He said: Another sunny day. We have been getting really lucky lately with the traveling weather. Cold start again, but it was OK because I had to climb to the Lolo Pass which is the pass separating Montana from Idaho. We are in our 9th state! At Lola Pass we had to do a reenactment of the Montana welcome because when we entered Montana from Wyoming, it didn’t welcome us it just entered us (like Illinois from Kentucky). From Lolo Pass to our final destination it was downhill or basically flat. So the rest of the day, other than the distance, was unchallenging. It was a nice ride completely alongside the Lochsa River with mountains on both sides. The Lochsa River is like a real pretty wilderness river with a lot of big rocks throughout the river. There are numerous trailheads and hiking areas with toilet facilities and informative history display along the route. The Lochsa is a pretty wide river (at least 80-90’ wide) and in at least 3 or 4 places there were foot bridges across which accessed hiking trails on the other side of the river. If you click on one of Sharon’s pictures you can see the infamous Lochsa Ness Monster! A frightening local legend, the scourge of fishermen and unwary tubers. We had over a 60 mile run between services, no cell phone service here, no internet access…..it is rather remote. We finished in Lowell, ID and as you can see from one of the pictures,(sorry-forgot to take the picture this am before we left Lowell) it is not heavily populated. The sign said WELCOME TO LOWELL-Population 24-the 24 was crossed out and it said 23. The guy at the General Store/Service Station/Sporting Good Rental/Hunting & Fishing Supplies/Souvenirs/you name it told us the bear population outnumbers the human population 10 to 1. We will lock our door tonite. As you can see from the Welcome to Lowell sign the population has been reduced….rumor has it that it is really a bear scoreboard and they are mocking the hunters who get their licenses at the Grocery Store/etc. etc. Café next to where we are staying (that’s how all these little towns work-they are not really towns, someone decides to build a little motel or cabins, put up a little place to eat next door, a place to sell supplies to all the people who are visiting the wilderness-and call it a town) has a sign outside that says “We process wild game”. I think we had some of the processing for dinner. There was a lot of road construction for the last 26 miles or so, which was actually good for me, as there is no shoulder anyway. I got to ride in single lane traffic a lot. More of the same tomorrow to start, but I will be going mostly uphill again with a 3000’ climb over 25 miles, after 30 miles into the ride. So, for the rest of the night we are relaxing in our Pacific time zone heaven where we will watch our one TV station and enjoy our extra hour of sleep. At the end of our ride tomorrow we should be in Riggins ID, where we will once again be in the Mountain time zone. If you look at an atlas of the US you will see that these time zone lines aren’t straight. Go figure. 112 miles.
She said: Another one of those days out in the wilderness without much for services on the route. We met at the Lolo Pass, which had a wonderful visitors center. We met a Native American gentleman who was there with a group of children from the Flathead Reservation. The children are from an emergent school where they are learning their native language and their ancestral history. The kids were off on the trails searching for and digging up medicinal plants. Rode along the Lochsa River-which was beautiful. We are truly IN the mountains today….as opposed to the valley between the mountains. The drive was full of windy roads heading up and down the mountains. It was a long day, and I will be glad to have the extra hour sleep. Made our plans to fly home for the wedding and back to Salt Lake City, UT for the drive home. The pressure is on now for Paul to be done spinning and on the road for the drive to Salt Lake City for the flight. Paul has been phenomenal so far…I am so proud of him, especially when I drive to the top of a pass and see where he has to ride and how far he has ridden.
She said: Another one of those days out in the wilderness without much for services on the route. We met at the Lolo Pass, which had a wonderful visitors center. We met a Native American gentleman who was there with a group of children from the Flathead Reservation. The children are from an emergent school where they are learning their native language and their ancestral history. The kids were off on the trails searching for and digging up medicinal plants. Rode along the Lochsa River-which was beautiful. We are truly IN the mountains today….as opposed to the valley between the mountains. The drive was full of windy roads heading up and down the mountains. It was a long day, and I will be glad to have the extra hour sleep. Made our plans to fly home for the wedding and back to Salt Lake City, UT for the drive home. The pressure is on now for Paul to be done spinning and on the road for the drive to Salt Lake City for the flight. Paul has been phenomenal so far…I am so proud of him, especially when I drive to the top of a pass and see where he has to ride and how far he has ridden.
The scenery early in the morning-leaving Montana.
At the top of the pass-the border between Montana and Idaho
Looking down from the top of the pass-that's a long way down!
At the Colgate Lick Rest area...waiting for his peanut butter and jelly.
The Lochsa River-do you see the Lochsa Ness monster?
How about here?
Beautiful isn't it? Still don't see the LNM?
Click on this one-I think he might be wearing an orange shirt.
At the Historic Ranger Station. The station is set up like a Ranger Station from the 30's-it closes Labor Day for the season, but these guys were still here.
Check out Paul following the pilot car. The driver asked how fast he wanted to go-Paul said, 20? She said 15-I think they compromised at about 18.
At the top of the pass-the border between Montana and Idaho
Welcome to Hi-dee-ho!
More history for all you history buffs. We are traveling the Northwest Passage from here.
More history for all you history buffs. We are traveling the Northwest Passage from here.
Looking down from the top of the pass-that's a long way down!
At the Colgate Lick Rest area...waiting for his peanut butter and jelly.
The Lochsa River-do you see the Lochsa Ness monster?
How about here?
Beautiful isn't it? Still don't see the LNM?
Click on this one-I think he might be wearing an orange shirt.
At the Historic Ranger Station. The station is set up like a Ranger Station from the 30's-it closes Labor Day for the season, but these guys were still here.
Check out Paul following the pilot car. The driver asked how fast he wanted to go-Paul said, 20? She said 15-I think they compromised at about 18.
I really want to stand in that river! I fear no monster. Absolutely stunning.
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