An Early, Four Mile Morning Walk on the Canyon Rim...Smoky Skies!

Woke up and was gonna make a cup of Joe, and Jer ask "Wanna walk this morning?"   No, I did not readily say "YES"... but had to hem and haw for a sec, looked at the temp (64), and decided, if I didn't do it now, wouldn't do it at all... So, got dressed and off we went.  An entrance to the Rim Trail was right at the end of the cul-de-sac. By the way, the whole trail is 12 miles long, one way, and ends at the Shoshone Falls; and no, we didn't ever walk the whole trail... we're not that crazy!

Glad we did, cuz we had some spectacular views.  The sun was orange and even created a beautiful shine on the Snake River 486 feet below. We even found some geocaches along the way which was fun!  We were hoping on the trail we might find where the Perrine/Coulee falls originate from, and sure enough we did!  Just a rushing, busy creek that comes to a crashing trip of the side of the hill!  You can see in the pics, it actually has a couple tumbles over the hillside before the BIG one that we have encountered the last couple days.  One more unexpected treat:  got a bridge picture!!!

Evening found us meeting up with D and his dad for a “ride” and then dinner.  Now, our ride was for 90  minutes with a stop for some special creamery ice cream on the way to the restaurant... yup, dessert before dinner!  Len knows all the fields/farms/etc from his time working with the sugar beet company, we hit some real dusty roads in the process.    There is so much farming here (beets, corn, beans mostly) and dairy farms and some cattle ranches.  Then, we found ourselves in a whole different part of the canyon we went down and then back up.  The rock formations, well, they reminded me of Tucson.  And, they have the famous Balance Rock!  Yup, we got that traditional picture you would expect!  

Tomorrow we bid adieu to this place…What new adventures await us?

An overlook on the rim... my feet are hanging over nothing... Falls are on the right... 

As we walked, we found where the Perrine Coulee starts falling into the canyon... this is before the big falls.

Here's the coulee when it's just a tumbling creek!

Our place was up above this cliff...

We turned in from the trail, and there's our car and our digs

Leaving our dust trail!

Thought this was funny... find my phone app...

 

Today, the Backside of Perrine-Coulee Falls

 Got a bit of late start, but got on the road for a quick java and snack before we found our way to the Falls we saw yesterday, but this time, we hiked the path that took us behind them.  Interesting thing we learned... there was actually a road behind them in the 1800's... keep in mind, it was mostly a road for carts and horses.  Anyway, was a fun journey and pics, well, they don't let you feel the spray and hear the noise!

Left the area and drove out to Shoshone Falls... and BOY were they running today... as was the crowd that was visiting the park.  That good old National Park Pass came in handy as the State Parks here recognize it and you get in free!!!  

Went down to the viewing platform after a bit of walk through the gorgeous GREEN grass and trees in the park... rolling little hills... pretty cool!  Anyway, I turned around to only find out that I was the only one going to the platform.  Jerry stayed up above.  Oh well, I got my pics so I was a happy camper.

Came home and showered... We have a Celebration of Life for a special lady to attend this evening!!!

We stopped forward motion at the arrow, the path had stuff blocking an easy walk

Out for an Explore by Myself; Later, a Search for the Perrine/Coulee Falls

Jer had an early wakeup to go golfing with about 12 folks here; I was planning on sleeping in and having a great slow morning just for me!  Couldn't get back to sleep, figures, so I left for a walk, which was smart, cuz that early it was already 69 degrees out.  I could see there's a HUGE Mormon Temple here... used that spot as a destination then went wandering the neighborhood.  Man oh man, some BIG and EXPENSIVE houses around the temple.  As I ventured out further, very nice homes, but not quite as opulent as the ones I saw earlier.

Got back home, had some brekky, decided I'd get Ruby washed up and go charge her.  Car wash, done; charging happening; time for a walk along the Snake Canyon Rim.  So pretty... walked back to the car, saw Jerry was there (they dropped him off after golfing at the charging station) and looked at the car!  OH DANG... a super thick coating of dust.  Right behind the station, there was construction happening and a front loader was scrapping the dry, rocky dirt... creating it's own dust storm.   Oh well, not the end of the world.

Got some lunch and drove to the Perrine-Coulee Falls. Took some time to get to the right spot... one time GPS was not the greatest.  Gonna go back tomorrow and try to hike behind them.  They say it's possible and we saw a path there.

Checked into our B&B, rested up a minute or so, and then met up with our friends for a ride out to enjoy their family's Hot Dog Dinner... A very nice way to top off the day! 

Isn't this a cute shed J created... it's had many lives on the property, and was moved by the creek and now has all sorts of "Paint by Numbers" portraits on the wall... Way fun!

The creek is really a Coulee, water which flows throughout the area providing irrigation and flood mitigation or something like that... Even in the neighborhood I walked in earlier, I could see and then hear under them, grates with water flowing quickly.

  

Driving Across Oregon into Idaho Watching the Topography Change

So, our day started out, clear, blue, and comfy.  Pendleton is a town that had much to offer (underground tours for one thing!) but since we had a deadline to meet, we just stayed the one evening, had a great breakfast with our fellow B & B guests, and realized just how many things that are fun to do while in town listening to them talk.  Maybe a trip in the future?  

 When we left, the area had lots of brown rolling hills... we climbed a pass, and the next thing you know, trees!  lots of them!!!  Kept on going and the trees became more sparse.  Then, back to more barren land.  Still, very pretty in a different way.  Speed limit was 80, which was nice, and of course, Jerry managed to inch that up to a bit more!  Not many pics today... the last 3 hours of driving found the whole area quite hazy from all the smoke blowing in.  Fortunately, no fires where we are, but the air is suffering from the fires further away!

Three trailer trucks... are everywhere...

Cruise control set at 90... speed limit, 80... car really makes that speed seem like you're doing 55!

Love the view... not so much... Haze hid it all!