He Said, She Said: Day 49-7 weeks! Where did it go? To Idaho!

She said: Took off this morning for Kooksia, ID where we planned to meet up and see how things were going. Finally had cell phone service, but the library didn't open until 11, so I sat outside and tried to get some stuff done. The ride was beautiful, with pretty much the same scenery as yesterday. At the post office in Kooksia I was talking to one of the postal workers about where we were headed for the day. She told me Riggins was in the middle of nowhere-and was not much of a town. Kooskia has a population of 675-much bigger place than Riggins! After we left Kooksia we had an increase in elevation, going up a windy mountain road-the road took a turn and all of a sudden we were in a valley, with farmland all around. Stopped in Grangeville and met up with Paul for lunch. Leaving Grangeville the route put us on White Bird Hill Rd. which was a windy climb for several miles on a very country road. When we got to the top and started down we were once again on a main road which was extremely steep and looked out over what I can only describe as a mountain canyon. You could see the road across the way-it was very high-I am not fond of heights so I white knuckled it all the way down. There were several runaway truck turnoffs and I kept looking in my mirrors to make sure there wasn't a runaway truck behind me! Paul said he was riding his brakes trying not to get going too fast and then he'd see a sign warning you that there was a steeper grade ahead. Yikes! I was thrilled to be at the bottom-it was a spectacular view all the way down, but it was hard to look at while traversing the curves and holding your breath. I found out at the bottom that we are in Hell's Canyon-you can get the geology lesson below. We are staying in Riggins, ID tonite. Hell's Canyon is the deepest Canyon in North America at over 8000' deep. It's deeper than the Grand Canyon. Riggins, population 425, up 2, due to 2 recent births, survives on Sportsmen and Adventure Recreation. Starting in the Spring they have Class V whitewater rapids until mid-September. At about that time, the Steelhead (which is an ocean trout) have migrated up the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean to the Snake River and then into the Salmon River. That season lasts through the Fall when the Salmon fishing starts and all kind of game hunting. They also have jet boating and area climbing. This area is also the fishing grounds of the Nez Perce Indians who fish for Steelhead and Salmon with nets and spears. We passed through the Nez Perce Reservation today, of which Chief Joseph was probably their most well-known tribal member.
He said: Rode up and down hills. 96 miles.