Union County FFA instructors and students are busy planning the 2009 Oregon State FFA Convention this March in La Grande.   more »

Fishermen can ride a train into the roadless Wallowa River canyon, stepping off the train at proven fishing holes.   more »

The Anthony Creek elk feeding site at the base of the Elkhorn range of the Blue Mountains, near North Powder, has been a busy place since mid-December. TNT Wildlife Viewing Tours reports they have carried over 1,000 elk enthusiasts on their wagon already this season. People are traveling from Boise, Portland, Tri-Cities and beyond, as well as from just down the road, taking advantage of the unique opportunity to see and photograph Rocky Mountain elk from just a few feet away.

The fully accessible wagon (specially built for this purpose a few years ago), loads passengers at the parking area above the meadow feeding site. Then Waylan and Jed, two big, beautiful black Percheron horses, guide the wagon down the hill and into the midst of over 100 feeding elk.

The elk have been cooperating by showing up at the hay feeding site on time and in good numbers; cows, yearling calves, and big antlered bulls. After many years of being the stars of this show, they are used to the activity and the voices of Alice and Susan as the tour guides tell the history of elk in the region and the reason behind the tasty alfalfa meal the elk are enjoying. But don’t worry – they are still wild animals, a barking dog, sudden shout or movement can send them all running for the forest and cover. And, once the snow in the high country begins to melt and fresh grass greens the foothills, the elk will again disappear into the mountains until next winter.

                To reach the elk feeding site, take Interstate 84 to exit #285 at North Powder, Oregon, about halfway between La Grande and Baker City. Turn west toward the mountains on River Road and follow the brown wildlife viewing and binocular signs to the site at the base of the magnificent Blues. Tours take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., every Saturday and Sunday, mid-December through February, departing every half hour. The fee is $7 for adults and $5 for youth.

A kick-off event will take place at Eastern Oregon University on February 14, the official anniversary of Oregon’s statehood.   more »

Most of Oregon is tasting winter this morning, with fluffy snow falling across the state. For skiers and other snow-players, ...   more »

Autumn in northeast Oregon has been unusually warm and Thanksgiving weekend followed that trend. That meant lots of sunshine to ...   more »

The Eagle Cap Excursion Train honored Veterans and public safety officers with a train ride down the Grande Ronde River in ...   more »

The last regularly scheduled run of the Eagle Cap Excursion Train in scenic northeast Oregon was Saturday, October 25. The beautiful fall colors highlighted the scenery as the train wound its way along the shores of the Grande Ronde and Wallowa Rivers. During the regular season, the train leaves Elgin at 10 a.m. and returns around 1:30. Lunch is served on the train and included in the ticket price.

Excursion train officials are developing the 2009 schedule and hope to post it on the train's web site the end of December. Gift certificates for rides on the Eagle Cap Excursion Train make wonderful gifts and are available by calling Alegre Travel, 800.323.7330.

Reservations are being taken for the popular "Fish Train," also know as the Steelhead Fishing Spectacular. The cooperative project of the Wallowa Union Railroad's Eagle Cap Excursion Train and the Minam Motel will operate every Saturday and Sunday, February 7 through March 29. To learn more, go to www.minammotel.com and click on the swimming fish or call Alegre Travel, 800.323.7330.

 

Autumn is in full force here in northeast Oregon. One of my favorite pastimes is getting out and around to ...   more »

Are you are among the millions of people who enjoy a frightening experience, when they know it is all just ...   more »

Welcome to our new "blog" (short for "web log") for your Union County Tourism news and announcements..  Here we will also publish photos of Union County scenes, activities and events. Visit our main Web site at http://www.visitlagrande.com for lots of in-depth information about what Union County offers visitors and residents.

The latest news article will usually appear at the top of the opening page of the blog.  The blog also keeps a searchable history of all published news articles, so you can always look up something you might have missed in the past. 

If you have an RSS reader, you can subscribe to our RSS feed, so that the news comes automatically to your desktop!  Just paste this URL (if your reader doesn't grab it automatically) into your feed reader software: http://news.visitlagrande.com/blog/index.xml

(If you want to set up a RSS reader -- also known as a feed reader or new reader -- you can find a wealth of information and freely downloadable readers by doing an Internet search on this topic, or you will find that the most recent browsers, such as Firefox 3 or Internet Explorer 7, have the built-in ability to read RSS feeds.)