November in the Wallowa Valley

If you’ve ever been to Enterprise or Joseph in northeast Oregon, you know the Wallowa Valley is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  It’s easy to see why legendary Chief Joseph and the Nez Pierce made this their summer home.  Upon entering the high valley about an hour’s drive east of LaGrande, the first thing you see are the Wallowa mountains which are barely noticeable on your right.  They start small, then slowly reveal higher, steeper granite ridges, and jagged peaks as you continue eastward to Joseph. 

Blessed with a wonderful sister who made Joseph her family home for a period of time, we were very fortunate to experience the Wallowas both in summer and in November.   As good as our summer visits were – our Thanksgiving visits were special.  The dramatic scenery, and combination of warmth of family with the cold outside, is etched in my mind forever.  I particularly remember the quaint shops of Joseph to start our Christmas shopping and how different “Black Friday” is far away from the mega malls across America.  It was like being in a Grandma Moses painting.  My sister and her family have since moved back to Montana.  Not necessarily a bad place – but virtually impossible to get to for a four day Thanksgiving weekend.  We still see her and her family at Christmas in Bend.  This painting captures our wonderful memories of November in the Wallowa Valley.