as long as I was behind my camera lens, I seemed to do just fine:

At the top of this mountain are panoramic views of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho:

Wow:

Really, though, it was vividly colored lichen - which, granted, may not be every one's cup of tea - that was capturing my attention on this day:

Look! An entire stick's worth!:

The Wallowa area calls itself "Oregon's little Switzerland" and this claim was underscored by the type of food that was served at the cafe on top of Mt. Howard. The sausage and sauerkraut were delicious!!:

So far, so good ... we're having a ball!

21 comments:

  1. What a beautiful part of the country and the food at the end was just like you traveled to a different country. Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend.

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  2. Wow! I want to go there! I can't beleive the views! And I always thought we were high when we were on top of the mountain east of Pendlton, you know, the one with all the run away truck ramps you commented on! I'd of had a really hard time leaving that lakeside and heading back to reality!

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  3. That lichen simmers up into a nice natural dye. The color produced is a warm brown, but the best part to me is the wonderful smell that the wool retains from the plant material.

    Have a wonderful time, and I hope you keep taking those pix!

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  4. how sweet! i hope your chicken is doing well at gma's house too. :) saw where you met up with the trucker pair for a few minutes as well. that is so great. :)

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  5. I don't normally do heights, but that ride looks like it was awesome!

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  6. Danni looks like you and your DH are having a wonderful, continue to enjoy. I'm sure Roxy is having a great time as well.
    LiBBiE in Oz :@

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  7. Clairz - I had *no* idea you could cook lichen for dye! The things you are teaching me....! :-)

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  8. The area looks beautiful.
    Windmills in your first photo!! Love seeing anything solar or wind powered!
    Guten Tag!

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  9. I'm so happy you guys are able to get away and enjoy some RVing with Roxy. I can feel the excitement for you as you pulled out of the driveway. Have a great trip ... the critters will be just fine but so glad to see you on your return!

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  10. Envious, I am. I haven't taken a proper vacation in years! And that delicious looking food is making me very hungry right now. Your photos are beautiful as always. Enjoy your trip!

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  11. Very beautiful scenery.

    How on earth did your cat get up there? Haha. Good he checked for critters, though. :)

    Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself!

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  12. Last year's half steer came from the Wallowa area...have fun on your trip!

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  13. Beautiful colors of Oregon and the surrounding states. I've never been to that part of the state in my 40-some odd years here.

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  14. How do you handle care for the critters when you're away?

    Yum, yum, sauerkraut!

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  15. oh what fun! i would have been face down in that gondola. i probably would never be able to get on it at all. i can't even climb a ladder! but on the other hand, i love german food! who is watching the critters?

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  16. What a gorgeous place! I love the pictures. I'm impressed you went so far UP on that tram thingy. It makes me knees weak to even imagine. Maybe I'll try getting behind the camera lens next time I have to do heights.

    The sausage and sauerkraut made me lick my screen :)

    Your annual-thing-you-do sounds like a wonderful event!

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  17. Very lovely pictures in a very cool state! Love Oregon! Now who is watching all those critters? I have such a hard time leaving mine. Dogs go with us, but chickens - it's scary when neighbors are in charge sometimes. ha!

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  18. Oh, good for you!!! You know we completely understand the difficulty of going away. :) Did you check the trailer like 100 times before you left to make sure you didn't have any stowaways?

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  19. I like Wallowa just for the sound it makes.

    Did you check to see if George was a stowaway...? Seems like something he'd do.

    I'm a little disappointed that you didn't point your trailer north, but...have fun, anyway!

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  20. So funny, Saturday we went up the Tram just before heading home to Portland. The few days we were at Wallowa Lake we spent driving around exploring as much as we could and making plans to come back (to finish up all the stuff we didn't have time to do).

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