It was a month ago but we are still enjoying the majestic visions we have stored up in our heads of Wallowa Lake. We joined Sarah’s Dad (a.k.a. Bubba Doug as Sammy has been known to call him), Patti, Theresa, and Jaden at a little RV park next to the lake. With a friend’s loaned trailer in tow we enjoyed the finer things, like heat at night and hot coffee without unloading the camping stove from car in the morning.
Fun Fact: We recently acquired said loaned trailer from our friends, extending our camping season year round!
Our first day together was filled with wandering in Joseph. We sipped coffee, ate tiny donuts from a tiny food truck, wandered through the farmers market munching on giant pickles, and discovering treasures in adorable gift shops. We ate together at our camp site (thanks Dad!) and sat around a tiny portable fire Doug and Patti brought with them. It was really fun to just relax and be together.
The creek that flows through the mountains around Wallowa Lake streamed past our camp site. The salmon were spawning and jumping like crazy! Samuel did not understand why we wouldn’t let him jump in and splash about,like we do at every other body of water we approach, which resulted in some toddler tantrums. Luckily there was always something else to do, another trail to run or a pine cone to examine, another campsite dog to quietly “woof” at.
On our final day Sarah’s Dad gifted us with tickets to ride the tram up to the top of the ridge. It was amazing. We wandered around the top of Mt. Howard and even found a geocache together. It was really windy but Samuel and Jaden both did great tromping up the trails.
We took our time coming home, visiting lots of tiny towns, learning about the Oregon Trail, and awarding our own blue ribbons to some pretty amazing playgrounds. To all our parenting friends with young kids: Redmond, OR has a great park called Hope Park and Joseph, OR also has a phenomenal playground. Both made Sarah’s little municipal recreation loving heart jump with joy.
Our travels were thrown off a bit by rain and wind. We ended up coming home a day earlier than planned but that just meant we spent a day at home pretending to be tourists in Springfield.
After a crazy August I am so grateful for our newest tradition of exploring and relaxing for a bit in September. This year it felt a little bit more needed after a summer of projects, navigating toddler life, and the loss of Grandpa Deane. Fresh air and adventure is always so good for our Halstead hearts!