Wildflower Tour of Northeastern Oregon

(This post applies to adventures during the last week of April, 2016)

One of the many hillsides of beautiful sun flowers

Back in March, S.D arranged a late April tour of the Outdoors RV factory in La Grande, (Northeastern) Oregon. That's where our little home was built and April seemed about the right time since we also wanted to be in Ashland, OR the second week of May. Having sprinted through Northern Utah, Northern Nevada and Southern Idaho we found ourselves at the factory, mid-April, a week ahead of schedule.

The La Grande valley itself is largely agricultural, with a lumber mill and two RV manufactures thrown in. There are several smallish rivers and lots of mountains surrounding the plain.  In mid-April the weather was sunny, and warm in the daytime. The valley was green with the new spring grass and budding trees. The mountains however, were covered with large amounts of snow. It was beautiful but also possible, we were a little early for camping in Northeastern Oregon.

Unidentified purple flowers

We recalled from our previous time in Oregon that the natives seemed an adventurous bunch, undeterred by a rain or snow and walked into the Wallow-Whitman Forest Service Office to inquire about camping and hiking options. The Ranger inquired if we had noticed the snow? None of the Forest Service Campgrounds opened until at least May 1, and then only if the snow was gone. "You might" she ventured, "find that the state campgrounds are open."

Minam State Park - Camping under the flowers

We checked online, and it appeared that indeed they might...or they might not. It's amazing how unclear campground websites can be. But with hope in our hearts, and the promise from the Ranger that it was a beautiful spot we headed East up alongside the Minam River to the Minam State Campground. Thirty miles of winding paved and two miles of bumpy dirt road later, we arrived to find the campground. It was open, it was green and it was beautiful.

Calypso Orchid

It was at this point that we realized that while we might have been too early for our tour, hiking up into the mountains, or camping in the National Forest, we had arrived at just the right time for the wildflower bloom in the valleys. Big, bright yellow daisy-like flowers covered every hillside. Next to our campsite, and scattered throughout the forest were white and pink blooming wild apple trees. We walked along the swiftly flowing Minam River and found wild apple trees, sunflowers and some other purple flower.

The next day we left the Creekside (our RV) parked under the apple tree and drove further up the Wallow Valley along side the eponymous river, through the neat and tidy towns of Lostine Enterprise and Joseph, under hills covered in yellow flowers, through hay and grain fields, past greening cow and sheep pastures. It was raining and with no chance of getting a good hike in we settled for the next best thing(s). A good burger and a fresh microbrew at Terminal Gravity Brew Pub. (Middle of nowhere, and the center of the universe). By the time we returned home, the RV was lightly frosted in white apple blossoms.

We woke to sunshine the next morning and really wanting to do some hiking, decided to try our luck at Catherine Creek State Park. According to the website, and the state brochure, it was not only open, it also had hiking trails. To get there we drove back to La Grande, then wound south, along Catherine Creek, for twelve miles before arriving at the campground. It too was open! We pulled into a lovely spot beside the wildly flowing creek, set up for the night, and set out to find those hiking trails!

The bad news was that there was only one trail it was only a mile and half. The good news was that the trail climbed through a beautiful forest and there were lots more wildflowers. We saw a ... blooming Oregon grapes, Calypso Orchids, lupines and more. Probably more wildflowers per foot hiked than anywhere else.

Trout lily

Following the night at Catherine Creek we headed a bit North, this time headed for Bird Tracks Spring Campground. Unimaginatively named for the fact that a bird walked in drying cement around a spring head...and left tracks. There was also a trail there that went along the Grande Ronde river and was a birding hot spot. We didn't see many birds and we did find the spring head with the tracks but more remarkable was our campsite. It was surrounded by yellow trout lilies! I don't think they bloom for very many days so it was all the more remarkably that we were there for their brief show.

Two days later we toured the RV plant. No wildflowers there but it was a very interesting, two hour tour. Learned that RV manufacturing and boat building aren't all that different. Admittedly an RV will not float but the design efficiency, and parts have a great deal in common...and they make it all possible for us to be on the road and see more wildflowers!