Into Idaho and History

On May 22 we left Missoula on US Hwy 12, headed to Lolo Pass in the Lolo National Forest of Idaho.   This place is historic for having the Lewis and Clark expedition pass through in 1804 in the epic journey to the Pacific Ocean, as well as various other historic events involving forest fires, wagon trains, indispensable Indian guides, and the like.   Thoughts about the courage and hardiness of these travelers of the past were never far from our minds as we gazed at the steep mountains and bottomless gorges from our truck window.  The Lolo Pass Visitors Center had a wonderful exhibit on these subjects and provides travelers with a free CD to listen to as one drives the length of the pass, describing the historical significance of various features.  It was great!!

Along the way we passed an old ranger station, built in the 1920s to fight forest fires. It had quite the exhibit on lives lived and equipment used in this era which we found very interesting. 

Historic ranger station of the 1920s

Give 'er half a chance and Peggy starts to COOK!

Interior of ranger house

One natural attraction along the way was the beautiful Devoto Grove of Ancient Cedars, all well over 300 years old, named after the scientist who studied them.   

Feeling YOUNG compared to our neighbors!

Look who else is enjoying a view of the cedars!

The river that runs through Lolo pass is the Lochsa.   It starts out rather smallish and tame-ish, but swells as tributary streams and rivers join the flowing waters, especially in Spring!  Near the end it becomes a raging torrent with incredible standing waves…and you know what that means!   Yep, and we were there to watch!    These two old folks of the calm, sea kayaker set witnessing the youth, danger and excitement of whitewater paddling!  

Bernie and Peggy take on the rapids...LOL!

Will the green kayak survive?

...and he makes it!!

The Lochsa joins the Clearwater, then the Salmon further downstream, and ultimately becomes the great Columbia River which flows into the Pacific.  For this reason, the Lochsa contains salmon swimming upstream to spawn this time of year and we began to see fishermen here and there making their catch! 

One such fisherman is shown below with a photo of a salmon catch made right in front of his house on the Lochsa.   He is a friend and we camped on his and his wife’s driveway one night.   They took us on a memorable hike to see what the mountains of Idaho look like in this area.   We were on the lookout for elk in addition to the cattle that graze his land, and did find some--ground, grilled and perched on a bun that our friends graciously made us for dinner!  YUM!  This gentleman had spent many years living in Alaska and provided a wealth of information regarding our journey ahead, and we were most grateful!  

Ron and Alice's place on the Lochsa River...note Lily in the driveway!