Sunday, Sept 3, 2017
Today we are headed to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center which has special events this holiday weekend. There is a Wagon Encampment, a living history reenactment of a pioneer wagon train on the Oregon Trail.
This is the main facility which overlooks a large tract of land which still retains wagon tracks from the travelers on the
Oregon Trail.
Having our national senior pass meant no additional cost to attend.
Wagons circled with representatives at each one to describe a role in the wagon community. The awnings made us think of RVer's.
These men told us about three different weapons, hunting for game for food and skins for trading.
Typical dress for a pioneer woman, the bonnet protecting from the sun. It was hot today, and these folks were troopers to dress up when they could have been cooler. The leather the men wore was also very warm for a day like today.
This man was pleased to tell us how he makes and/or repairs wagon wheels. He said he could do a set of four wheels in a weeks work. Very interesting.
Wagon wheel man, from Oregon.
These ladies offered us ham hocks and beans, and later, Bison stew prepared in dutch ovens.
Bison stew, very tasty! Cooked over charcoal instead of buffalo chips.
The blacksmith, making heavy duty tent stakes for another participant in the wagon train.
And every wagon train could appreciate music at the end of a long day, which by the way, would be an average of 13 miles a day excluding the Sabbath. 1924 miles in 141 days.
Inside the facility, are numerous displays. The Indian couple are three dimensional, with a painted backdrop.
A sheepherder moving along beside the cattle. Almost everyone except the smallest children walked alongside, the wagon being filled with supplies to make the trip. Imagine not being able to stop at a Walmart! What they carried and obtained in the way of wild game was all they had.
And of course, under the circumstances, many died along the way, from accidents or illness, tainted food or water.
Trail guide, hunter, trader.
An example of artwork on display. Can you imagine? Must be rush hour.
Tic asked me if I could 'honk' his horn. Look at the size of this animal.
Photo of actual photo. They don't look happy! I can't imagine traveling like this especially for months!
Our enactment folks said they would rarely be in their wagons. They would typically sleep under or beside the wagon.
That is real leather on this mannequin. Looks like he got a Ptarmigan. Tastes like chicken!
This is an actual size replica of a stamping mill used in gold mining in this area.
Our stop in Baker, Oregon for the Labor Day weekend was a serendipity, finding the hell's canyon and this national interpretive center. One of the better finds in our travels.
Saturday, Sept 2, 2017 - continued
The drive to our jet-boat ride was so beautiful I had to make it a separate post. This post will be the jet-boat ride and what we saw.
This is Dusty, our Captain/guide on our tour today. He reviewed safety items and also told us that the boat had three diesel engines that turned the jet pump drives, and that it only drafted 18 inches of water with full occupancy of passengers.
There are many mountain peaks along the Snake River. Hells Canyon is a 10-mile wide canyon located along the border of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and western Idaho. It is North America's deepest river gorge at 7,993 feet at Idaho's Seven Devils Mountain range to the east.
We saw 4 black bears during our ride. This is the first one and he was moving away. He didn't like us being so close.
This is one of the larger rapids we went across. Tic did great with this picture considering we were moving quickly and rocking side to side.
More rapids.
This is the only bald eagle picture. As you can perhaps tell, it was a trick to get this picture with the boat moving & rocking. We saw a total of 3 bald eagles and 1 osprey.
We stopped and docked here. Several passengers got off the boat and took a short hike to overlook the class 4 rapids we just crossed. Tic took this picture to show how clear the river was. We are looking straight down into the river. This is not a reflection.
This picture is to show the white line on the rocks. Our captain told us that this last spring the water was at the white line on the rocks. He said there was more snow runoff than there had been in several years.
This is Granite Creek flowing into the Snake River.
Wow, look at the size of this black bear. He posed for a moment then headed up the hill.
Look at the ruggedness of these cliffs going directly into the river.
This is a good shot of our jet-boat. We are docked at a sandy beach. Several went swimming.
Most people got off the boat. I put my feet in the water. It was cool, but not bad. The people that swam said once you got used to it, the water temperature was not bad.
Look at the massive size of this cliff. Also imagine how high the water was in the spring.
We are headed up this rapid just after swimming.
This black bear, which is cinnamon colored, was on the move as soon as it heard the boat engines. There was also a smaller black colored black bear that disappeared before we could get a picture of it. Black bears can be black (most common), brown, cinnamon, blond, white (e.g. the Kermode or Spirit bear) and even a bluish-gray (e.g. the Glacier bear).
It was a fun ride. I think being late in the day 4pm - 6pm made it good for seeing animals and birds.
Saturday, Sept 2, 2017
Today we are driving 90+ miles through Hells Canyon Scenic Byway to take a jet-boat ride on the Snake River. There was so much beauty on both the drive and the jet-boat ride that I'm breaking it into 2 posts. The post will be the drive to and from the launch location on the Snake River.
The picture above and below are of the Hole in the Wall along the Powder River. Look closely at the above picture and you can see what looks like a dirt road along side the river. That used to be the main highway 86. After a heavy rainfall, the side of the mountain collapsed and covered the highway closing it permanently. They had to reroute the highway.
Above and below are some birds we saw in the naturally dammed area of the Powder River.
The picture above explains what happened to create "The Hole in the Wall".
We are still driving along side the Powder River headed to the Snake River.
This time of year this area is much more arid than we anticipated. We see the grass is dried out and golden and the green pine trees make a beautiful contrast.
We have reached the Snake River. This is a very curvy road that goes right along side the river.
The mountains go straight into the Snake River here. So majestic.
The ruggedness and beauty of Hells Canyon is stunning! The border between Oregon and Idaho runs in the Snake River.
We are standing at the Visitors Center and looking down river. You can see the boat launch area where we will be catching our jet-boat.
We have arrived at the Visitors Center just below the Hells Canyon Dam. I did not include a picture of the dam. The mountain you see are on the opposite side of the Snake River.
We are on our way back to Baker City after our jet-boat ride and it is about 6:30 pm. The sun is shining on the golden mountain side and reflecting into the Snake River.
The Snake River and the canyon it created are so beautiful!
Above the sun is shining on the top of these mountains just before sunset. Below is a closeup showing the ruggedness of the top of this mountain.
Another interesting type of mountain peak along the Snake River.
Our last shot at sunset of the Snake River. The road along side the river is 24 miles long, but takes 50+ minutes to drive because it is so windy that you can only go about 30 mph. We have had another wonderfully blessed day with much of God's wonders!
