Day Seven: Thursday, July 26
Thursday, July 2018
When we left Lolo, Montana this morning, it was 54 degrees. As we ascended to the summit of Lolo Pass, the temperature dropped to 42 degrees. That is 42 degrees while riding on a motorcycle. That is cold.
Before the trip, Randal wrote us and advised that it would be cold. Had it not been for that warning, I would have brought nothing more than a nylon riding jacket. Given that warning, I had winter gloves and a windproof fleece jacket, which were perfect. Thank goodness for Randal. He is my hero.
As we climbed the mountain, the morning sun was behind us and low in the sky. We were riding in the shadows where it was cold. But we could see the sun in the tree tops, and knew it would warm up later in the day. As the sun became more vertical, it became much warmer and much more pleasant to ride.
The road over the Lolo Pass is so popular, it is called the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Nez Perce Trail and the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. Everyone wants to embrace the Lolo Pass.
The morning was all about rivers. Over Lolo Pass, we followed the Lochsa River. It could not have been more beautiful. As you will see, we followed another river later in the morning (the Clearwater).
We saw some unusual signs along Lolo Pass:
Try as we might, we never saw a moose.
Lolo Pass was traversed twice by Lewis and Clark.
Not only was Lolo pass beautiful, but it was historic. The mixing of the surroundings and the Lewis and Clark story was fun and captured our attention all day.
This is what I see from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
The river was on my left for most of the 133 miles across the Pass.
There is one gas station over the Pass, comprising 140 miles from the last gas station on the west and the last gas station on the east. If that station is closed, out of gas or unavailable, you need enough fuel for 140 miles where our range in about 200 miles.
We stopped at a fantastic spot on the river. The photographs don't do it justice. We had snack, and watched the river roll by:
What good is a stop without a selfie?
We left the Lolo Pass, and pulled in for gas in the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.
Whereas the temperature at the summit of Lolo Pass was 42 degrees, it was now 95 degrees and sunny. It was hot.
Randal was slathering on suntan lotion, when a woman pumping gas next to him declared that she didn't need to worry about a sunburn, because she had so much Indian blood. Randal broke the cardinal rule in dealing with a crazy person - he engaged her in conversation. By this point, I was nearly through my exit strategy from the conversation when the wheels came off. She asked if we smoked, and we said we did not. She then went into a rant about how unhealthy smoking is, and proceeded to pull down the neck of her shirt to reveal a scar on her chest - which she claimed to use as a warning to young people about the perils of smoking. It was not a pretty picture.
Randal and Larry are usually very pokey getting out of gas stations. After seeing this display, they were on the roadway in a snap. I thought Larry was going to pull a wheelie trying to get out of the parking lot. Note that there are no photographs of this exchange. However, I now have a way of getting my two pokey friends out of a gas station. Someone needs to take their shirt off.
While we were still on the Nez Perce Trail, it acquired an additional name - the Gold Rush Scenic Byway - this time along the Clearwater River. Same US Highway, just an additional name. Following the river was a lot of fun and we learned about salmon and the Snake River basin.
We stopped in to the Nez Perce National Historical Park, which was fantastic. We had seen so much of the Nez Perce presence since leaving West Yellowstone that we wanted to learn more. The exhibits were well done, it was a beautiful building, the rangers were great, we watched a movie: and most important, the building was air conditioned.
What is an Indian museum without a teepee:
We headed north from Lewiston, Idaho - traveling along the border with Washington State. Yes, we did a short run through Washington meaning that this trip has included (from Wheaton) the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington. Larry has Mississippi, and Larry and Randy also have Tennessee and Kentucky.
The ride north of Lewiston was through wheat and rye fields - gold and green. It was interesting to see, but incredibly dry. It was described to us as a "high desert."
In the early afternoon, we had to feed Randal. We stopped in at a diner in Moscow, Idaho - home to the University of Idaho. The food was OK, but it was air-conditioned and they had a bottomless reserve of water and iced tea.
At this point, the temperature was still at 95 degrees with no clouds.
We headed north to our hotel and passed through the White Pine Scenic Byway:
The tall pine trees shaded the roadway from the sun. The temperature must have dropped ten degrees. Moreover, there was no one else on the road. The pine needles muffled the roar of our motorcycles. And the sweet smell of pine hung in the air. It was a little oasis on the road - peaceful and relatively quiet.
From there, we rode to our hotel.
One of the things that surprised us was the beauty of Lake Coeur d'Alene. And it was big. In the restaurant and bar area near the lake, there was some guy posing near the flowers.
The hotel on the lake advertises that they have the worlds longest floating boat dock:
And with that, we had our dinner and returned to our hotel for a good night's sleep.
We traveled 384 miles today. Our post-Wheaton total is 2,546 miles.
We rode a long distance today. But Lolo Pass made it worthwhile. Tomorrow, we head to Kalispell, Montana - a mountain resort town. We have a relatively short drive.
And with that, I would like to close with a commentary on "bug-strikes." Randal and Larry wear full helmets with visors. I wear a shorty (half helmet) with sunglasses. Bugs strike their visor. Bugs strike my face.
I have been in deep contemplation on bug strikes and believe they fall into three categories.
First: bugs that splatter. Yes, they can splatter on your face, splatter on your sunglasses, or go up your nose. All you need to do is see the front of the bike to see all of the splatter.
Second are the rebounds. Think of the physics of bug strikes. If the bug doesn't splatter, it strikes you hard like a pellet and then they rebound. They usually move forward, which makes them appear that they are traveling at your speed. It is a weird sensation.
The last category of bug strikes are the travelers, which I find very curious. How can a bug stick to you at that speed? Sometimes they hit me and crawl into my goggles. Or they attach to your skin. Today, I had a bug hit me in the face and bite me on the cheek! How does that happen? All I can say is that I'll be a bug-strike expert by the time I get home.
So ends another day.
When we left Lolo, Montana this morning, it was 54 degrees. As we ascended to the summit of Lolo Pass, the temperature dropped to 42 degrees. That is 42 degrees while riding on a motorcycle. That is cold.
Before the trip, Randal wrote us and advised that it would be cold. Had it not been for that warning, I would have brought nothing more than a nylon riding jacket. Given that warning, I had winter gloves and a windproof fleece jacket, which were perfect. Thank goodness for Randal. He is my hero.
As we climbed the mountain, the morning sun was behind us and low in the sky. We were riding in the shadows where it was cold. But we could see the sun in the tree tops, and knew it would warm up later in the day. As the sun became more vertical, it became much warmer and much more pleasant to ride.
The road over the Lolo Pass is so popular, it is called the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Nez Perce Trail and the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. Everyone wants to embrace the Lolo Pass.
The morning was all about rivers. Over Lolo Pass, we followed the Lochsa River. It could not have been more beautiful. As you will see, we followed another river later in the morning (the Clearwater).
We saw some unusual signs along Lolo Pass:
Try as we might, we never saw a moose.
Lolo Pass was traversed twice by Lewis and Clark.
Not only was Lolo pass beautiful, but it was historic. The mixing of the surroundings and the Lewis and Clark story was fun and captured our attention all day.
This is what I see from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
The river was on my left for most of the 133 miles across the Pass.
There is one gas station over the Pass, comprising 140 miles from the last gas station on the west and the last gas station on the east. If that station is closed, out of gas or unavailable, you need enough fuel for 140 miles where our range in about 200 miles.
We stopped at a fantastic spot on the river. The photographs don't do it justice. We had snack, and watched the river roll by:
What good is a stop without a selfie?
We left the Lolo Pass, and pulled in for gas in the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.
Whereas the temperature at the summit of Lolo Pass was 42 degrees, it was now 95 degrees and sunny. It was hot.
Randal was slathering on suntan lotion, when a woman pumping gas next to him declared that she didn't need to worry about a sunburn, because she had so much Indian blood. Randal broke the cardinal rule in dealing with a crazy person - he engaged her in conversation. By this point, I was nearly through my exit strategy from the conversation when the wheels came off. She asked if we smoked, and we said we did not. She then went into a rant about how unhealthy smoking is, and proceeded to pull down the neck of her shirt to reveal a scar on her chest - which she claimed to use as a warning to young people about the perils of smoking. It was not a pretty picture.
Randal and Larry are usually very pokey getting out of gas stations. After seeing this display, they were on the roadway in a snap. I thought Larry was going to pull a wheelie trying to get out of the parking lot. Note that there are no photographs of this exchange. However, I now have a way of getting my two pokey friends out of a gas station. Someone needs to take their shirt off.
While we were still on the Nez Perce Trail, it acquired an additional name - the Gold Rush Scenic Byway - this time along the Clearwater River. Same US Highway, just an additional name. Following the river was a lot of fun and we learned about salmon and the Snake River basin.
We stopped in to the Nez Perce National Historical Park, which was fantastic. We had seen so much of the Nez Perce presence since leaving West Yellowstone that we wanted to learn more. The exhibits were well done, it was a beautiful building, the rangers were great, we watched a movie: and most important, the building was air conditioned.
What is an Indian museum without a teepee:
We headed north from Lewiston, Idaho - traveling along the border with Washington State. Yes, we did a short run through Washington meaning that this trip has included (from Wheaton) the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington. Larry has Mississippi, and Larry and Randy also have Tennessee and Kentucky.
The ride north of Lewiston was through wheat and rye fields - gold and green. It was interesting to see, but incredibly dry. It was described to us as a "high desert."
In the early afternoon, we had to feed Randal. We stopped in at a diner in Moscow, Idaho - home to the University of Idaho. The food was OK, but it was air-conditioned and they had a bottomless reserve of water and iced tea.
At this point, the temperature was still at 95 degrees with no clouds.
We headed north to our hotel and passed through the White Pine Scenic Byway:
The tall pine trees shaded the roadway from the sun. The temperature must have dropped ten degrees. Moreover, there was no one else on the road. The pine needles muffled the roar of our motorcycles. And the sweet smell of pine hung in the air. It was a little oasis on the road - peaceful and relatively quiet.
From there, we rode to our hotel.
One of the things that surprised us was the beauty of Lake Coeur d'Alene. And it was big. In the restaurant and bar area near the lake, there was some guy posing near the flowers.
The hotel on the lake advertises that they have the worlds longest floating boat dock:
And with that, we had our dinner and returned to our hotel for a good night's sleep.
We traveled 384 miles today. Our post-Wheaton total is 2,546 miles.
We rode a long distance today. But Lolo Pass made it worthwhile. Tomorrow, we head to Kalispell, Montana - a mountain resort town. We have a relatively short drive.
And with that, I would like to close with a commentary on "bug-strikes." Randal and Larry wear full helmets with visors. I wear a shorty (half helmet) with sunglasses. Bugs strike their visor. Bugs strike my face.
I have been in deep contemplation on bug strikes and believe they fall into three categories.
First: bugs that splatter. Yes, they can splatter on your face, splatter on your sunglasses, or go up your nose. All you need to do is see the front of the bike to see all of the splatter.
Second are the rebounds. Think of the physics of bug strikes. If the bug doesn't splatter, it strikes you hard like a pellet and then they rebound. They usually move forward, which makes them appear that they are traveling at your speed. It is a weird sensation.
The last category of bug strikes are the travelers, which I find very curious. How can a bug stick to you at that speed? Sometimes they hit me and crawl into my goggles. Or they attach to your skin. Today, I had a bug hit me in the face and bite me on the cheek! How does that happen? All I can say is that I'll be a bug-strike expert by the time I get home.
So ends another day.
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