Around Joseph

Date: 
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Miles: 
24
Bike: 
Disc Trucker
Buddies: 
MVBC

Layover day. Rode around taking pictures as the ones I took yesterday were all foggy due to a dirty lens. It was cloudy and cooler today which was very nice.

First stop was the gravesite of Old Chief Joesph which is on a nice hill overlooking the lake. The sign says he was moved here after his original gravesite was desecrated. This would have been fitting had it not been for the white settlers also buried here. I was especially unhappy to see one white settler even had a more prominent spot over looking the lake because he was "a friend to the Indians". I soon realized that the entire town of Joseph was filled with indian imagery and history, but all from a white perspective. There was no native presence and nothing that seemed authentic, with the exception of the Homeland Project center.

I went up Prairie Creek road, past and old cemetery and continued on when it turned to gravel. It eventually met another road which looped me back to the highway. On the way back I hung out in town a bit with some of the other riders.

I also stopped at a small interpretive display for the Wallowa Homeland Project. I learned that they had some land adjacent to the town of Wallow, and hoped I might be able to see it when we go through there tomorrow.

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Site of Old Joseph's grave
Site of Old Joseph's grave overlooking Wallowa Lake

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Just another picture
Everything was very scenic.

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Nez Perce Homeland Exhibit
This got me interested and led the way to a nice connection the next day.