La Grande to Hells Canyon - 09/29/2007

[weisergeiser]

La Grande to Hells Canyon
September 29, 2007

Hello All,
Come join Ann & I on a drive from La Grande, Oregon to
Hells Canyon. We will meet at Denney's Restaurant
right off the second exit into La Grande - it is
located on the east side of I-84. Come early for
breakfast or just talk to other backroad drivers.

We will be leaving at 8:00 AM on our way to Wallowa
Lake to take in some of the Swiss Bavarian Festival.
We will take some time there to check things out, then
back to Joseph. Just outside Joseph we will take the
Wallowa Mountain Road on our way to Halfway, the
gateway to Hell's Canyon. We will make a few stops
just to take in the surroundings.

After reaching HWY 86 we will then head toward the
community of Copperfield in Hell's Canyon and see if
we can cross Oxbow Dam. If we can we will continue on
to Hells Canyon Dam. After checking things out we
will had back to Halfway where we may take some time
to check out the shops and grab a bite to eat. Then
it's on our way to I-84 and back to La Grande where we
will end this Drive.

Ann & I will either be driving our silver Ford Escape
or a tan Bronco II.
Hope to see you there.

Randy & Ann


PS Make sure you have drinking water and snacks for
the drive you never know how
long these drives can be.

[nickadam123]

Hi, I am newbie to this forum. Reading from all the posts, it seems you need to have a 4x4 SUV to go on one of these trips. But I have a toyota corolla 05 :-(. Is this true for the Hells Canyon trip too?
Sachin

[Jerry]

Weisergeiser is out of town so I will attempt a timely answer and maybe he will have more to add when he returns. Your Corolla should work just fine. I think all or most of the roads are paved, but there might be a stretch of gravel between Joseph and Hell's Canyon. Don't think so, but there might be. No matter if there is, it should be graded for automobile use. Hope you can make the trip.
Jerry

[Jerry]

Evelyn and I are going and we will be driving her Ford Escape. Hope to see you there!
Jerry

[Jerry]

Yipes, the Hell's Canyon trip is only a week from now. Guess we had better clean up our Ford Escape and get ready. I was browsing some NE Oregon sites and found a few pics of the area we will be visiting.

After we meet at Denny's in La Grande, Oregon we will head toward the towns of Elgin, Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph.


We will cross the Minam River at
it's confluence with the Wallowa


And follow the scenic Wallowa
River for a few miles

Our route takes us up scenic Highway 82 following the Grande Ronde and Wallowa Rivers and crossing the Minam at its confluence with the Wallowa. We will stop at the town of Joseph, burial place for Chief Joseph the Elder, and partake in some of the Alpenfest Bavarian Festival.


We are not sure, but we think
the two guys closest to the
camera are Randy and Steve


After checking out the shops, eateries, festival and other things Joseph has to offer we will drive to the head of Wallowa Lake for some breathtaking scenery.


Wallowa Lake


Our highlighted backroad of the day runs from Joseph to a point north of Halfway, the gateway to Hell's Canyon.


A free flowing stretch of the
Snake River in Hell's Canyon

We will drive across Oxbow Dam and travel along the backwaters behind Hell's Canyon Dam. And the lucky participants of this tour will see first hand the famous (or infamous) Kleinschmidt Grade discussed in other posts.


Warning signs at entrance to Kleinschmidt Grade. The road
is narrow, steep and straight down. Never fear, we will leave
the Kleinschmidt Grade for a future road trip.

After a brief trip through Hell's Canyon we will stop to check out some of the shops in the town of Halfway, Oregon



And, that's not all..............

See you in La Grande!
Jerry & Evelyn

[Jerry]

Chances are we will be running late, but there might be time to stop at the the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, five miles east of Baker City.


Detailed reproductions
of typical covered wagons


The Oregon Trail

[weisergeiser]

Hello all Ann & I just got back from vacation thought I should post a reminder about our trip this on saturday. The weather should be good. Hope to see you their. Randy & Ann

[Jerry]

I pulled out my Wallowa Whitman National Forest map in preparation for the Hell's Canyon trip this Saturday. I mark the roads I travel on my maps with orange Hi-Liter to remind me of where I have been. The drive from La Grande to Joseph will be nice, but after seeing the sights around Joseph and Wallowa Lake we are especially looking forward to driving the Wallowa Mountain Road, AKA the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. The Forest Service lists the Wallowa Mountains, the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Hells Canyon Overlook, Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains and the Hells Canyon gorge as points of interest. Neat.

Besides playing with maps I also installed a bracket on the dashboard of Evelyn's Ford Escape to hold our Garmin Street Pilot GPS unit. I'm looking forward to testing it under a heavy forest canopy which should be easy enough to find considering the tall pines in the mountains of Northeastern Oregon. Great scenery, electronic toys, good people, what more could you ask? Should be a great trip.
Jerry