We all know the look--dragging, dark circles under the eyes, somewhat sleep deprived--parents of young children sometimes need a break. Thank goodness for two things: Grandparents and the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast!
We recently hosted a Pacific NW couple who were conveniently able to drop off the kiddos with the doting grandparents. They made their way to Eastern Oregon without a specific destination or reservation, perhaps thinking they'd find some Joseph Oregon hotels or maybe a Wallowa Lake hotel, but instead they found us.
A quote from the room journal:
What a great overnight getaway for parents of young children! Not only did we escape children waking in the night (and early AM)--we were completely pampered! Thank you, Heather--sorry to miss you, Bill!--for a lovely stay and delicious breakfast. We are so glad we stopped to inquire--we will definitely be back! Best wishes to you both as you continue to share such a fun profession! Many thanks-- J&E, Spokane, WA
Hmmm. . .I wonder whether the grandparents will be looking for a respite anytime soon?
Seems like every spring people start searching, wanting to know if the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway road between Joseph and Halfway is open. Here we are after Easter 2011 and it's not yet open for the season--sometime in May is more like it. This road is not plowed so the opening date is (among other things) weather dependent.
In late Spring 2010 the road suffered major damage in a few places from spring runoff. The roadbed was repaired by Fall 2010 but not paved in those damaged places. We're hoping that the paving will occur in Summer 2011. You can see an interesting video about the repair here (one of my blog posts from last year).
Does anyone have friends in high places? Would you please convince them we need this road paved soonest? And while you're at it, the rest of Forest Road 39 could use a new surfacing too! This road, as remote as it is, is very important to Eastern Oregon travel and the communities of Wallowa Lake, Joseph Oregon and Halfway Oregon to name a few.
If you're planning your Eastern Oregon vacation and want to know the status of the road, give the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest office a phone call at (541) 426-4978 and ask the Visitor Center. They are keepers of official word on the road.
In the meantime, please do check before planning to travel the center section of the Hells Canyon Byway. We hate it when our incoming guests have to backtrack over an hour of travel time to reach Joseph Oregon! And I'll keep my fingers crossed here at our Hells Canyon lodging that the road opens and stays open in 2011!
It's springtime in Eastern Oregon which means it's time to update the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast wine list and get ready for the summer visitors to Joseph Oregon.
We've added quite a few new wines to our cellar this past year and retired a few as our guests enjoyed them. In your guestroom now you'll find our newly prepared list, featuring wines from Sokol Blosser, Argyle and Lange Estate Vineyards to name a few from Oregon. There are also some very nice wines from L'Ecole No. 41 and Zerba Cellars in the Walla Walla, WA area. And let's not forget Yakima River Winery and Terra Blanca Vineyard west of the Tri-Cities in Washington. Rounding out the list are a collection of sparkling wines from the Alsace region of France (I just couldn't help it).
Whether you're packing a picnic wine for Wallowa Lake or ordering a fine sparkling for your romantic getaway, we've probably got a wine or two here for you.
And there are always glasses and wine openers available in all of our guestrooms in case you'd prefer to bring along your favorite.
You don't really think about vineyards and wineries near Wallowa Lake or Joseph Oregon. We're at 4,200 feet of elevation with a short growing season (USDA Zone 5), so there isn't much happening with grape growing up here.
But this week we hosted Tim & Lori Kennedy, owners of Don Carlo Vineyard in Milton-Freewater at our Joseph bed and breakfast. Milton-Freewater is less than two hours drive from Joseph on the way to Walla Walla, Washington. I'd always thought of Walla Walla as a big wine area, but it turns out that Milton-Freewater is becoming one too! Tim explained there are currently eleven vineyards in and around Milton-Freewater producing wines and hard cider. If this area grows like Walla Walla, undoubtedly there will be more.
Tim and Lori are sending us some maps to the wineries, fruit stands and other agritourism sites of Milton-Freewater. We look forward to giving them to our bed and breakfast guests heading north towards Walla Walla Washington. It could be that Bill & I need to plan a little getaway ourselves and replenish our bed & breakfast wine cellar!
They didn't stay at a Wallowa Lake hotel--they stayed at our little Eastern Oregon bed and breakfast--and what a treat for us. Education about more Eastern Oregon places to experience!
A lot of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is not for mountain bikes because the Eagle Cap Wilderness lies within the forest boundary. But, there still is mountain biking near Joseph Oregon and inside the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
Trailheads used are the Salt Creek Summit (south end)--19 miles from Joseph Oregon and part of the Redmont and Wagon Road Trail networks, and the Ferguson Ridge Snow Park (north end)--only 14 miles from Joseph Oregon and part of the Redmont Trail network.
Riding season in the Wallowa Mountains is typically mid-June to end of October (depending on snow), with trail clearing using completed by early July.
Routes range from 7 to 20 or more miles and vary from multi-use trails to single-track, with terrain for beginners, intermediate and advanced riders. Some routes intersect so the beginner can reconnect with the advanced rider on the same ride.
We keep mountain biking-specific maps here at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast for guest use. Guests can store their mountain bikes in our garage (along with their road bikes, kayaks, etc.) for easy access.
When you're planning your Eastern Oregon vacation this year, think about some mountain bike rides in the Wallowa Mountains. Plenty of views of the Wallowas and the Seven Devil Mountains across Hells Canyon in Idaho--and a great bed and breakfast to return to at the end of the day!
Even though there's snow in the Wallowa Mountains, the birds are singing and we're thinking about summer event weekends. Chief Joseph Days starts Wednesday leading into the last full weekend in July in Joseph Oregon. This year, that's July 27 through July 31, 2011. Rodeo performances are Wednesday through Saturday nights.
And, this Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast still has plenty of room available during the week, plus the Mirror Lake Suite is available for Friday/Saturday nights! If you've not yet been to a rodeo, plan your summertime Eastern Oregon vacation around this event. Chief Joseph Days Rodeo is voted one of the best outdoor small town rodeos in America.
We often are asked whether it is easy to drive to Joseph, Oregon. In general, driving to Northeastern Oregon is pretty straightforward. Even in winter. . .
There are three paved routes in/out of Wallowa County (where Joseph, Oregon is located), two of which are open year around:
Oregon Highway 82 (leaves Interstate 84 at LaGrande Exit 261 for a scenic drive along the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway eastwards through Union County into Wallowa County)
Oregon Highway 3 (starts as Washington Highway 129 in Clarkston, WA, then becomes OR 3 at the state line, continuing south into Wallowa County to the town of Enterprise, which it ends at OR-82)
Forest Road 39 (starts at Oregon Highway 86 between Halfway and Oxbow near the Idaho border and winds its way northwestward into Wallowa County). This road is NOT MAINTAINED in the winter! (It's normally closed from mid-November through early/mid-May or sometimes into June.) The Wallowa-Whitman Forest Service Visitor Center (tel 541-426-4978 Monday-Friday) is the offical information source for this road.
In winter, it's always advisable to have traction tires or carry chains when you're in Eastern Oregon--and that means through the month of April!. Les Schwab Tires often provides a great service to occasional winter drivers. They will sell you a sealed box set of tire chains for your car or light truck and, if you return them unopened in the Spring, you'll get a full refund--one more reason to visit Wallowa Lake and Joseph, Oregon even during the Winter/Spring seasons.
Have we convinced you yet? If you need a little more assistance planning your Joseph Oregon vacation, call us and we'll give you a hand with your routing to Wallowa County.
Here's a pretty little candlestick set inspired by the calla lilly from Fire Works Pottery. Clay artists Jim & Anne Shelly own and operate this wonderful studio about a 10 minute drive away from the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast. We really enjoy their work and you'll see some of it here and there throughout our Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast.
The Fire Works Pottery studio and showroom is located at their home out on upper Hurricane Creek Road. Jim or Anne will give tours of their studio (if they're not out on the road at a show). We enjoy sending out bed and breakfast guests out there to explore the area and find the studio. It's such a beautiful drive getting there!
If you'd like to know more about visiting Fire Works Pottery or other Joseph Oregon area artists, we're more than happy to talk about artists who offer home studio tours. Let us know when you're booking your reservation. Or ask during breakfast and we'll call the artists directly to see if they're available during your stay.
You'll also find Fire Works Pottery on Facebook if you happen to be a Facebook user. With over 300 people "liking" this little studio tucked away in the Wallowa Mountains, it's just another one of the hidden treasures you'll find in Eastern Oregon!
The Wallowa Valley Music Alliance is hosting a week long Appalachian dulcimer course at Wallowa Lake from Tuesday, July 5th through Sunday, July 10th. Don't play the Appalachian dulcimer very well? This is a perfect opportunity for your Eastern Oregon learning vacation as beginners through advanced players are welcome!
There are lodging options available locally at the Wallowa Lake Camp. However, if you (or your traveling companion who isn't interested in the dulcimer workshop) are more interested in the creature comforts of a Joseph bed and breakfast, we are offering our available rooms at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast priced either with or without breakfast. Stay for six nights (a little before or after the workshop) and we'll throw in a seventh night for free.
The Wallowa Lake Camp is about a 10 minute drive (6 miles) away from Joseph at the south end of Wallowa Lake.
Check out the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance website for more information about the dulcimer course, meals options, lodging options, etc. It's a great way to experience Eastern Oregon and learn your instrument from some very, very talented instructors. Stephen Seifert, Heidi Muller and Bob Webb are some of the best Appalachian dulcimer instructors currently teaching in the United States.
And if Wallowa Lake lodging is not quite your style, consider our Joseph Oregon lodging instead. Give us a call toll-free at 866-520-9769 and mention the Appalachian Dulcimer Workshop at Wallowa Lake. We'd love to host you!
When we first moved to Joseph Oregon there was a bed and breakfast already operating 6 miles away in Enterprise that jokingly called themselves "Bed and Get Your Own Damn Breakfast" because there were kitchenettes in their guest suites.
The time has arrived for a new kitchen at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast! After 10 years we've decided it's time for a better designed workspace for the great breakfasts we create. In honor of the occasion (really more than one day), we're offering a super deal off our already low winter rates. . .
$10 off per person per night through February 11, 2011. You're responsible for your own breakfast.
This is undoubtedly one of the best Joseph Oregon lodging deals around. All the luxury of the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast guestrooms and suite. Getting to watch a kitchen renovation that's not your own. Breakfast at your choice of breakfast cafes in Joseph Oregon.
It's already starting to feel like spring in Eastern Oregon so don't wait if you'd like to get in a few more weeks of winter sports!
We love reading guest comments from the room journals at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast. Here's one from a couple who lives less than two hours away from Joseph Oregon. They stayed with us for New Year's Eve, wanting to take a quick Eastern Oregon vacation not far away so they wouldn't have to deal with winter travel on the roads.
What a treat!! My wife & I were long overdue for a little R&R. The Mirror Lake Suite was everything we could have hoped for & more. Heather & Bill do an outstanding job of feeding & facilitating their guests. What a fantastic way to ring in the New Year! If we continue to live in Eastern Oregon I guarantee we will be guests here again (hopefully after we have hiked & fished our way through the Eagle Caps). Thanks again & again!
Our guests were looking for a spa style romantic getaway Oregon style not far from home. They certainly found it here with us!
The Mirror Lake Suite is an exceptional value in winter and provides a variety of amenities including: underfloor heating, propane direct-vent stove, down comforter, cozy robes and slippers, and stellar views of the snow-covered Wallowa Mountains. Check our website or give us a call about availability!
No guests on the afternoon of January 2, 2011, so Heather & I took off for a lower elevation hike along the Imnaha River. We hoped to get to the confluence of the Imnaha and the Snake River in Hells Canyon, but got too late of a start (we did serve breakfast this morning).
If you're here for an Eastern Oregon vacation in winter and are tired of snow, then the drive down through Imnaha and on the Dug Bar Road leading to the trailhead at Cow Creek is pretty refreshing. Plenty of wildlife. We saw this eagle all plumped up keeping his toes warm--kinda like a penguin. Not a bad idea as it was below freezing!
Heather shot a little video about two miles short of the confluence.
'Course if you want to visit this place, you'd best have a truck or other kind of vehicle with heavier tires and higher clearance. As nice as they are on the open road, this is not the place for a Prius or a Mini Cooper!
Stop in at our Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast and we'll tell you all about it and even send you out with a map so we'll see you again.
It's been a long summer without complete access along the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway from Joseph Oregon to Halfway Oregon along Forest Road 39 (also called the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road). Spring flooding in June 2010 washed out significant sections of Forest Road 39 near the intersection of this road and Oregon 86. However, this report from Angelika Garroute of Wallowa Valley Online notes that the road will be open again (in gravel) probably by mid-November 2010. Paving will occur in 2011.
If you're thinking about that Hells Canyon/ Eastern Oregon vacation including a trip through Joseph Oregon, give us a call about the road. The Wallowa Mountain Loop Road normally closes to through traffic sometime in November because of snow, but is kept plowed from Joseph to the Salt Creek Summit for winter outdoor sport access.
Besides, the fall colors are really coming on and it's beautiful here even in November!
It's nice to find things to do near Wallowa Lake when you're on vacation in Eastern Oregon. With Highway 39 closed near the junction of Highways 39 and Oregon 86, you can still reach most of the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road (Highway 39) from the Joseph Oregon side.
Even the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast innkeepers get to enjoy the sights around here every now and then! Bill & I recently drove out to Harl Butte off of Highway 39. There's an historic fire lookout there. When we arrived we were surprised to find not only the historic building but an individual manning the lookout as well. From his vantage point he could see into the Imnaha River drainage, plus from his location you could see the fire lookout tower at Hat Point and across Hells Canyon into Idaho.
What impressed us most was the hand-stacked volcanic rock wall surround the lookout site (he told us a previous lookout had spent 10 summers erecting the wall). Someone obviously had a lot of time on his hands in between watching for lightning strikes and monitoring fires in Northeastern Oregon and across Hells Canyon in Idaho!
Harl Butte is about 1 1/2 hours from Wallowa Lake. When planning your Eastern Oregon vacation, consider adding it as an out-of-the-way place for vast beauty. We keep maps here at our Eastern Oregon lodging to get you there and back again. Hope to see you soon!
So here we are at the end of May 2010 and the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway is now unofficially open! Checked with the Forest Service this week and, although there are parts of the road that are down to one lane because of snow, the road between Joseph and Hells Canyon is passable. What a relief!
My contact at the Forest Service tells me that the road will be officially open once the snow is all melted and any rocks and debris are cleared from the road (which will be soon). So, if you've wanted to know about Highway 39, or the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road, or the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway (all the same places)--the answer is yes!
This photo was taken in July 2009 at Hat Point and you get the idea of the abundance of wildflowers in the area. It's a little early yet, but the flowers are coming soon too!
If you're looking for some Hells Canyon lodging along the way, our Eastern Oregon bed and breakfast is right along the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. We're not the most convenient to Hells Canyon Dam (about 2:45 hours from the dam), but we're about 2 hours from scenic Hat Point in Hells Canyon and less than 2 hours from the Hells Canyon Overlook. Not much is convenient in the way of Hells Canyon lodging, but Joseph Oregon is a good jumping-off point!
We've noticed that sometimes our blog is found by people searching for "Things to do in Joseph Oregon" so we thought we'd write about things to see and do here. The Chief Joseph Days Rodeo always takes place during the days leading up to the last full weekend in July and the last weekend.
Even if you're not a big rodeo fan, there's plenty to do in Joseph Oregon during rodeo week. It's a gala time--all the shops, restaurants & galleries on Main Street Joseph Oregon are open and decorated for the event. This year there'll even be a carnival set up (just not quite sure where yet). And then there's the Chief Joseph Days parade on Saturday--lots of pageantry, horses, musical groups and a bit of humor. . .
On Tuesday afternoon, the bucking broncs will "stampede" (really, it's a controlled trot) down Main Street heading for the rodeo grounds. Nightly rodeo performances will take place Wednesday through Saturday nights. With tickets priced at $12 to $18 most anyone can attend and see one of the best small town outdoor rodeos in the Pacific Northwest.
If you're still planning your Eastern Oregon vacation for the summer, think about visiting Joseph Oregon during rodeo week. We still have two rooms open at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast over the weekend of rooms available during the week.
So, by now you're probably planning your Eastern Oregon vacation for the summer. If you like to hike, then basing yourself from Joseph Oregon can be a good compromise if someone in your party likes the creature comforts.
Here's a 2008 video of a couple hiking into Ice Lake. This hike is a long one-day hike (7.7 miles each way from the Wallowa Lake trailhead), but we've had some guests here at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast that did the hike in one day and even took an hour at the top to read a book and enjoy the sunshine!
If you'd like more information for planning your hiking vacation, we suggest getting a copy of Fred Barstad's Hiking Oregon's Eagle Cap Wilderness as a good start. Fred's trail descriptions, drawings and diagrams are very good.
And if you're looking for a place to stay in Joseph Oregon with plenty of creature comforts, we've plenty of room on our availability calendar for your summertime hiking adventures. You can use the buttons at the right of the blog page to link to our calendar. See you on the trail!
You just never know who will walk through the door when you own a bed and breakfast. This week Joachim Becker, president of Zoho Music in New York, graced our little Hells Canyon lodging with his presence.
Joachim was on his way to Portland and decided to see a little of our fantastic Eastern Oregon countryside on his way. I wish we could've gotten him the spectacular view of Hells Canyon from Hat Point but the road is still snowed in. Just a good excuse for another visit to our Hells Canyon lodging in the summer or fall when the road is open.
Zoho Music is about to release a tribute compilation of music written by Oklahoma-born songwriter, singer and guitarist JJ Cale. Watch for "Tribute to JJ Cale, Volume 1: The Vocal Sessions" on June 10, 2010. Joachim was kind enough to leave an advance copy with us and with our other guests. The liner notes are clear, concise, and reveal a lot about JJ Cale as well as all the wonderful musicians appearing on this release.
We wished Joachim well on his drive to Portland, then loaded the CD for kitchen cleaning duty. With a variety of artists contributing to this CD from Swamp Cabbage to The Persuasions to Greg Skaff & Jimmy Hall among others, it's just the ticket for a voyage through classic American roots music! Thank you, Joachim!
The announcement we've all been waiting for: Mutiny Brewing Company in Joseph Oregon is brewing beer! Just last Sunday, April 18, 2010, the Facebook post appeared,
"Mutiny is brewing"
It looks like the release party is scheduled for the second weekend in May--Mother's Day Weekend. It's the same weekend as the Joseph Gallery Walk, so there'll be lots to see and do in this little Eastern Oregon vacation spot in a couple of weeks.
Congratulations, Kari! This Joseph Oregon bed and breakfast already knows what great food your restaurant serves up for our guests. And adding your own beer will be icing on the cake!
This morning I served breakfast for two. Our guests are taking an early Spring Eastern Oregon vacation and enjoying the slower pace at this time of year. Over their vegetarian breakfast (today consisting of cream sherry soaked orange slices sprinkled with unsweeted dried coconut, local farm-raised eggs, sauteed apples & onions, tomatoes marinated in balsamic vinegar, and Morningstar Farms breakfast patties), we talked about ginger.
Turns out she loves ginger and he enjoys it too. So, I pulled out my favorite products from The Ginger People. She hadn't heard of this company before and was enthused to know they make such a variety of ginger products. I have a feeling the Ginger Juice and Ginger Syrup will probably be on the breakfast table tomorrow with the whole wheat waffles.
I sent them off to hike along the Imnaha River well below the snow line still very obvious here in the Wallowa Mountains. They have a few Ginger Chews from The Ginger People in their pockets. These particular chews are the Hot Coffee variety. I typically don't leave these chews out for the guests because they are an acquired taste, but it's fun to share them with guests that enjoy both ginger and coffee!
We love delighting our guests with a little of the unusual. If an Eastern Oregon bed and breakfast is part of your travel plans this year, our Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast might supply a little of the unusual for you!
We all know the look--dragging, dark circles under the eyes, somewhat sleep deprived--parents of young children sometimes need a break. Thank goodness for two things: Grandparents and the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast! 
Seems like every spring people start searching, wanting to know if the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway road between Joseph and Halfway is open. Here we are after Easter 2011 and it's not yet open for the season--sometime in May is more like it. This road is not plowed so the opening date is (among other things) weather dependent.
It's springtime in Eastern Oregon which means it's time to update the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast wine list and get ready for the summer visitors to Joseph Oregon.
A lot of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is not for mountain bikes because the Eagle Cap Wilderness lies within the forest boundary. But, there still is mountain biking near Joseph Oregon and inside the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
When we first moved to Joseph Oregon there was a bed and breakfast already operating 6 miles away in Enterprise that jokingly called themselves "Bed and Get Your Own Damn Breakfast" because there were kitchenettes in their guest suites.
No guests on the afternoon of January 2, 2011, so Heather & I took off for a lower elevation hike along the Imnaha River. We hoped to get to the confluence of the Imnaha and the Snake River in Hells Canyon, but got too late of a start (we did serve breakfast this morning).
It's nice to find things to do near Wallowa Lake when you're on vacation in Eastern Oregon. With Highway 39 closed near the junction of Highways 39 and Oregon 86, you can still reach most of the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road (Highway 39) from the Joseph Oregon side.
My contact at the Forest Service tells me that the road will be officially open once the snow is all melted and any rocks and debris are cleared from the road (which will be soon). So, if you've wanted to know about Highway 39, or the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road, or the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway (all the same places)--the answer is yes!
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