We didn’t have to drive very far into Northeastern Oregon to start to see the beauty of the state. We had been told by so many fellow RVers that we were going to love Oregon. We could already see what they meant. It was beautiful. We still saw the farm land that we saw in Idaho but we also saw mountains and valleys.
We decided to go into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest for our first few nights of camping in Oregon. We found this spectacular campground in the National Forest about 20 miles from Baker City called Union Creek. They were in the process of closing it for the winter so we were only able to stay for three nights. It was beautiful! All sites were surrounded by huge red pine trees and the sites were spaced quiet far apart so you had privacy. The campground sat on Phillips Lake and a walking trail went around the lake. We spent two days walking as much of the hiking trails as we could. Nice trails but challenging. We would easily go back to this spot to stay longer.
I spent my 60th birthday in Baker City. This is billed as a historical town built up from the gold rush. Sadly, the town has a lot of empty buildings now. We did have a fabulous lunch at the Geiser Grand Hotel. The hotel was built in 1889 and was restored several years ago after standing empty for many years. It was beautiful inside and it was great to see – even the old can be restored!