Wallowas - Eastern Oregon - Days 1 & 2

Panorama of the Wallowas from the BnB

For spring break this year, instead of staying at home we decided to go somewhere. Tickets are always expensive and we really wanted to check out Eastern Oregon. I had heard about Rob Klavins' (from Oregon Wild) Bed 'n Breakfast in the Wallowas for a while and looked it up and made reservations for 3 nights for us to go away. 

View as we drove out of town to get to a hike.

What a brilliant plan, it turned out to be! 

It's about a 7.5 hour journey from Eugene and once you get off I5 and onto 84, driving through the Columbia Gorge, the drive is breathtaking! We had no idea how beautiful the gorge is! The steep rising rocks on both side of the river, the river meandering along, and because we were lucky, the mountain tops were blanketed in freshly fallen snow. It was our first time seeing snow still on the branches of the trees on the mountains. It looks so much prettier than the usual snow-capped peaks you see when you typically look at snow caps. 

We stopped at the one view point on this direction of I-84 and boy was it windy there! 

Viewpoint View

The Barking Mad Farm BnB is really cozy, inviting, and what a fantastic location! We settled in quickly and talked to Rob and Emily a bit, getting dinner suggestions. From the house, you look out at farms and see buffalo grazing and wild deer herd, against the backdrop of the magnificent Wallowas! Our window faced this view too. Waking up and having this beauty pour into your morning was a delight and immediately relaxing. 

Barking Mad Farm BnB

View from our room and our bed!

Rob and Emily mentioned that Terminal Gravity (a local Brewery that Rebecca had told Saurabh about, too) has really good buffalo burgers from the farm we were looking at. We miss our bison burgers from DC and we didn't need too many other dinner ideas to make up our mind. The burger was incredibly fresh tasting and definitely one of the better burgers we have had. The plan for the following two dinners was decided. We wouldn't get this back in Eugene...we were going to have it as many times as we could while we were there! :) 

Terminal Gravity

Breakfasts at Barking Mad were delicious. And while, I didn't take photos of all our breakfasts there, I did of the second breakfast. 

Polenta cakes with poached eggs (from their chicken) and avocado. Mmmmm

Our first hike there was near the Wallowa lake. Rob and Emily recommended stopping by a green gate along the lake, jumping the gate, and hiking up the moraine. There was snow/ice on the ground, but apart from the incline it was a fairly easy hike. The views of the lake and the Wallowas as we hiked up were spectacular and gave us a great reason to take a breath and stop. 

Woodpecker

Hiking up the moraine.

Partial view of the Wallowa Lake. One side is a bright blue...

...the other side is a darker blue! Storm approaching!

Getting to the top. The colour is still half and...

...and half.

Once at the top of the moraine, we could see the seven devils mountains on the other side, way in the distance. That where hells canyon is. We couldn't go there at this time of the year in our car. Too much snow and rough roads there. 

Photo-Hub

Seven Devils Mountains in the distance.

After the hike we went to Joseph, which we had driven through to get to the hike. We noticed the sculptures outside and wanted to check those out, even though it seemed like more of the art galleries wouldn't be open. 

Joseph

But, before the art, hot chocolate. We went into Arrowhead Chocolates planning on getting coffee, but Saurabh noticed that they have hot chocolate and had a feeling about it. Man, was he right! You can pick if you want your hot chocolate made with dark or milk chocolate, and of course we picked the dark. They melt chunks of chocolate in the melting machine thingy and take the chocolate out with a spoon. They add the chocolate to your cup, and then give you the "chocolate spoon" to lick clean. Aaaaah! 

Arrowhead Chocolates is in that building.

Chocolate-melting machine

Chocolate Spoon!

I got a small dollop of whipped cream on my hot chocolate. Everything was just perfect. We tried to go back the next day, but after our hike that day we got to Joseph just as it closed. But, no worries, we went back the last morning before we left for the Palouse area.

Hot Dark Chocolate, with a view!

After that deliciosity, we walked around looking at the sculptures, peering into closed galleries. The art work was different, interesting, and beautiful. We were impressed. We didn't expect it to be this good. After Thomas, we have become a tad snooty about art, and we found ourselves wishing that the galleries were open so we could have gone in and seen the work more closely. 

Chief Joseph

'Garden Walk'

Some old, almost abandoned buildings in Joseph. The building in front, however, is being re-purposed to be the Prairie Mountain Folk School for Traditional Craft

Later that evening we found out that Valley Bronze Gallery in Joseph had done the bronze sculpting work for the World War II Memorial in DC!!! This is the second connection we have found in Oregon to DC! It warms our heart and thrills us so much! (The first one being in Bandon, OR when we saw the Washed Ashore {which we had seen at the Zoo in DC for the first time} main headquarters). 

Valley Bronze Gallery - It was closed our entire time there.

We got back to the BnB early that evening. While Saurabh finished up his grading, I showered and went for a walk by the farms. I walked along the road and had maybe 2 cars pass by in the 40ish minutes that I was out. I did see an own! A Great Horned Owl, as Rob identified it.  

Walk Views

Walk Views

Empty Road!

Horse stable along my walk

Great Horned Owl

That night, we had dinner again at Terminal Gravity (duh!). But, Rob and Emily joined us and there was live music while we were there too. A fun evening! 

Cynthia

Cynthia, at Justin's House

One of the first prints we got from Seth was that with the character Cynthia. I identified with her, and loved the print, and now it is up on our wall. We bought this print when we visited Thomas for July 4th weekend last year. 

This year, we were in Thomas again, for July 4th. Justin and Trevor had just done up their house and Justin invited us up to see what they had done. They have converted the floor into 2 one bedroom apartments with a kitchen and bathroom. They also have a studio that Nellie will use. The apartments are just gorgeous, and everything they used was reused or repurposed! Such talented fellows. They did all the work themselves. 

As we were touring the place, we noticed that Justin also has the Cynthia print up in a beautiful frame. We commented on it, and Justin told us the story behind it. 

Justin had visited an estate sale in Houston. There were a lot of frames on sale. The lady, who had passed away, Cynthia, used to write a lot of poems. It seemed like her family didn't care about her writing, which was sad. Justin bought this frame and the writing it held, and asked Seth to create something from it. And so, the character Cynthia came to be. 

Art in Foggy Bottom

There is an annual art display in Foggy Bottom that is inspired by the neighbourhood. I love the idea and I am glad I stumbled upon it. I first discovered it last year. My favourite one this year is the one called bricks. But I really like the Microobservatory too, and I love the plant in Adaptation Terrarium :)

Below are the descriptions of the artwork as expressed in the exhibit pamphlet.

Round Top Dig, 2016

- Dane Winkler

Evoking the industrial history of Foggy Bottom, this large-scale steel pulley appears to be buried deep within the earth. As a piece of defunct, forgotten machinery, the structure uncovers parts of the neighborhood's past and unearths a lost legacy.

Round Top Dig

​Agnus Dei (After Zurbarán), 2015

- Jonathan Monaghan

The sculpture references a 1635 painting of a bound lamb by Francisco de Zurbarán. The animal is entombed with Baroque ornamentation and swathed in a decorative couch skin. Rendered life-size in marble, the creature makes its home in this private garden.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei

Equivalent Formations V, 2016

- Lisa Dillin

These rectilinear formations memorialize a natural world long since tamed and serve as surrogates for a lost landscape. Even while the sleek steel sculptures support life, they reflect our reliance on the constructed modern environment.

Equivalent Formations V

Bricks, 2016

- Becky Borlan

The acrylic wall references the history of masonry in Foggy Bottom. Multicolored and translucent, the structure offers a new perspective on the building behind and brings together two ubiquitous materials: brick and plastic.

Bricks

Anywhere, 2016

- Brian Davis

Anywhere traces a winding path in concrete and steel to activate this residential garden. The work includes text, both real and virtual. 

(I wasn't able to follow instructions at the site, because the app needed to be downloads, is only available for the iphone, I think)

Anywhere

Step Right Up, 2016

- Rob Hackett

This abstracted wooden staircase responds to the tiered gardens and descending steps of this site as it traverses the vibrant setting. Bending and turning, this added architecture extends the Foggy Bottom landscape and presents a monument to meandering pedestrian footsteps. 

Step Right Up

Step Right Up on a Tiered Garden

Birding the Future, 2013

- Krista Caballero & Frank Ekeberg

Birding the Future brings awareness to the extinction rates of birds. The installation invites visitors to listen to endangered and extinct birdcalls native to the region and view visionary avian landscapes through a set of stereoscopic cards. 

When you open the display case in this art work, you get to look through the binoculars at the different cards that the artist has put. They were interesting. You are also supposed to hear the sounds of birds, and the longer you stay, the number of birds you hear decreases, projecting extinction rates. But, I didn't hear any bird sounds, well except the birds that were actually flying about! I think I missed something that part of this display. Maybe, another time I can explore more. My favourite of the cards was "Dreams".  

Birding the Future

Some of the cards, through the binoculars.

The Atlantic Flyaway

Emblems of Recover

Dreams

Songs are Never Common

Building Blocks, 2016

- Nicole Herbert

The work builds on Foggy Bottom's architectural history with constructed components referencing the roof line. Elevating what might be overlooked, the arrangement offers a meditation on patterning unique to the area with objects built in brick and cast in concrete and plaster. 

Building Blocks

Wave, 2016

- Julie Zirling

Wave integrates hand-built forms into the property's landscape using organic imagery. The work emerges from the earth with a complex layering of color and texture made possible through a range of firing techniques - a study in ceramic experimentation. 

Wave

Foggy Bottom Microobservatory, 2016

- Benjamin Andrew

Inspired by the breweries and Naval Observatory once based in Foggy Bottom, the Microobservatory is a multimedia hub aimed at understanding the area's invisible ecosystem. The project depicts actual fermentation experiments from the viewpoint of imaginary microscopic researchers. 

Foggy Bottom Microobservatory

Foggy Bottom Microobservatory

Microscopic Researcher I

Microscopic Research II

Fermentation Experiments

Kingdom, 2016

-Lindsay Pichaske

Drawing from animals native to the area, Kingdom introduces a ceramic creature that blurs the boundaries between the real and the imagined. This new, majestic breed expands the local landscape as it finds its nesting ground in Foggy Bottom. 

Kingdom

Adaptation Terrarium: Moringa, 2016

- Patrick McDonough

This project imagines a warmer future in which Foggy Bottom becomes suitable for subtropical fauna. Such environmental change would allow residents to introduce Moringa oleifera, a tree known for nutritional, healing, and spiritual properties. This work anticipates that future by growing a sapling on site. 

Moringa oleifera is sekta ni sing or drumstick :)

Adaptation Terrarium: Moringa

Moringa oleifera sapling :)