The skies cleared out today and we took advantage of the opportunity. We drove four hours from our campsite up to Hat Point in Oregon. The trek up to the peak begins in this tiny little hamlet called Imnaha; the road itself is well paved dirt, climbing nearly a mile all the way up to 7000' within 24 miles, with a hefty drop off the side. Pretty gnarly. Thankfully for us, we were the only human beings on the entire mountain, so we got to enjoy the mildly smoky vistas off the basalt peninsula all to ourselves, without careening into Hell's canyon trying to avoid a speedy pickup truck. The peak itself was really cool. A well made interperative site with benches and campgrounds and informational plackards, sweeping views of the Snake River and Devil's Range accross the Idaho border, and a paved footpath all the way up to the base of the fire tower at the top. The fact that there was no one else (not even a ranger) for the entire hour we were up there made it really eerie. Back at the bottom in Imnaha we drank iced cream soda from the town tavern. There was a lot more that I didn't include here or even take photos of, including the fairytale-like Little Sheep Creek which followed the highway down to Imnaha from Joseph, or the homemade salsa we bought out of a little shopkeep on Tucker Down Rd. Safe to say we really made the most of it today... And there's so so much more I want to explore down here that we didn't get to seeing today due to the smoke. Next year in late spring I'm coming back down during peak bloom, well before the smoke season (and during peak season as well). I want to see more of the Wallowa range and the Zumwalt Prairie, and I want to try camping up on Hat Point. Incredible area. I've fallen in love

Mom and dad were a little confused and frightened at first but they enjoyed your visit.

beautiful night from my suite balcony in Astoria…no smoke

I’m glad I’m at the coast this week, but this is back home in Cashmere.