Lemhi Pass

We spent the day exploring more Lewis and Clark sites in the area. Lemhi Pass is a narrow pass in the Bitterroot Mountains - 7,373 ft above sea level - near where Lewis discovered the spring that begins the present day Missouri River. We drove about 15 miles on a gravel road - the last several miles were one lane - through private ranch land up to the pass. There is also a small memorial park dedicated to Sacawajea, the Indian women who was so instrumental to Lewis and Clark's success. Beautiful but remote country!

Bannack State Park is actually a gold mining ghost town - gold was discovered here in July 1862. As soon as it ran out, the town died! Several buildings are remaining and you can walk along the street and imagine the hustle and bustle of a thriving place. It was the first capital of the territory. When we checked in, the ranger warned us that several previous tourists had warned them of rattlesnake sightings at the outskirts of the town - that dampened my zeal to snoop around too much!

Camp Fortunate was where Lewis and Clark met after they separated to explore different areas. It is now covered by the reservoir. They called it "fortunate" because it was where they were able to trade for horses from the Shoshone Indians. They needed the horses to cross the mountains before winter. It was also where Sacawajea was reunited with her tribe - she had been taken by another Indian tribe several years prior, during a raid. The Lewis and Clark expedition buried supplies here and retrieved them on their return trip. According to the journals, the men were most anxious to get back here because they had stowed away some of their tobacco!
We call it Camp Fortunate for another reason - Roger lost his IPhone and the people that found it chased us down in the car to return it!!!