Camping Trip Part 1

Thursday morning, we left on a camping trip with our friends the Kelloggs. We were planning to head to eastern Oregon and camp for several days on Wallowa Lake. This wasn't our original plan. Omid and I had planned to go clamming at Willapa Bay; but somehow Ward talked us into going camping. So....we headed out with beautiful sunshine and hoping for HOT weather. Unfortunately the weather had other plans. By the time we rolled into Wallowa Lake, it was 54* and raining cats and dogs. Just pouring. I should probably mention that we are tent campers. The Kelloggs brought their camper and the kids, moms and dogs huddled inside to keep warm & dry while Omid, Matty & Ward set up our tent in the POURING RAIN.

"If I wanted it to be cold and wet, I would have gone clamming in Willapa Bay!"

A lull before the real storm hit.

Staying warm inside the camper (all 10 of us!).

Warm & dry.

We went to bed only to wake up around 1:00 a.m. with our tent completely wet (inside & out). Our bedding, our clothes, everything - it was terrible. We tried to make the best of it (this was our lemons/lemonade moment) and made it through to morning. We heard people packing up & leaving all night long. We certainly thought about leaving too!! Omid, all the kids and I went into town to see if we could find a motel that accepted pets. No such luck. So...we stopped at a place called the Cheyenne Cafe to get dry & take the kids for breakfast while Omid and I planned our escape.

See those two tables of 'locals' in the back. When we walked in, every head turned to stare at us. It made us real nervous. Omid is recreating the 'look' they gave us as we wallked in.

Nas ordered this giant cinnamon roll. Yum!


While the kids ate, Omid and I were researching where the sun had gone to. We decided to leave Wallowa Lake as #1 our tent was ruined (in the park dumpster) and #2 there was no lodging to be found. I pulled the 'ace' card I'd been saving since before we left home out of my sleeve. I reasoned that since we were only about 125 miles from Pullman, lets head there. We checked the weather report and that Omid was sold. 80* and sunny. But first we thought we would camp at Hell's Gate State Park in Lewiston, Idaho. They had pet friendly cabins for rent and we could still take the boat out on the Snake River. So, we packed up the kids & headed back to Wallowa Lake to tell Lin & Ward we were leaving. They could come with us or stick it out. They wisely decided to come with us.

Our cute cabin at Hell's Gate State Park in Lewiston, Idaho.

Stay tuned for Part 2: PULLMAN!!!!