Wallowa Lake day trip

Emma and I went on another adventure today, this time over to Wallowa Lake.  We were originally going to camp there for the entire weekend, but I didn't plan ahead enough and there weren't any campsites left by the time I called, but it worked out better that way.  Upon sober reflection, I realized that I really didn't want to spend the Fourth of July weekend at Wallowa Lake State Park, with all the drunken revelers.

So we went over just for the day, after the main rush of the holiday weekend was over, and had a lovely day.  We had the day use area to ourselves, and cooked hot dogs on sticks, and s'mores, and had a nice little picnic.  Emma built the fire and had a great time.

After lunch, we went on a short hike up the West Fork Wallowa River, and got a geocache on the way back.

Another spectacular view, overlooking Wallowa Falls.



This made the protective mama in me a little nervous:



The wildflowers were very pretty. These are common harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).



And the Lewis' mock-orange (Philadelphus lewisii) was in full bloom.  We smelled this before we saw it, a delicious waft of jasmine scent.



We hiked out by the forest trail, and back by the river.  Emma dunked her head in the water because it was so hot, but then she was cold and she enjoyed the feel of a smooth sun-baked river stone on her cheek.



After the hike, we went down to the beach for a while and had a swim.



The water felt great.



It was getting late, though, and we were tired and hungry.  We headed home, getting a couple geocaches on the way, and stopped off for dinner at the Terminal Gravity Brewery and Pub, in Enterprise.  This is somewhat ironic because I don't drink beer, but they have great food too.

Chicken sandwich for Emma, veggie burger for me.  Yum.  Smiling faces all around.