We've been innkeeping here in Joseph Oregon since 2001 when we opened the Bronze Antler Bed and Breakfast.  Joseph is a small, art-oriented town in Northeastern Oregon next to Wallowa Lake and the Wallowa Mountains.  You won't find any Joseph Oregon Hotels here (there are none).  This town features only one motel and a few bed and breakfast lodging establishments.  I hope this blog will give you a feel for what's going on here and what sorts of things innkeepers think about.

Tune in for more!
Heather
Bronze Antler Bed&Breakfast

All this kerfluffle about doiles.  We've been lambasted with unsolicited emails from the "Crochet for a New Day" Super PAC suggesting we should join the ranks of bed and breakfast inns supporting the motto of "A doily on every nightstand."

And we've seen our share of the opposing "Liberate our Furniture" Super PAC emails urging bed and breakfasts to "eliminate doilies from every bureau in the country."

 

Well, we've taken our stand.  Here at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast we've had too many compliments from male guests thanking us over and over for not having a doily in sight.  "I've been to so many bed and breakfasts with my wife where I'm afraid to sit on anything, there's nowhere to set anything down, and the doilies! She did me right by bringing me here!" As far as we're concerned, doilies are out, romantic getaway is in!

We're proud to be members of the No-Doily Party, but we know that there's room in America for the Pro-Doilies too. We encourage you to vote for your party of choice: Doily or No-Doily at the Better Way To Stay website (did I mention that there's a drawing for a complimentary stay at an inn who shares your convictions?) 

Get out there and vote your choice - Doily or No-Doily.  And we'll see you No-Doily supporters for your romantic getaway Oregon style and doily-free!

 

It's not often that we get a special request for breakfast. Our typical rotation of "sweet" breakfast one day and "savory" breakfast the next satisfies the majority of our guests.  But every now and then a repeat guest asks for something special on the menu.  Since it was his birthday and there were no other guests scheduled into our bed and breakfast that morning we were happy to honor the request (of course, his wife was more than happy with the breakfast we'd planned).

And what was it the birthday boy wanted for his special meal?  Steak and eggs?  Waffles and whipped cream?  How about steel cut oats with all the fixings?  YES!!!

A comment from the Mirror Lake Suite guest journal after their departure:

Wonderful bed!  Wonderful breakfast!  Isn't that what it's all about?  And. . .in Heather's absence, Bill did ALL the breakfast -- including the steel cut oats. . .and 'twas GR8!

I'm sorry I don't have a photo of that special oat breakfast (I was away from our Joseph Oregon lodging that week), but rest assured that Bob's Red Mill award-winning Steel Cut Oats played a prominent role in satisfying the birthdays boy's special request.  

And if you're thinking about asking for steel cut oats during your stay, we always keep a supply of Bob's Red Mill in the larder.  You just never know when a guest is going to have oats on his mind!

 

The last African Drumming session of the 2011-2012 winter season takes place at Lear's Irish Pub (I know it sounds a little corny--African Drums & Irish Pub) on Friday, April 13, 2012.  Starts at 7 pm.  A good time to get out and dance and shake off the last of the winter blues!

We take African drumming seriously out here in Eastern Oregon.  This group meets regularly and then performs on occasion at Lears.  A not to be missed event!

If you plan to drop in for the drumming you'll need somewhere to stay afterwards.  Of course we recommend our Eastern Oregon lodging just a 10 minute drive away from Enterprise in Joseph, OR. All three rooms and our over-the-top suite are still available for Friday night.  And no two-night minimum during April.  That means all you Eastern Oregon people living in nearby communities like LaGrande or Pendleton have the opportunity for a quick weekend getaway.  See ya soon!

Before you know it the Joseph Oregon Car Show aka "Oregon Mountain Cruise" will be here for 2012.  It's always the second weekend in June here in Joseph Oregon.

Here are the top reasons to book your room now at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast:   

1. We still have availability!  The Chief Joseph Mountain Room is still open for Friday & Saturday nights, June 8 & 9, 2012.  Pretty unusual. Book here.
2. Our Joseph bed and breakfast is located right on Main Street one block walking distance to the Oregon Mountain Cruise so you can easily walk back and forth to your show car.
3. Lineup for the event is right in front of our house on Saturday morning so you can see all the cars as they get ready to move into the Main Street show area.
4. We have a hose right in our B&B parking area so you can freshen up that shine.
5. If you stay with us for the 2012 car show, then you have first priority for the same room in 2013.

This year's Joseph Oregon car show theme is "Roaring Twenties"--how approriate since our bed and breakfast was originally constructed in the 1920s (not as a Joseph Oregon hotel but as a private residence).  We're excited to see how the participants are going to dress.  Maybe a photo or two in front of the B&B is in order.

We're looking forward to a full house for the Oregon Mountain Cruise.  Don't miss the opportunity--book through our website or call us before someone else gets the reservation!

 

The Wallowa Mountains are picture perfect for backcountry skiing. One of the local outfitters running trips is Wallowa Alpine Huts.  I just couldn't resist this video from their "WAH TV" channel on YouTube.  Fantastic conditions, great skiers--you'll notice no one is skiing in anyone else's tracks.  And where are the crowds?  None.

Early Spring is still time for great skiing.  If you need one more dose of a snowy Eastern Oregon vacation, check out Wallowa Alpine Huts, or check our other blog posts for information on skiing (use the search box at the right).

Lodging options?  You're not going to find any Joseph Oregon hotels or Wallowa Lake hotels, but the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast is ready to host you at the beginning or end of your backcountry ski trip.

Bill & I spent St Patrick's Day this year at the Northeast Oregon Bridal Show in LaGrande, Oregon.  What a fun event--it's our second year participating.

Everyone was there.  Vendors with bridal party attire, wedding rings, DJs, wedding cakes, fine chocolates, even turtle doves!  Our booth showcased our romantic getaway Oregon style with two computer screens displaying images of our Joseph Oregon lodging.  Bill wore one of his Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast dress shirts.  I decided to dress up for the event in some sillky PJs, fuzzy slippers, and a stylish Bronze Antler B&B spa robe.  Needless to say I was the envy of the vendors!

We talked with quite a few brides, their friends and relatives.  And some other vendors too.  We love the opportunity to showcase our property.  And bed and breakfast lodging makes great sense for wedding planning.  We've hosted quite a few couples on their wedding night or on their honeymoon, as well as relatives and wedding guests..

If you're planning a NE Oregon wedding we'd love to talk with you about how our bed and breakfast might work into your plans.  We're not a Wallowa Lake hotel or a Joseph Oregon hotel but still have plenty to offer.  

 

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!