Further South to Hells Canyon

So on my way to Hells Canyon, I drive through the little town of Joseph OR. This isn't much of a town, but has tried to do a little with some tourist appeal (hell, every town is trying to get some of those camera toting, RV pulling tourist dollars) so I figure since I read that Chief Joseph was buried here, I would check it out. So this is the sign to an area that is probably 2000 square feet at best. In the middle is a monument for Chief Joseph. The explaination on the burial states that Chief Joseph was only buried here recently and was ORIGINALLY buried new Wallona OR. I was so disappointed, I could only take a picture of the sign. Oh and as the sign clearly indicates, there is no lake or river access here...

So I've wanted to come out to Hells Canyon, for quite a while. Overall I think this is a really cool place and if you want to get into some back country, away from people (via horse, mountain bike or hike) this is a great place to go. Car camping (4x4), in my opinion is fantastic here. What do I like about it best? There are few people.I've just crossed over into the boundary of Hells Canyon National Recreation area, just outside Imnaha OR. Fortunately this area got an extra ordinary amount of rain in the late spring/early summer so it was pretty lush and green. As I recall it was about 75 degress and wonderful every single day. Fantastic.

Following the Lewis and Clark Trail

This was near Dayton WA, where you can drive along highway 12 where lewis and clark and the corps of discovery actually traveled.

A Most Remarkable Woman

A bronze sculpture of Sacajawea and her infant son, Jean-Baptist.

From National Geographic: Many geographers and historians have now adopted a spelling that most closely follows the one found in the journals: Sacagawea (sah-KAH-guh-WEE uh). It is derived from two Hidatsa words: sacaga, meaning bird, and wea, meaning woman.

I doubt she was hot.

Us @ Fort Clatsop National Park

Did you ever think that if you changed the letters around, you could get Fort Clapsot? Clap-sot. Hmm.

Not much of a boat?

Can you imagine traveling from St. Louis MO, to the Columbia River in a "boat" like this? Hell I can't travel down class I water (that means no waves, water BARELY moving) in a high tech $1000 dollar super whitewater kayak, without damned near drowning!

Not Much Left

I was kinda bummed that there wasn't much left of Fort Clatsop, and I think they've rebuilt it about 2 or 3 times.

From the National Geographic Website:

Winter on the Pacific- December 08-30, 1805
Lewis and Clark decided to make camp south of the Columbia. On a slight rise along the banks of a small river, they cleared a site of trees and brush and built Fort Clatsop, named after the local Clatsop Indians.

Their time at the fort was monotonous, spent making moccasins and buckskin clothing, storing food, and working on journals and maps. Even Christmas Day was gloomy, the men's dinner stringy elk meat and roots. Rain was constant.

The captains were anxious to meet one of the trading ships that came frequently to the mouth of the Columbia from U.S. ports or from Britain. One ship did stop to trade with the Indians during the corps's time on the West Coast. But the Indians did not tell Lewis and Clark about it, and the ship left without them ever knowing it had been there.

Remember when you were young and built a fort with a fridge box and a blanket? Well, that's me out there on the coast without all my high tech gear. Take down a tree? Where is the chainsaw? Oh, CHOP it down, with an axe! I guess I can do that. Chop down, say 100 trees and build yourself a fort to live in for 3 months? Unlikely at best. I'll go with the fridge box, a blanket and wait for Mom to call me for dinner. Hopefully she made roast.