Poetic Wallowa Lake & me, an Aspiring Slow Traveler

It’s a Wednesday in July. I am now a month into intentional unemployment. It finally is feeling more natural to rise when I want and putter around through my days. Mostly, I get distracted by chores, laundry, baking bread (I have a new habit of making my own sourdough) and working on my memoir. But this post is not about any of these, just a recent long weekend to eastern Oregon.

The drive to Wallowa Lake — eastern Oregon opens up and suddenly you understand what big sky means.

We have visited Wallowa Lake and Joseph Oregon once before. But operating at a slower pace this time, the trip reminded me of how many undiscovered places there are around us that are travel’s lesser-known treasures. Lesser-known certainly inspires my slow travel desires. The quiet, less frequented, fly under the radar places have unusual appeal because they come with the feeling that you’ve discovered them yourself. Places like the Scenic Eagle Cap Excursion Train in Elgin, and M. CROW – M. Crowin Lostine, OR which is a crazy cute general store previously known for making their own denim jeans and they also host their own radio station mcrowradio | Groovin’ In Lostine that is worth listening to…at least for the novelty.

Great Pacific in Pendleton. Orange ceilings, creaky floors, and the best reason to stop on your way east.

Before we arrived at the lake we stopped in Pendleton, OR for lunch at a place called Great Pacific. Imagine 200-year-old creaky wooden floors, a full glass bakery case, staff in overalls, a shelf of books and games and a stage for music artists. The ceiling is vaulted and painted orange or blue, and giant fans hang down to move the warm eastern Oregon air. We really enjoyed the ambiance and the food. I have a curiosity about these cowboy and rodeo towns. The shops include world famous saddle makers, custom hat stores, general stores all inside the historic brick buildings. We have promised each other we’ll come back for the Pendleton Rodeo which is each year the second week of September.

Our Airbnb was the rare kind that makes you want to stay inside. Coastal blues, a bar cart, other decorative touches.

We arrived at Wallowa Lake, dropped our boat off at the marina and then unloaded all of our weekend bags and coolers of food we’d brought from Portland at the lake house we’d rented. Airbnb can be hit or miss but this time we had gotten it right. We drove past wheat fields and a cow farm, along a dirt road on the far side of the lake. The ponderosa pines were fragrant, and, in the shade, we got a cool breeze through our windows. We rumbled down the road and found the driveway to our rental; it pitched downwards and there was our house, right on the lake with our own dock. Inside the house were coastal blues, white walls, with art and baskets and decorative touches that made me sigh.

Ponderosa pines through every window. I barely left this chair.

If only our home was so…aesthetically together. My husband was able to park the boat right outside the house and took the kids fishing, tubing, and exploring while I had some downtime to myself to sit on the porch reading or relaxing and enjoying the lake view.

Wallowa Lake. Cold, deep, and exactly what I needed.

Just fifteen minutes away was Joseph, OR. A picturesque little town with a busy main street that gave us some great options for shopping and eating and a nice-size grocery store. I bought a new ballcap from Joseph Fly Shoppe and found a new dress at beecrowbee, which also makes its own fragrances, candles, and body products. I have regularly ordered their Essence room and linen spray online since discovering it during our last trip to Wallowa Lake in 2023; it’s a calming blend that includes ylang-ylang and bergamot. On this trip we accidentally discovered the R&R Drive-In. Imagine pulling around a weathered wood building with one window through which the best soft serve ice cream is handed to you. Since I can’t eat ice cream, the best part was simply how friendly the people were and how quaint the experience was.

Joseph, OR. A town worth slowing down for.

Hiking is also everywhere around Wallowa Lake. The old Wallowa Lake Lodge and beyond it boast places to stay and camp, but many people park and hike or ride horseback into Eagle Cap Wilderness where you can backpack in or just make a day-trip. We didn’t do any of the scenic drive like to the Zumwalt Prairie, Hell’s Canyon Overlook, or Hat Point, but we did take the Wallowa Lake tram ride which, while pricey at $50pp ($25 - $30 for kids), did give us an amazing panoramic view of the lake and mountains. Given my slow travel status, I did none of these things, but my husband took the kids :)

The R&R Drive-In. I can't eat ice cream, but I'd go back just for the sign.

My favorite part of getting to know Oregon is that each time we venture out I see so many places that interest me. Elgin’s Opera House, or the gorgeous wheat fields and prairies, the drive home along the stony, burbling Wallowa River as we dipped through mountainous terrain.

Fire season means smoky skies. Still breathtaking.

I hope that someday we can get a camper and slowly see more of these hidden gems on a North American driving trip. I’d love to see this area in winter under a thick blanket of snow. Summer is fire season and we did have smoky skies during part of our trip, that and the long drive are detractors so I’d suggest staying a week or longer if you’re headed there from the PNW coast cities. It’s also just about 2 hours from Boise! I really want to go explore in Idaho too – I’ve only ever driven through when I moved to Portland from Florida, and have been around the Tetons, which were absolutely stunning but on the Idaho side, the snow is so deep the powder line is often above your head.

Eastern Oregon light. There's nothing else like it.

Until next time, here are a few…

Favorite Things

The Britbox show The Other Bennet Sister – charming, silly fun and I fell for it entirely.

I just ordered a Garden in Minutes raised garden bed and am now waiting for the weekend to set it up

For books I am into Reading Lolita in Tehran, which juxtaposes in an interesting way with the war backdrop and current American climate. I guess I’ll watch the movie, which came out in 2024, after I finish the book.

And for products, I’ve been trying Musely skin treatment which is customized to your skin. So far the product I ordered for melasma is working well, which with cosmetic and skin products these days is encouraging.

Safe travels this summer,

Jessica