One thing we have realized is that almost every drive is scenic in this part of the country. I think we’re actually doing a good job of appreciating the views out of the car windows every day.
Our drive into Oregon was no different!

Our first stop in Oregon was Wallowa Lake State Park. It’s not a huge lake, but it is surrounded by beautiful mountains.

On our way into the park, traffic stopped us on a bridge with a creek going under it. Flying in over the river was none other than a bald eagle!! It was our first bald eagle sighting of the trip!
We actually didn’t get a picture of it swooping over top of our van. However, we did see one perched on a log on our way out of the park!

The boys have been eagerly awaiting their first opportunity to skip rocks on a lake. Well, today was their day!



We ate a picnic lunch near the river I mentioned earlier, which had come out of its banks. It was a beautiful spot!


After lunch, we followed the winding national forest road from Joseph to Hells Canyon Recreation Area.
It was a breathtaking drive and we saw plenty of wildlife along the way. This included our first elk of the trip. Unfortunately, it dashed off into the woods before we could take a picture.

The views at the end were definitely worth the drive!!



It was another couple hours on the road to our hotel for the night in Cambridge, Idaho. We followed the Snake River for much of the day.

We started off our southern Idaho adventures with a trip to Zoo Boise. Our NC zoo membership actually got us into this zoo for free!!





It was just under two more hours to Bellevue, Idaho. This will be our home base for the next three nights.
Hopefully some exciting times in Idaho are ahead!!