Don’t worry, they are feeding us some amazing dinners out here. How about local salmon and beef brisket? That will definitely fuel me up for the upcoming day’s ride.

Someone else’s tolerance levels are not yours. This is important to remember when getting advice or listening to people talk about impending doom and gloom like a forecasted morning rain shower for instance. Negativity can be contagious, so I choose to ignore it all and just always plan to go out and see for myself just how bad it truly is going to be because my perspective and tolerance levels are unique to me. The other peoples perspectives are a mystery that can cause you to miss out on the good stuff if you are not careful.

With all that blah, blah, blah having been said, I left in a light rain shower today as happy as could be and remained that way all day. I was one of a handful that got out early and the payoff was peaceful easy riding in an amazing place.

The first section of gravel today had a nice gradual climb lasting for about five miles and it did the trick in keeping me warm with minimal mud. I eventually found myself riding by a herd of bison and seeing these amazing creatures is always a treat.

Today’s route would have us riding through Joseph twice and it was nice to see it both times. It seems to get a lot of tourists during the summer, especially since Wallowa Lake is just down the road. This means there are a few unique eateries and shops seeking to loosen the load of one’s wallet.

Joseph is named after Chief Joseph, a leader of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce. He fought fiercely against the forced removal of his people during the period of the American Indian Wars. I was fortunate to be able to visit his final resting place today overlooking Wallowa Lake.

It was a very pretty ride down to the state park located on the southern end of Wallowa Lake. I was able to watch about a half a dozen Kokanee, a landlocked, freshwater sockeye salmon, as they were swimming up the Wallowa River from the Lake to spawn. It was amazing to see these bright red fish as they swam against the current making their way to their birthplace and soon to be their final resting spot.

After riding back to Joseph from the lake, I soon found myself on a couple more gravel loops where I was able to see multiple deer and other beautiful animals. A red-tailed hawk screamed at me and actually startled me as I did not see it behind a large tree as I came around a corner. What a beautiful way to be startled seeing the red tail as it flew away probably laughing at the human that about fell off his bike.

I saw some beautiful ranches today and it is just humbling to think how hard these families work on a daily basis versus most of the rest of us. Simply amazing.

A nice part of the day’s ride was being the first to make some tracks on a newly graded gravel road. It was smooth as butter and perhaps my reward for waking up and getting after it without too much delay. I am so glad I went out early! Sometimes you just gotta go check it all out for yourself.