We had ourselves a little mini road trip to Eastern Oregon this past weekend and it was truly great.

It was so nice to head out of Portland and see some big open skies. We headed to La Grande where our friends live. It's a small town,nestled in a valley, with a small university.  It's got a cute downtown area and they just opened a nice brewery there called Side A Brewing.

On day two of our adventure, we took a little day trip with them to Joseph, Oregon. The Wallowa Mountains peek up from behind its cute little down town area. A lot of artists and musicians are finding their way here and making this place their home. It's far less expensive than Portland and there is a fantastic artist community developing here. I think it's absolutely beautiful and can see why people would love living here. 

We also drove to Wallowa Lake which isn't far from Joseph. You can't see the mountains in this photo because they're behind me. There is a great campground here and there are lots of hiking trails. We didn't go hiking because it's still snowy and very muddy on the trails. There's also a gondola that takes you up the side of one of the mountains, but it doesn't open until the end of May.

Wallowa Mountains on the Wallowa Lake. 

I'd love to go back in the summer to hike and swim in the lake. Maybe take that gondola ride. It's just so beautiful and inspiring. It was great to be there with Nate and my friends.

Chloe had a really great time too. Our friends have to two cats and Chloe loves cats. We didn't realize how much she loves cats until this weekend. They mostly hid from her and she mostly just stared at them. Sometimes they'd make a run for it and Chloe would be close behind trying to lick their heads, trying to get them to play with her.

This dog, who normally just sleeps all day, was up and running around for 3 days. We'd try to get her to relax, but she really wanted to be with the cats and wanted to know what they were doing at all times. By the end of the trip she was exhausted. She slept the whole way home, and when we got home she snuggled up under the covers and didn't get up until this morning. Such a silly dog.

We had a great time too. Seeing our friends was so much fun. It was exactly what I needed. Seeing them and the beauty of Eastern Oregon really helped lift my spirits and made me feel energized to get to work this morning. It's incredible how taking just a few days off for a mini road trip can make a huge difference in my productivity and mindset.