It was so much fun to have Karen, Alice's mom, join us for our first day kn the road! After a luxurious night in a hotel room, we got breakfast at a local bagel shop before heading on the road (thank you, Karen!) Here we are posing on the street in Missoula.
It was a little sad to say goodbye to Missoula (an exceptional town, indeed), but good to get back on the road. The climb out of Missoula took us into Idaho via Lolo pass, a route that Lewis and Clark found to be one of the most difficult parts of their journey west. Thankfully, they've put in a paved road since then, so we didn't have too much trouble. The grade wasn't too bad either, as is typical for all these climbs out west.
The visitors' center at the top of the pass was well worth a visit - a lovely picnic spot, interpretive trails, a well-done history exhibit, helpful rangers, free tea/coffee/WiFi, and a rather nice gift shop.
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| Riding over Lolo pass |
Alix was incredibly pleased to be riding through lots of trees for the first time in weeks. To make things even more exciting, we came across a special grove of cedar trees on our way down the mountain! They were huge, beautiful, and incredibly old. And there was a cozy little trail leading into the grove so that you could stand among the giants.
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| Trees at last! |
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| In the grove of cedars |
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| Wild ginger |
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| The cedar bark was a work of art |
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| A path we didn't have time to take |
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Alix almost started crying because the trees were so magical
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After leaving the cedars, we rode to Powell, where we (gasp) paid for canping! It seemed like the thing to do, since Powell was literally just a campground and there wasn't anything else for 67 miles down the road. We ended up sharing the site with two other cyclists and paying less than $2 each, so it worked out all right.
Alice's sister had driven over from Missoula to pick up Karen, so we all ate an early dinner together (thank you again, Karen!). The restaurant at the lodge there was really quite nice. A bit overpriced, but made from scratch and quite tasty all around.
After dinner, we bid Alice's family farewell and headed back to the campsite. Not a bad way to start the final leg of our trip!
Trees!!! So glad you guys got lovely coniferous companions again. The bark picture is magical and I want to frolic extensively in that forest... imagining the smells already. The tree-life around here isn't exactly magically diverse, but I am sprawled under a cedar right now (yay), and enjoying the manzanitas with their grooved mahogany bark that dot the landscape all around here. Not enjoying the poison oak as much (it's just stressful to run next to it), but itch-free still! Miss you both!!
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