August 22 -Hells Canyon

Lodging: Salt Lake City, UT

What an awesome juxtaposition of hot and cold in one breathtaking location. Hells Canyon was everything the name conjures up for me- hot and dry with brittle grass. At the same time the beautiful Snake River provided a cooling element and vast swatches of blue and green. Apparently Hells Canyon is the largest river carved gorge in North America. To get there I traveled East on highway 86 out of Baker City and then north on Hells Canyon Road after crossing into Idaho. I took the road all the way to the end, winding and curving right along the side of the gorge. I got a good shot of how the road follows the edge if you zoom in on the photo. Thanks to Grant Myers and Paul Gooch for helping me figure out how to get there. I was glad I had good directions because I was able to help a fellow biker that was lost and ended up at the visitor center (the center was closed). I am so grateful to have seen a part of Oregon that was new to me.