Day 9

This morning we actually got to sleep in until 7:45!!!  We have been just hanging out at Wenix's house making paint out of milk and pigmented rocks and plants. Later we will be makinh our way to Spokane. YAY FOR BEING BACK IN MY HOME STATE!!! For now we are just taking our time getting ready to head out.

I can not express how thankful I am for the hospitality shown to our troup by Wenix and her family. It is amazing to me that she allowed us to completely overtake her home. I will never forget the compassion shown to me here in Umatilla and I hope in the future I will be able to extend the same kindness to others.

Wenix's mothers Glass Art

Painted Hills Near John Day, OR

Day 8: Tough Trails

This morning we packed up camp in Wallowa and headed towards Umatilla, OR. We headed straight to the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservtion  (CTUIR) and met Wenix Redelk (Departmemt of Natural Resources Education and Outreach Coordinator for CTUIR). She showed us a Power Point of First Foods Management  (traditional foods used by the tribes). It was pretty educational.

Later, Wenix took is to the Meacham Creek Restoration Project. In order to get to the project, we had to travel quite a ways on a sketchy gravel rode. On the way there,  Wenix rode with Band Wagon and they ended up stopping in the middle of the road. Turns out, they had a flat tire. It also turns out MY van, Flaming Eagle, also had a flat tire. Geo, a White Swan student came to the rescue and helped change the tires and we made it to the project.  The project itself was really interesting. When the railroad was built, they changed the course of the Meacham Creek by pinning it against the foot hills to prevent flooding the tracks.  Now they are reversing the effects of the railroad builders by restoring the natural pattern of the stream.  This restoration is allowing for native salmon species to return and spawn successfully.

We left the project and made our way back, BUT, surprise surprise,  War Poney got not one, but TWO flat tires!!!! Ughhhhh. If you're keeping track for this trip, thats one flat for White Fox before our trip even started,  one flat for War Poney near Madras, OR, one flat for Band Wagon, One flat for Flaming Eagle, and TWO more flats for War Poney. Thats SIX flats!!! The most unfortunate part about the tire situation is that War Pony only had one spare and they had to wait, stranded in the heat, until there second spare arrived.

Wenix allowd our exhausted crew to set up camp in her back yard and made us feel right at home. She and her sister opened up their homes to 25 strangers. We were able to play volleyball and finally sit and relax. For the first time this trip, I didn't feel homesick at all, at least not until I called home and talked with my family. Later, Wenix and her sister made us Indian Tacos for dinner (YUMMM!). After dinner,  while some of us were waiting to shower, Wenix allowed us to sit in her house and watch Pitch Perfect. It was a perfect end to a rough day.

Day 7: Fisheries, Elmer Crow, and Powwoww

Today we went to the Nez Perce Tribe's fishery. We woke up at 6:30 and Jim Harbeck (Field Officer Super for Nez Perce Fishery). He led us a few miles down the road to Lostine River, near the town of Wallowa, OR, to the Nez Perce Weir at Lostine River. When we arrived at the fishery, Jim gave us some information about the salmon population here in Wallowa.I learned a lot about the conditions salmon prefer to live in. For example, the love  cold, clean water. Jim also told us that the salmon had to cross 8 dams to reach the weir we were at. The weir expanded the entire width of Lostine River in order to capture all of the salmon coming through the river. The salmon we were able to view today were "Spring Chinook". At this specific site, the salmon captured are measured for length, sex, age. They are also checked for internal identification tags, and injected with an antibiotic. Jacks are young (3 year old) male salmon that have, for some reason or another, decided to return to the stream to spawn, even though they are still juviniles. The jacks are tossed into a tank that will eventually be used for the tribe, as well as for research for the fisherie. The older adults are tossed into tanks at random that will be transeferred to neighboring hatcheries. Some of the salmon, chosen at random, are embedded with a tracker that monitors their movement over their entire lives. In 1997 when they began tracking the Spring Chinook, there were only 13 in the entire river.  In 2007 there were over 3000! This increase is due to the work being done by the Nez Perce fisheries and hatcheries.

After the fishery tour, we went to Chief Joseph's grave right on the tip od Wallowa Lake. We got to swim in the day park area and it was amazing! When we were done swimming,  we headed back to the powwow grounds  for a "Friendship Feast". I tried elk and buffalo for the first time and it was actually pretty good. Once the friendship feast was over we headed back to our camp and had a talk from Nez Perce tribal elder, Elmer Crow.  He spoke about his history and how abundant native species such as the lamprey and salmon used to be. He spoke about the cultural and scientific importance of these animals in our world. 

Once Elmer left, we went back to the powwow and enjoyed the rest of our evening there.

Evening of day 6

Today we made our way from Deschutes National Forest to the Nez Perce Powwow grounds in Wallowa, OR. We left DNF at 8:30 am and didn't arrive to the powwow grounds until 8:30pm. UGH! If you do the math, that's 12 hours of travel. The car ride itself wasn't that bad. We were able to stop at a Safeway and I had my first coffee in two weeks, an iced white chocolate mocha from Starbucks. Charlie, Monet, and I also visited the Safeway deli and I got chow mien, pot stickers, and two Pepsi's :D

While we were at Safeway,  Michelle George rented Pitch Perfect and we watched in the car ride. It was grand. For dinner we stopped at Burger King. I'm getting pretty tired of fast food. When we got back in the car, we had a HU Crew sing-along. Yay for bonding! 

When we finally reached the Powwow grounds, it was late, and we still had to set up our tents and sleeping arrangements.Once we finally got settled, we all were able to go check out the Powwow for a little while. It was my very first Powwow.  I had a lot of questions about the dancing, but Monet answered all of them for me. One of the things I've really enjoyed about this trip, is that  I am learning so much about a culture that has always been in my life, but I've never taken the time to learn about. So far, I've enjoyed everything i have learned, and am so happy to finally learn about such an ancient culture.

I'm excited to continue on the journey, but i am really ready to go home. 

Morning of day 6

This morning we are packing up camp and headed to Joseph, OR. I've discovered that I really dislike packing up camp so often. I haven't had a Pepsi in 5 days...which I'm pretty sure is my record...but you can bet the first time we stop I'm getting a 32 ounce.

I'm excited to be moving to a new area but I do have to say that I'm in love with the Deschutes National Forest Area.  Everyone we've met have been extremely friendly, outgoing,  and genuinely interested in our groups journey.  I'm a little bummed out that I wasn't able to spend much time in Bend. What I saw of the town was really impressive. I've been contemplating starting my career in Oregon for a while now and I think Bend would be a nice place to live. Who knows, maybe after I finish school I will make the move across the Columbia.