Good morning from Salmon, Idaho! Found a good breakfast spot in town
Pancakes and eggs for my little guy- man he can eat!
Overcast and a good chance of rain and thunderstorms today. Oh well, our Tourmaster riding jackets are pretty waterproofed when you close all the vents and we've got rain pants as well.
We head out of town on Idaho 28 in the direction of Leadore.
We are following the Lewis and Clark and the Nez Perce Trails-
Takes more than grey skies to dampen our spirits!
Sacajawea Historic Byway, Idaho 28:
Sacajawea, an "Agaidika" Shoshone woman born around 1788, is known around the world as a trusted and valuable member of the famed Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. A lesser-known fact, however, is her historical tie to Idaho's Lemhi Valley where she was born and raised until the age of twelve. Captured by the Arikira Indians and forced to live among them in the Mandan Villages of North Dakota, Sacajawea would not see her home again until becoming part of the Corps of Discovery in 1805. It was during this expedition that she would help Lewis and Clark find the Salmon River and revisit her people.
Source:
http://www.visitidaho.org/scenic-byways/sacajawea-historic-byway/
A bit of rain, but that massive screen on the Land Yacht does a good job of protecting us from the elements :happy3:
We make good time to the tiny town of Leadore, population 105!
It looked like we could hang a left at Leadore and ride east over the mountains to Interstate 15 in Montana-
Once again we're on the Nez Perce Trail.
A heartbreaking story accompanies this trail...
The
Nez Perce National Historic Trail follows the route taken by a large band of the
Nez Perce Indian tribe in 1877 during their attempt to flee the
U.S. Cavalry and get to Canada, to avoid being forced on to a reservation.
A band of 750 Nez Perce warriors accompanied women, children and elders; the entire band numbered more than 2900. They were not under any treaty with the
U.S. Government, and fought numerous engagements with the 7th Cavalry during their attempt to reach
Canada and escape being forced into an
Indian Reservation. Beginning near Wallowa Lake in eastern Oregon, the Nez Perce headed east into Idaho. They crossed
Lolo Pass into Montana and fought a major battle at what is now known as
Big Hole National Battlefield. After that, the Nez Perce continued traveling south and east, back into Idaho and then into Wyoming entering
Yellowstone National Park near
West Yellowstone, Montana. The tribe left the park crossing
Sylvan Pass and followed the
Clarks Fork River back into Montana. From there the Nez Perce headed almost straight north for Canada and almost made it. The Nez Perce were near starvation and exhaustion after fighting their last battle north of the
Bear Paw Mountains, less than 40 miles (64 km) from the Canadian border, when they surrendered to U.S. authorities.
Chief Joseph is widely credited with leading the Nez Perce on this journey. He served as a camp supervisor and guardian, who was entrusted with handling the logistics of camp and travel, and taking care of the women and children.[sup]
[1][/sup]
At the time of the surrender, Chief Joseph was the most prominent surviving leader among the group; he decided it was time to surrender. A few members of the tribe did reach Canada, but the vast majority were relocated to
Kansas and
Oklahoma for eight years before being allowed to relocate to the reservation in Idaho, near their ancestral home.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nez_Perce_National_Historic_Trail
Route 29, aka as Railroad Canyon Road climbs up the canyon that divides Goat Mountain to the north and Elk Mountain to the south-
Just as you're getting into the mountains the pavement ends!
Oh dear, this is a problem I've noticed when route planning with Google Maps and Apple Maps (TomTom)- neither map gives any indication of what types of roads to expect... It was some 50 miles to Interstate 15 and I didn't want to risk that distance on dirt with the Land Yacht, especially with the possibility of rain, so we made a U-turn and headed back down to Leadore-
Idaho 29 is better suited to a dualsport than a K1200LT! We continue southeast on Idaho 28-
Continuing south on Idaho 28 the clouds are getting thicker, rain in the distance...
Yeah, we're gonna get wet :mrgreen:
I didn't mind getting rained on, but what surprised me was how cold it got!
The heated grips and seats on the Land Yacht took the edge of though :happy3:
Push through the rain to find dry riding on the other side-
Kristhawee got a bit damp, but he's a tough kid and game to press on :mrgreen:
Idaho 28 follows a wide valley with mountains on both sides. I think this is Scott Peak off to the left-
A right on Idaho 22 will take us to Craters of the Moon National Monument, but that will have to wait for a future trip. We're both excited to revisit Yellowstone National Park!
We hang a left and ride east to Dubois on Idaho 22-
31 miles to Dubois, Idaho!
Cruising east on Idaho 22- Straight as an arrow!
There's a big service station just off the I15 in Dubois where we stop for food and fuel and after lunch it looks like Kristhawee takes a power nap on a pile of firewood :mrgreen:
But off to the west the sky is looking dark and threatening and the weather is headed our way- best we press on before that storm catches up with us!
We ride east from Dubois on Clark County A-2
This road is completely deserted and I whack it to try and stay ahead of the storm clouds that are trying to flank us-
No place to take shelter out here! Hopefully we can outrun the storm!
Black skies and lightening behind us!
Slow down... No, sorry, I don't think so :happy3:
As we continue east we pass some farms and ranches-
Those mountains off in the distance mark the border between Idaho and Montana.
Doh! I did it again! Once again we're on dirt!
Kristhawee looks rather amused...
We ask some cows for directions and are rather surprised that they answer :mrgreen:
Well, we're too far along to turn around now. Better to press on!
Thankfully the dirt doesn't go on for too long. I'm happy to see pavement again!
We rode on to West Yellowstone, Montana, the western gateway to Yellowstone National Park!
