Montana Trip - Day 15

[got a later start than I wanted (0945) - figured that my stop last night short of Boise gave me a second opportunity to visit Oregon, so I followed US-95 south - came out of the canyon for the first time (in what seemed like forever!) at [New Meadow] and then continued westerly (vice straight shot south) - got gas in Council and then switched to [ID-71] and drove back into Hells Canyon - road much better - found two reservoirs on the Snake River (first was Brownlee Dam) - crossed river at second Dam (Oxbow) and found myself in Oregon - weather was nice - got lunch at the [Hells Canyon Inn] (good sandwich) - Pacific Time Zone again - turned onto a remote Forest Service Road towards the heart of the National Recreation Area - very scenic, very remote, trees & mountains, speed limit less than 40, free range stock on roads - stopped at a scenic overlook of the west side of the Canyon - great view, but I'll admit that I'm getting a little tired of the type of roads required to get around in this area (by that point, I'd been driving for almost four hours and I was almost due west of Riggins: probably only 40 miles as the crow flies!) - passed the time with radio updates of the college football games - the Nez Perce Trail went straight across the canyon, but I had to go miles to the south and then north again to meet up with it again! - by the time I arrived in the little town of Joseph, I was pleased to see flat land again - drove south towards Lake [Wallala ?] and found the grave site of Chief Joseph's father (Old Joseph) - it sat on a bluff overlooking the beautiful lake - back into town and walked around for a bit (pleasant) - got some ice cream at [Gobbler's Nob] - back on the road - switched to ID-82 and used it all the way to La Grande (and I-84) - motored south for awhile (nice to be able to travel faster!) until I got to Baker City - got off on a road that was headed back into Hells Canyon (it was actually [ID-26], the same road I'd used when I was in Halfway earlier in the day - but the other end) - stopped at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center (run by Bureau of Land Management) - very classy and informative place (well done!) - saw actual wagon tracks for the Oregon Trail (and, realized then that I was seeing the same view that pioneers saw when they reached Oregon for the first time) - drove back towards the interstate - listening to NASCAR race - went through Baker City (very nice) - it began to be clear that the area was expecting a large number of returning Guardsmen (I saw "Welcome Home" signs between Baker City and the state line, and news reported everyone being excited) - with the Blue Mountains on my right and the last glimpses of the mountains of Hells Canyon on my left, drove south on I-84 until I reached the Ontario, Oregon (right on the border) - as I drove into the area, I could smell the pungent aroma of onions (later confirmed by the locals) and saw the big Ore-Ida Plant (makes sense now, doesn't it?) - found a hotel and then walked to nearby [Paoli's ?] Pizza - watched Notre Dame blow their lead on Michigan - back in my room, caught up on sports and took care of emails - bed around 2345L.]