Just visited Joseph & Wallowa Lake a couple weeks ago for the first time. Easily one of the coolest spots I've been to in the PNW.

It had been 3 years since we've been crippled by a death ridge, figure that we were overdue. Doesn't make it any less boring or expensive.

Csb is what the westside climate is (mild summer, mild winter, Mediterranean precip pattern). Csa is classic Mediterranean, same thing but warmest month averages warmer than 22C - Southern Oregon valley floors are Csa, PDX is actually surprisingly close to hitting Csa now too. Joseph's climate is more like Montana than it is like even central Oregon. It's so far east and so cut off from maritime influence that its precipitation peak is actually April-June because of the thunderstorm season, not November-January like it is in most of Oregon. And yeah, winters are cold. Think basically 4-5 months a year where snow is the default precip type, single digit lows happen pretty regularly even in "dud" winters.

Looks like a pretty bad smoke event is underway in the UP and northern lower MI. Many obs with haze/smoke, and some areas have visibility under 1 mile.

its such a neat looking area and I've been dying to explore but haven't yet