"The Lake"

 As one who grew up in Northeast Oregon's Wallowa County, I knew Wallowa Lake as a familiar place...but not one that my family visited very often.  It was and is a tourist attraction, and as a farm family, we didn't do many "tourist" things, even those relatively close to where we lived.  This lake was formed by a glacier and the east "bank" of the lake is considered nearly perfect moraine.  (I learned that in a geology class at Oregon State University decades ago.)  Natives of Wallowa County refer to it simply as "the lake" when talking about it. Actually, many natives just say "the County," too, as if it were the only one in Oregon.  

Generally, I visit the lake a few times a year, but this year has been different.  Old age, maybe?   Anyway, this past week was a good time to visit because it was a Monday and things were relatively quiet.  My photographs are almost always taken at the foot of the lake, which is the north end.  There's a wide beach when the water isn't high, and there's a boat launch.  I simply walk a few steps with my camera. Most of the summer activity is at the south end of the lake, where there is a park, marina, pack station, go-carts, camping, a historical lodge, cabins, and summer dwellings.  It is also the starting point for hikes into the Eagle Caps or high Wallowa Mountains.  I prefer the quiet end.