Wallowa Lake

Monday - 30 June 2003: Joseph, Oregon - One more day... we decided to stay another day. Today, we went into Joseph to tour a bronze foundry. There are several to choose from. They all seem to charge about five or six dollars for a tour. We decided on the largest, most commercial foundry, David Manuel, which also has a small museum of Native American (featuring Nez Perce) clothing and for some strange reason, US military uniforms from Custer to Korea. (NOTE: The Manuel Museum and Foundry is no longer in Joseph.)

We were shown a short film which went through the Lost Wax Casting process of bronze sculpture. It is an old process, and very fascinating. (Who thinks of this stuff?) After viewing the film, we are walked through the process in the work rooms, and then taken to the artists studio. The "business" part of the talk, including a sales pitch, was quite boring and annoying (made me feel I had paid to listen to a sales pitch), but when we finally arrived at the artist studio and were able to see the artist sculpting the "cast" in clay - it was fascinating. David Manuel is famed throughout the Northwest and I have actually seen two of his works. He mostly does Western art - Cowboys and Indians - but also does native mammals, which I do enjoy. He has finished what he says will most likely be his "masterpiece" - Lewis & Clark, a composition of several figures meeting on the Columbia River during the Corp of Discovery. Manuel is the "official sculpture" of the Lewis & Clark Bi-Centennial. He researched the details of the work for over four years - from what a local fisherman would be wearing in 1805, to what Lewis & Clark would wear when they would meet with local leaders. Sacagawea is also present - but her husband, Charbonneau, is not - because Manuel said he didn't care for him. (As a student of Lewis & Clark myself, I understand completely.) The different figures of the composed statue come apart in pieces for casting.

David Manuel with his clay sculpture - nearly ready for casting

After our tour, we went to other galleries and foundry show-rooms in town. We didn't find anything we couldn't live without, so walked back to the Old Town Cafe, where we had enjoyed a wonderful meal on our first day in town. This time, the place wasn't so busy and we had a moment to chat with the friendly owner. Her husband is a land surveyor, thus the cartography equipment and maps all over the place. DT had the veggie scramble - eggs, potatoes, vegetables - and I had the lunch special - a green chili quesadilla with a cup of black bean soup. Spicy and wonderful. After lunch, we looked into a few more shops. The quality of the local artisans in this part of the world is pretty outstanding.

Later, we went down to the marina at Wallowa Lake State Park and hired a little boat for the afternoon. We had planned to rent a canoe, but it (I guess they only have one?) was taken, so we ended up with a 14-foot aluminum boat with a motor. Not quite a peaceful afternoon on the lake, but we had so much fun! First off, the guy rented us boat #81 - The Beaver. The boat was in contrast to her "sister ship", #33 - The Duck. The Duck was having engine trouble anyway, so we took The Beaver out on the lake. There were less than 10 boats on the lake this afternoon, so we basically had the place to ourselves.

A view from the lake

Our first stop was to the far south end of the lake, where the creek enters the shore. Here an American Bald Eagle has made a nest and has hatched not one, not two, but three babies! At only one month old, they are nearly as large as the mother, but have yet to fly. All three of them were flapping their wings and catching the breeze and I would say it only a matter of days before they fly. It was fun listening to Mom squawk at them - I really think she was encouraging them to take off! Later, she flew about 1/4-mile down the lake and perched in a tree... probably needed a time-out from all their crying.

Bald Eagle

As we started our "cruise" I noticed smoke was coming over the mountain from the west, and the sadly-all-too-familiar smell of forest fire was suddenly in the air. By the time we returned our trusty craft, it was quite hazy over the lake. We took the boat along the western shore to look at the houses along the lake side. We saw a deer on the shore and a few fish were jumping. (We have seen many rainbow trout caught over the past few days.) Later, we took the boat over to a swim platform and tied-up and dozed in the sun for a while. It was just a beautiful day on the lake. When we were on the swim deck - I actually had cell service, so we phoned Lisa. She was horrified we were on a boat in a lake and feared for our safety. (Probably due to our old age.)

"Wild" wildlife at Wallowa Lake State Park

I snapped this photo of a young buck in Wallowa Lake State Park. The deer was only interested in hand-outs from the boys and when they offered him none, went back to eating the lawn. The deer could have cared less about the humans - this deer could be the "pet" of the campground for all we know.

We are staying in tonight. DT is BBQing chicken breasts that I have been marinating all day. I made a big salad, the Mariners are on TV, the weather is perfect... a beautiful end to a beautiful day. There was no news of a raging forest fire near here, so I am hoping it is smoke blowing in from far away.

RV Park: Park at the River - Eagle Cap Chalets