Hey everyone! Today we spent the day at Wallowa again. It’s so pretty here, and so warm! Although we are not certain, we’d guess it’s in the high 70s or so. David got up at 8 a.m. and let me sleep until 9 a.m. I have decided I don’t sleep well unless I’m in our own bed at home. I had a pretty uncomfortable night of sleep and am thinking a nap seems pretty good right now (that’s where David is as I write this). David had made sausage and pancakes for breakfast, which were absolutely delicious! I am so thankful David loves to cook. After breakfast, he went and took a shower while I cleaned up breakfast and finished most of my magazine.
Today we decided to go into Joseph and explore a bit. It’s a really cute town, very Western inspired, which we love. We walked around town stopping to take pictures every so often and browsing some cute shops as we went. There is a lot of touristy-clutter type stuff for sale, such as Ranch, Onion Ring, and Dill Pickle flavored mints… but you have to admit, that stuff is always kind of entertaining to look at.
We found this cute little soda shop attached to a gift shop that we decided to stop at. They had the BIGGEST cinnamon rolls I have EVER seen. If you haven’t seen the picture, flip through the slideshow and look it at. They were huge. I was tempted by them, but decided we could spend our money elsewhere. We did end up buying a “real” Coca-Cola (the kind they make with the syrups and stuff) and I got a Raspberry Vanilla Cremosa. :) Yum.
They also had little books saying how “life was like in _____” David and I both looked at the books from the years we were born. It was interesting to us that in 1989, rent was 425 a month, and in 1985 when David was born, gas was like, $0.30 a gallon. If only…
On our way out of that store, David saw a brochure for the Wallowa Tramway. We had looked at it online, and have heard people talk about it, but when it comes to heights, it’s hard for me to agree. He called and found out the prices, and we decided to at least go look at it.
For those of you who don’t know, the Tramway is basically a ski lift that takes riders from the base of Mt. Howard to the summit, in a 15-minute ride to the top. It’s supposed to be gorgeous but…
When we got there, I could have had a panic attack just looking at it! I kept thinking, “If my mom can do this, then I can too.” David and I passed an older couple in the parking lot that said it wasn’t scary, it was amazing, and they’d gladly do it again in a heartbeat. I looked at David after they left and we both knew we had to do it. Maybe not for the fun of it, but at least to be able to say we did it.
It. Was. Terrifying.
No one told us the “ride” stops unexpectedly. So there we were, dangling hundreds of feet (I am probably exaggerating) in a glass cage of death, swinging off a cable. Are you kidding me?! David and I agreed that was one of the scariest moments of our lives. If we had been told it would randomly stopped, we probably could have mentally and physically prepared ourselves for such an event. But no. They failed to include that in their warm wishes as they sent us up in that thing. Shoo.
The ride stopped twice on the way up and each time, we had to slow our breathing and talk to each other to keep the other one from having a panic attack.
I will admit the views were amazing. Probably one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen (apart from Walkabout). When we got to the top, David and I were relieved to have survived, and walked around enjoying the bright sunshine and awesome views of Lake Wallowa and the neighboring mountains. We took a few pictures, explored a bit (even saw a bunch of snow!), and decided to share a basket of French fries and a bottle of water at the Summit Grill. I mean, how many people can say they’ve eaten lunch at 8150 feet up? :)
The ride down wasn’t as scary. We were prepared for any unexpected stops (there wasn’t any, Hallelujah), so we were able to enjoy the scenery once more before making it down to the real ground. It really is a great few. I was hoping to see some wildlife, like a bear (when we were above them so they wouldn’t be able to get us), but all we saw were some chipmunks and squirrels.
We slowly made our way back to our campsite after exploring a bit more. We saw a river that was so flooded it had taken over the day area sites. The picnic and BBQ areas were completely taken over by the raging river. It was really interesting!
I forgot to mention yesterday, David and I decided to play the “Slug Bug” game and “See-if-we-can-see-all-50-states-in-license-plates-games.” Right now, David is ahead with Bugs 4.5 to 3 (yes we did see half of a Bug) and we have found 22 state license plates, including Hawaii and Maine. We are hoping that by the end of the trip, we will have found them all. :)
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