Friendship Part 2...40º

Our friends arrived Sunday afternoon in a soaking rainstorm, mountains in our Wallowa Valley hidden from view...A spaghetti dinner (one of our favorites from our younger days) was almost ready and while we ate, the conversation quickly started with, "Do you remember ??"...We passed the afternoon and evening around the dinner table and retired to the living room sharing memories from the past...Tired from many days on the road, they bid us goodnight.

Jerry and Louan

Morning dawned, sun shone, mountain tops glistened with their covering of new snow, a perfect day to see the sights...After a breakfast of pancakes and egg scramble, Wallowa Lake was our first destination...We stopped at the Chief Joseph Monument where Jerry took photo's of the lake and mountains, they were in awe of the beautiful place where we live...We watched the "red fish" (Kokanee) fighting their way up stream to the spawning beds, saw a 3 point buck in the park, drove by and talked about the Mt Howard Gondola (closed for the season) and the scenery that can be seen from the top of Mt Howard...Back to Joseph and toward Imnaha to view the mountains from a different perspective, took photo's of the six sided barn before taking a circuitous route back to the City of Joseph...Browsed our way through Valley Bronze, Josephy Center of Arts and Culture and viewed all of the bronze statues on main street.

Six sided barn on Tucker Down Road

Back on Barton Heights we took a break, then ate our dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, bread, fresh sliced tomatoes and fruit for dessert...Our final tour for the day found us at the Tim Norman Foundry on Mawhin road, where we learned about the art of Bronze...The lost wax process, sculpting, casting, patina and the many hours of labor that go into this endeavor...We came away with a greater appreciation of the "Art on Main street".

Our evening was spent visiting, snacking on lemon zucchini bread, looking at family photos of kids and grandkids as they are today...We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day with friends as we hugged good bye, wished them a safe journey and made tentative plans to meet halfway for another visit, the time passed way to fast...Hugs To All...OWAV:)