Yeah, it's a gimmick, but so what?  Here's another reason to plan your Eastern Oregon vacation soon--the controlled hunt Beer Tag!  To fulfill the hunt, you'll need to visit four of the six (count 'em) microbreweries in Eastern Oregon by the end of April 2012.  

Who/where are they?

• Barley Brown Brew Pub (Baker City)
• Beer Valley Brewing Co (Ontario)
• Mt. Emily Ale House (LaGrande)
• Mutiny Brewing Co (Joseph)
• Terminal Gravity Brewing (Enterprise)
• The Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub (Pendleton)

If you're coming from Portland, you'll encounter 4 of the 6 easily on your way to Joseph Oregon.  If you're coming from Boise, you'll encounter 5 of the 6--and for the Idaho overachievers it's only a 45 minute detour from LaGrande to Pendleton to score the 6th one!  

We think this is an excellent opportunity for our bed and breakfast guests to return home from their Joseph Oregon vacation with fond memories as well as a completed "Adult Controlled Hunt BEER Tag" and a limited edition camoflage Eastern Oregon beer koozie.

Just think of the bragging rights you'll have with your friends.  Eastern Oregon is a lot farther than most would think of visiting for beer, but with great beers mixed with great scenery, it's definitely worth the drive.

A stay at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast in Joseph Oregon puts you in walking distance of Mutiny Brewing Company and a short drive to Terminal Gravity Brewing.  Give us a call at 541-432-0230 and we'll put you on the road to your beer tag today!

Still looking for where to go for New Year's Eve?  If you're not into the big city excitement and crazy parties, then how about a trip to Northeastern Oregon?  The Bronze Antler Bed and Breakfast still has three rooms available for ringing in 2012 (sorry, the Mirror Lake Suite's been taken).

What to do?  On New Year's Eve, BC & The Mos'ly Blues Band will play at the Joseph Community Center--WALKING DISTANCE from our Joseph bed and breakfast.  The evening's sponsored by the Wallowa County Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).  Plenty of heavy hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, great music--and all for a good cause too.  Things are pretty casual around Wallowa County.  Dress for the New Year's Eve party ranges from cocktail attire to hiking boots so don't feel you have to drag your fancy duds all the way across Oregon for one night (unless you'd like to, of course).

Top it off with a late breakfast on New Year's Day, glorious Wallowa Mountain scenery and 2012 is looking brighter all the time!

Give us a call at 541-432-0230 or book via the button to the right of this blog post.  You won't find Joseph Oregon hotels out here (there aren't any) but a night or two at the Bronze Antler might be just the ticket!

Here at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast we make it a point to go out of our way with customer service.  I was recently reminded when glancing through the journal in the Chief Joseph Mountain Room.  (Each guestroom has its own room journal where guests often leave comments, poetry, sketches, etc., from their stay here near Wallowa Lake.)

An entry from September 2011:

Heather & Bill -- You are such great hosts that the Bronze Antler has sky-rocketed to the top of our all-time B&Bs. . .and that's not just because Heather climbed under our car to tape up a piece of material under the hood.

As I recall, the guests were all spiffy and ready to go out to a fine dinner at Calderas.  As they started to pull away from the parking area, I heard a scraping noise coming through the open kitchen window.  Bill wasn't quite sure what was going on as I grabbed the duct tape (one always keeps a roll handy in Wallowa County) and headed out the door.  Turns out the guests had somewhere in their travels torn loose a piece of skirting under the front bumper and it was dragging in the gravel (and on the street).  On my back, under the car with the duct tape and a few minutes later they were on their way!

Maybe they would've had the same kind of service from a Wallowa Lake hotel.  We like to pride ourselves on taking the best care that we can of our bed and breakfast guests--even if it means crawling around in the gravel with duct tape!

Here's another good reason to visit North Eastern Oregon in December: Jingle Thru Joseph is the signature event for Joseph OR holiday shopping and entertainment.

It all starts on Saturday, November 26th, with a Light Parade at 5 pm (well after sundown) on Main Street in Joseph Oregon.  All the entries are lighted--ranging from horses & wagons to the lady in the oversized martini glass encouraging holiday sobriety (you just never know what'll show up in the Light Parade).

Many of the stores on Main Street will feature late night shopping until 8 pm (hey, it is a rural town and besides you'd rather be out of the cold by 8 pm anyway).  A jewelry design studio  like Stewart Jones Designs and fun retail shops like Mad Mary and Company are bound to keep you entertained while you're shopping for unusual or unique gifts.

If you can't make it out for Thanksgiving weekend, there are more special event days planned throughout December including:

• Dec 3rd Sleigh Ride Saturday
• Dec 10th Sugar Plum Saturday
• Dec 16th & 17th Snowflake Weekend
• Dec 22nd Ho Ho Ho Thursday Men's Night Out
• Dec 24th Twas the Night Before Christmas Saturday

Whether you're planning a weekend, midweek or overnight getaway to Joseph Oregon or Wallowa Lake for Jingle Thru Joseph, the Bronze Antler Bed and Breakfast has plenty of lodging available from late November through December 2011 (and even New Year's Eve, but that's another blog post).  We're conveniently located at the edge of the town's commerical district.  Click on the Book Now! button at right and start planning your trip today!

If you're contemplating the crush of crowds at the local mall on the day after Thanksgiving, we have a better suggestion. . .spend Black Friday in Joseph Oregon!  There won't be the crush and the shopping opportunities are much better and very personable.

One of our favorite restaurants--Calderas--is also an art gallery and upscale gift shop.  For  Black Friday 2011, Calderas is hosting the "Eat & Shop Till You Drop" Event.  From 11 am to 8 pm on Friday, November 25th, Calderas will feature 15% off all scarves, clothing, stationery, cards, jewelry and pictures. 

If that's not enough, Holiday Happy Hour is 4 pm to 6 pm, with live music by American Idol nominee Jessie Borgerding & Craig Nichols from 5 pm to 8 pm.  And of course there are the luscious soups & salads for lunch and the scrumptious dinners. . .

Here at our Joseph Oregon lodging we still have three rooms available for the evening of Black Friday.  Start your holiday shopping with a civilized weekend in North Eastern Oregon.  And with three rooms you can bring along your girlfriends too!  You'll be supporting a host of small, independent businesses and coming away with perhaps some one-of-a-kind gifts.

This Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast provides complimentary transportation from/to the Joseph State Airport for our bed and breakfast guests.  It's been a little difficult since August 2011, however, since the airport's been closed for repairs.

According to Elane Dickenson of the Wallowa County Chieftain, it won't be much longer until the airport is open for business again.  The 5200' runway in the process of being paved and refurbishment of the taxiway and apron is not far behind.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is tentatively scheduled for early October 2011.  And just in time for an autumn Eastern Oregon vacation by air!

You can keep up on the status of the work by checking in with AirNav.  I'll be interested to see how they write up the runway conditions once the maintenance is complete. 

Give us a call at (toll-free) 866-520-9769 to schedule an airport pickup and delivery to the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast.  But wait until the Joseph State Airport reopens please!

We're already getting into fall in Eastern Oregon which means it's time for the 15th Annual Nez Perce Art in the Wallowa.  The 2011 event gets underway with the art show and auction from noon to 4 pm at the Wallowa Lake Lodge (the historic Wallowa Lake hotel), followed by dinner and a program at 6 pm in the hotel's dining room.  The show & auction are free to the public and the dinner & program are $45 per person.

As in many years, artwork by Native American artist George Flett will be available at auction along with other outstanding Native American artists.  Flett's ledger art is the subject of this year's poster (above).  The original artwork for this poster will be auctioned off at this year's event.

Bill & I always make it a point to go.  The food is always excellent, the programs vary each year, and the cause is definitely worth supporting.  This year's dinner includes fresh salmon, locally grown buffalo and garden favorites, huckleberry cheese cake, and a no-host bar featuring regional wine.  Add the entertainment and off you go!

Native American performing artists this year are the top two hand drum contest winners from the 2011 Tamkaliks Celebration. Francis Dionne of Boise, Idaho, and Chris Shorty of Pendleton, Oregon, will entertain dinner guests with drumming and singing.

The Wallowa Lake Lodge is about a 10 minute drive away from the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast.  We still have two vacancies for Saturday night.  If you'd like to attend, contact us promptly for your room reservation and we'll secure dinner tickets for you.  The dinner tickets sell out quickly so please don't procrastinate.

Okay, Mr. or Ms. Procrastinator, here's your chance to make it up.  We have last minute availability for Friday through Sunday nights, September 2, 3 & 4, 2011, in the Mirror Lake Suite here at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast in Joseph Oregon. 

This isn't just any old guestroom.  If you're thinking "romantic getaway Oregon" or perhaps "Wallowa Lake hotel" then you'll definitely want to follow the link and check out this room. 

And since it's so last minute, we'll offer a 10% discount with a complimentary bottle of bubbly for a minimum two-night stay.  Be sure to mention that you read this blog post to qualify.

Enjoy the Wallowa Mountains, take in the Juniper Jam all-day concert festivalon Saturday, visit the local galleries on Joseph Oregon Main Street, or just stay in the suite for the 110-gallon jetted tub, the steam shower and the 47" flat screen with movies.  It's up to you.

Call us (it's too late to book online) at toll-free 866-520-9769 or local 541-432-0230.  You'll definitely accrue some "get out of the doghouse free" points if you bring your honey here for a surprise visit. 

Here's a wonderful video of stills shot by one of our favorite Wallowa County photographers, Joe Whittle.  Just bumped into this today and couldn't wait to share it through our blog.  Joe really captures the spirit of what it's like to be here in this Eastern Oregon wonderland.  Worth the view--and the music's good too.

We don't get many scuba divers or snorkelers at Wallowa Lake--I'm guessing it's because the water is so cold (even in summer) and the lake is at elevation (4400 feet above sea level).  However, a local (LaGrande, OR) diver with the moniker "Bluesman" posted a couple of years ago about diving at Wallowa Lake on the Northwest Dive Club website.

I especially like his comment about Wally.  Doesn't every lake have its own sea monster?  Rumor has it that the locals used to sacrifice a virgin to Wally every year--maybe to improve the fishing?  Don't know--it predates our arrival in Eastern Oregon.

If you do plan a dive at Wallowa Lake you'll need to bring along as many cylinders as you'll need in addition to you hood and booties.  Checking with the Wallowa Lake Marina reveals that there aren't any locations in Wallowa County to get tanks refilled.   In fact, they think the closest dive shop is in the Tri-Cities area of Washington (about 3 hours away by car).

But you won't need to worry about rinsing out your gear--Wallowa Lake is snowfed and the water is very pure--just a little on the cold side.

Wallowa Lake

by Bluesman » Fri Oct 10, 2008 2:22 pm

It's nearly time for Labor Day Weekend and the last hurrah of summer.  If you're thinking about a Joseph Oregon vacation, now is the time to plan if you'd still like to take advantage of the widest availability of things to see and do at Wallowa Lake and Joseph Oregon.

Vali's Alpine Restaurant closes after Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.  If you haven't had the chance yet to have dinner with Maggie and Michael and Dionne then you'd best book your reservation soon!  They offer only one entree choice per night, with only two seatings (5 pm and 7 pm and by reservation only) and they do not accept credit cards.  Don't let these restrictions deter you from one of the finest meals and restaurant atmospheres in Wallowa County.

You'll find their menu and more information at their website.

 We do have bed and breakfast guests that book their dinner reservations with Vali's first and then look for their Wallowa Lake lodging--call them at 541-432-5691 to reserve your table on the night of your choosing. 

The Wallowa Lake Marina shuts down for the season around mid-September so you'll have a little extra time to take out a motorboat, kayak, paddle boat or canoe.  And the Marina Store has all the things that fishing people need plus great tips from Gina and her staff.

And the Wallowa Lake Tramway is scheduled to close around the first weekend of October 2011.  They're especially busy over Labor Day Weekend--if you plan to ride the tram, you might consider the two-day pass that allows for two opportunities to soak in the view.  Landscape photography is always better at the ends of the day rather than at noon.  With a two-day pass, you can plan to be the first up the tram one day and last up the tram on the next.

Regardless of what you choose to do over Labor Day Weekend, if you're looking for a Wallowa Lake hotel or some Joseph Oregon hotels, we hope you'll consider our bed and breakfast.  With dedicated air-conditioning and an attached private bathroom for each guest room and plenty of amenities, we think your Labor Day Weekend vacation in Eastern Oregon will be all the richer for staying at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast.  Thanks!

One of our favorite Joseph Oregon restaurants is Calderas.   They're attracting quite a bit of attention including recent mentions in Sunset Magazine. 

The owners recently provided this update:

"This Saturday, August 13th Calderas will be closed due to the Bronze, Blues & Brews Festival in Joseph.  We hope this does not create an inconvieneince for any of you.  We will be open from 2-9:30pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday & Monday so be sure to come see us then.
 
The fresh produce from our garden is excellent!  People are raving about our Applewood Smoked Baby Back Ribs Special served every Friday night."
 
August Events Calendar @ Calderas:
August 19th ~ Darell Brann 6:30-9:30pm
August 21st ~ Singer Songwriter Kelley McRae
August 27th ~Janis Carper, Carolyn Lockert & Greg Johnson Trio

If you need lodging when you're here for dinner at Calderas, our Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast is walking distance.  Give us a call at 866-520-9769 or 541-432-0230, or use the "Book Now!" link at the right of this blog!

This year it's very late snow in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon.  I didn't realize quite how deep, however!

Rich posted this article and wonderful photograph in the Outdoors blog of The Spokesman Review, the local newspaper in Spokane, WA, on August 3, 2011:

Whiteness greets hikers slogging deep into Eagle Cap Wilderness

BACKPACKING — The photo above shows Jeff Lambert of the Spokane Mountaineers in the last weekend of July along with Mirror Lake and Eagle Cap Peak from Carper Pass — all popular backpacking destinations in the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

The shot is worth a thousand words and a lot of slogging.

The high backcountry in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon requires hikers to be equipped for snow, including self-arrest tools.

Yahoo!  You'd think this was a photo from the Spring, not from August!  I'm thinking that there will still be snow from 2010-2011 when the 2011-2012 snow season starts again in September.

If you're planning your Eastern Oregon vacation to include some hiking in the Wallowa Mountains, consider using the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast in Joseph Oregon as a starting or ending point.  Nothing like a bit of pampering before or after the trail, especially this year.  And, we'll await your phone call to ensure you made it out of the mountains.

Okay you last minute procrastinators or you folks that just discovered the Bronze, Brews and Blues Festival in Joseph, OR.  We now have the Ferguson Ridge Room available for Friday and Saturday nights, August 12 & 13, 2011 here at our Joseph Oregon lodging.

The Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast is only one town-sized block from Joseph City Park, site of the annual Bronze, Blues & Brews festival.  Perfect walking distance to the event.  No standing in lines for the blue port-a-potties either.

The Ferguson Ridge Room is equipped with one queen-sized bed, dedicated air-conditioning and blackout shades (important for the morning after the festival).  It has an attached private bathroom with a deeper style soaking tub and a very nice shower head.  And of course it comes with the great breakfasts we serve every morning at our Joseph bed and breeakfast.  You can't bring all your friends, but you can bring one so the two of you can share the room.

Click the "Book now!" link at the right of this blog or call us at (541) 432-0230 and we'll be happy to take your reservation!

The Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast, just like most bed and breakfast lodging, is a small, independently owned business.  Once we retired from the US Army, Bill and I opened the Bronze Antler B&B in June 2001 because we wanted to own our own business and keep it a manageable size.

Sine then we have hosted guests from all over looking for an Eastern Oregon vacation spot.  We currently employ three fantastic staff members and are proud to provide local jobs.

And we buy local as often as we can from local markets, hardware stores, and other businesses.  And we blog about them too.

We recently learned of the "Independent We Stand" website and movement, encouraging the public to support independently owned businesses.   We definitely fit the profile and are listed on their site.

If you know of indie businesses your support, encourage them to list themselves on Independent We Stand--and remember that just a little bit of local partronage goes a long way to supporting a community!

Summer 2011 is going down as the year of late hiking in the Wallowa Mountains.  Seems like the late snows are affecting quite a few of the trails.  Last week one of our guests changed her plans about hiking to Ice Lake because the bridge was removed and the Wallowa River is too high for comfortable fording.  The week before that some of our guests hiked to Maxwell Lake, only to discover that it's still snowed in--and it's almost August!

I was reminded of this when I read this article at the East Oregonian website earlier today:

Posted: Saturday, July 30, 2011 12:05 am

Some Wallowa-Whitman Forest trails unpassable

If you're thinking about coming out to Wallowa Lake or Joseph Oregon for hiking in the Wallowas there are still plenty of places to hike.  We keep trail maps, hiking guides, etc. for our Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast guests.  And hopefully you won't need any snowshoes this summer!

The Wallowa Lake Marina supplies just one of the many things to do at Wallowa Lake in Northeastern Oregon.  Rent a motorboat, a paddle boat, canoe, kayak, rowboat, or the 21 foot pontoon boat!

Stephanie D. from Sacramento, CA, recently reviewed the Wallowa Lake Marina on Yelp! and had this to say: 

Wallowa Lake is a beautiful destination in North Eastern Oregon. The marina provides visitors with canoe, motorboat, kayak, rowboat, party boats, and paddleboats for reasonable prices. You can also purchase fishing licenses here for one or numerous days. The lake is also great to swim, play with your dogs in the water, or view the beautiful scenery and wildlife. The staff is very friendly and will be able to answer any of your questions. I hope you enjoy Wallowa Lake as much as I did.

Stephanie D. also submitted 15 photos of the Wallowa Lake Marina with her review.  The image displayed here is just one of them.

Our Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast guests often take a boat out for part of the day to enjoy views of the moraines surrounding Wallowa Lake, or maybe to get in a little fishing.  Plenty of lake trout and kokanee await you--some could even be world record fish.

If you'd like to contact the Wallowa Lake Marina directly, call (541) 432-9115 or check their very informative website at wallowalakemarina.com  They're open 8 am to 8 pm until Labor Day, then 10 am to 6 pm until they close for the season (sometime around September 15th).

Looking forward to seeing you at Wallowa Lake!

Here's something to do at Wallowa Lake:  ride up the Wallowa Lake Tramway and feed the squirrels (oops, did I say that?).  Or ride up the Wallowa Lake Tramway and enjoy the views!  The Wallowa Lake Tramway is open (weather permitting) every day through the first weekend of October 2011.

And there's a lot to see from there!  Views over the Wallowa Valley, views to the Seven Devil Mountains in Idaho past Hells Canyon, views into the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

It's a great way to see nature without hiking up 4,000 feet--let the tram whisk you up to the top of Mt. Howard so you can walk the two miles of trails with ease.  When you're done, have a refreshing drink or snack at the Summit Grill.

And don't forget to feed the squirrels!  (Photo of Heather and her pal at the Royal Purple Overlook on top of Mt. Howard--even the innkeepers of this Wallowa Lake lodging can get away every now and then).

News you can use from the Wallowa County Chieftain!

The center section of the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway (aka Forest Road 39 or sometimes incorrectly called Oregon Highway 39) in Northeastern Oregon will be repaired sometime starting in August 2011.  The road is currently open but there are small sections that are gravel only--the repairs made in summer 2010 after the road was damaged during the 2010 spring runoff.  Next month that will change (finally!).

The 13 sections that will be paved are near the intersection of FR39 and Oregon Highway 86 and are in the seven miles between Lake Fork Campground and Highway 86 (at the eastern or Halfway end of Forest Road 39).

According to Mary DeAguero, ranger for the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, the work will take about 10 days and traffic delays will be up to 20 minutes.  The road crew is expected to begin work in mid-August 2011.

So, what does this mean for our Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast guests?  C'mon through--your Hells Canyon lodging will be waiting for you at the end of your scenic drive!

You just never know who's coming through the door when you own a bed and breakfast.  We often have artists stay with us when they're visiting Wallowa County and Joseph Oregon.

We recently hosted raku potter Boni Deal and her daughter Sarah for a mother-daughter Eastern Oregon vacation.   Sarah's leaving soon for 2+ years in Africa to teach elementary school-aged children.

We supplied Boni and Sarah with names of local potters they might visit including:
Jim and Anne Shelly of FireWorks Clay Art
Ted Juve of Olaf Pottery
LH Project

Turns out that Boni knows the FireWorks Clay Art from regional art shows but hadn't actually talked with them.  She really enjoyed touring their studio up on Hurricane Creek Road near Joseph. 

The mother and daughter had a great visit--did a little hiking in the Wallowa Mountains, toured downtown Joseph Oregon, visited Wallowa Lake--as well as visiting FireWorks Clay Art.

Perhaps we'll be able to interest her in the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts, our juried art show in Joseph Oregon that takes place every year during the first weekend of June.