Two Flat Day

I am a statistician.  While I am sometimes annoyed or pleasantly surprised by the rare event, I am also somewhat intrigued by the outliers of life.  I'm not sure if yesterday's events actually classify as outliers, though, as there is probably a strong correlation between flat tires and traveling in a full vehicle on bald tires over rocky roads.  At any rate my colleagues and I experienced the rare two-flat day while on a reconnisance trip for a grant collaboration at the Zumwalt Prairie Reserve in Wallowa County, OR.

Flat #1

Flat #2

Despite the two flat day, moods remained high.  Perhaps it was because we were at one of the most beautiful places in the West.  It was early spring, the mountains were full of snow, and the first wildflowers were blooming in the prairie.

Prairie Smoke

Larkspur

Bounded on the north by the Grand Ronde River canyon, the east by Hell's Canyon of the Snake River, the west by the Blue Mountains, and the south by the Wallowas, the Zumwalt Prairie is a distinct and geographically isolated remnant of the northern Rocky Mountain bunchgrass prairie system.  While some of the land was plowed at one point, the land has been primarily used for grazing and few true remnants of native prairie remain.  The Nature Conservancy purchased the Zumwalt Prairie in two parcels, and has made some progress restoring the landscape.

This is a depopulated landscape.  The Nez Perce--Nimi-ipuu--were the first inhabitants of the land.  This is the land of Chief Joseph.  After the 1877 war, the land was divided into 160 acre homestead parcels.  By the 1920s, over 30 rural schools served the area.  Then came the Depression, and Wallowa County never recovered.  To this day, unemployment and poverty remain high, and the rural schools have now been turned to bunkhouses for the Nature Conservancy volunteers.

If you can believe it, this farm had telephone access in the 30s, but today can be reached only by satellite phone.  Our cell phones were of little use when the first flat occurred, but that didn't matter.   It wasn't such a bad day at work after all, and it ended in the best possible way ever--at Terminal Gravity brew pub!     

Former school house

Barn at Summer Camp

 

Ground squirrel

Formerly a two-seater outhouse!

The "suicide" elk--found with his head in a pond!

Barn swallows

Elk herd on the horizon

Monuments placed by the Nez Perce and thought to be trail makers.

Fergeson Ridge

We took a trip to Wallowa County Oregon this weekend, one of our favorite places.  

We had the pleasure of skiing at Fergeson Ridge, the ski hill operated by the Eagle Cap Ski Club.  Lift tickets (t-bar only) are $15, but the terrain is substantial.  One could get very, very good learning to ski here.  This weekend, even though it is mid January, early season conditions still held due to the low snowfall.  The groomers were icy and parts were covered with what my husband calls "frozen death cookies"--ball bearings of ice.  But the side trails and perimeters were wonderful and full of soft powder.  Getting to some of these areas is a bit of a trek, and at one point, skiing solo, I had the feeling I was being watched--by a cougar.  But it was probably my imagination.

Most people who ski "Fergie" know each other.  The place is run by volunteers.  Even still, everyone is very friendly, even to newcomers.  To say we felt at home in the warming hut is a bit of an understatement.   It was filled with toddlers and nursing mamas, and the woodstove grate was covered with drying kids' clothes.  We shared a set of tiny skis, borrowed free from the shop, with another family who also had a first-time skier, and meals for all of us cost $9--total.  (Granted one grilled cheese sandwich was free after he burned the first two!)

Despite the everybody-knows-everybody mentality, they do try to keep the operation professional.  A sign clearly indicates that dogs should stay leashed and off the runs.  I found this sign to be about 50 percent effective:  the dogs were off the runs, but at least one unleashed dog was finding more exciting things in the parking lot.  Specifically, he found a leftover over ham and cheese sandwich.  A man walking past asked, "is that your dog?", to which I replied, "no, but that was my sandwich."  Note to self:  keep truck bed secure to prevent four-legged thieves!

We also spent a little time at the south end of Wallowa Lake.  I have to say I found it much more enjoyable in the dead of winter, without the summer crowds and noise.  This time, we only heard the muted sounds of snow falling, interrupted by the occasional owl. 

Skiing in the Backcountry

Aneroid Mountain

I saw an advertisement for New Belgium's winter ale, Snow Day, in a magazine today and it made me regretful that we haven't had one yet (snow day that is, although I'm sure the Snow Day is nice too).  We are still stuck in a high pressure with little moisture and hardly any snow since Thanksgiving.  

The lack of snow didn't stop my husband and his buddies from going on their annual backcountry ski trip to the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon.   

They didn't have much snow, but they managed to find a few nice spots anyway.

Mt. Andy

My husband also heard, for the first time, the sound you're not supposed to hear while skiing in the backcountry:  whomping.  All was well, but it does make one appreciate beacon drills in the backyard (even the one where the neighbor found me hiding behind his garbage cans, and the best excuse I could come up with at the time was "I'm playing hide and seek with my husband"!

Looking into Big Sheep Basin

Hubby takes good pictures, no???

McCully Basin

Wallowas

The inland northwest has a secret.  A disjunct mountain range in the northeast corner of Oregon, known as the Wallowas.  Not part of the Rockies or the Cascades, they are the result of the North American continental plate--which used to end near the current day Idaho/Oregon border--crashing into Pacific islands.  Unlike other mountain ranges in the U.S., they run east-west, rather than north-south.  Much of the Wallowas are designated wilderness area, and most approaches involve a 7+ mile hike and 2500+ ft elevation gain. They don't exist on the beaten track to anywhere, and you don't end up there by accident.  But, for all this contrariness, the Wallowa mountains are one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Chief Joseph Mountain

My husband recently returned from a backcountry ski trip to Aneroid Basin in the Wallowas.  While what happens in the yurt, stays in the yurt, he did inform me that the snow was either really good, or really bad, in typical backcountry fashion. He is also sharing these pictures.  Since I didn't earn these turns, I won't offer any commentary, but rather let the images speak for themselves.