“Is there really a monster here?” one of the girls asked. We had talked about Wallowa Lake & Big Wally on the 5 hour car ride there. Wallowa Lake is located in Eastern Oregon, so it seemed like as good of a spot as any to meet J! It was a very short trip but good to see J & change up the scenery.
The towns around Wallowa Lake are small, the people are friendly, and the scenery beautiful. The drive in had me wishing I was able to look around instead of drive on those windy roads!
Something I have really loved about being in the Pacific Northwest is getting the opportunity to learn about the Native American tribes up here & experiencing all the diversity in land!
Wallowa: “winding water”
In Nez Perce, Wallowa means winding water. This is in reference to the Wallowa River which ends up in Lake Wallow. This lake was formed by a glacier and is nearly 300 feet deep (which is impressive for a lake this small!)
The lake is also home to a Nez Perce legend “Big Wally”. Big Wally’s legend stems from a story where the Nez Perce and Blackfoot tribes were at war. Legend has it that the daughter of the Nez Perce chief fell in love with the son of the Blackfoot chief. One night, they went out onto Wallowa Lake. Realizing what was happening, the local tribes ventured out onto the lake after them and every was killed by Wally. Rumor has it, the Nez Perce don’t venture out onto the lake to this day.
Old Chief Joseph
One of the towns on Wallowa Lake is Joseph, named after Old Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. His gravesite is at a beautiful spot at the base of Wallowa Lake. Old Chief Joseph fought for the Nez Perce to stay in this area until his death in 1871. Unfortunately, the Nez Perce relocated to the Nez Perce reservation in 1877 in Idaho (located close to “The Heart of the Monster” where the Nez Perce legends say they originated from.) We’ve also stayed there and I plan to do a post on the area at some point!
Terminal Gravity Brewery
I had packed some PB&Js + fruit for our little adventure, but that evening we were STARVING. We love supporting local businesses, so headed over to Terminal Gravity Brewery and were not disappointed. We’re early supper eaters (5-6pm) so didn’t have to wait & got lots of delicious food & beer.
Hopefully we’ll be back soon! But in the meantime, you can check out the short video I made while we were there!
Leave a Reply