Wilderness Gateway

We are overnighting in Wilderness Gateway National Forest Campground ($4.00/night!) on our way to Kooskia, Idaho. Roger has found the most beautiful places to stay on this trip – we are camped right on the Lochsa River and can hear it as it meanders over rocks and through the woods.

We stopped at “Travelers Rest”  - now a state park – this morning. It is the area along the LoLo Creek where Lewis and Clark camped in 1805 and in 1806 before and after they went over the Rocky Mountains at LoLo Pass. There was a volunteer there, from the local Lewis and Clark group, who gave  us a guided tour and explained how the archeologists discovered that this was actually the place where they camped.

You will be surprised at how they figured it out! Historians and archeologists studied Lewis and Clark’s journals and had narrowed the location down but needed “proof” of the exact camp area. Since they  were truly a military unit, the camps were always laid out according to military protocol. So, they could figure out where the campfires and latrines should be. They knew from the journals that many of the men were sick and Lewis often treated them with a powerful laxative that contained mercury – fondly, nicknamed “thunderclappers!” The archeologists found large amounts of mercury in a latrine area convincing everyone that they had found the correct camp site!

We then drove through Clearwater National Forest and the Bitterroot/Rocky Mountains. Our next stop was the LoLo Pass Visitor Center – a beautiful log cabin type building. They have audio tapes you can check out, like a library book, listen about Lewis and Clark’s adventures, and then return to one of several different places in Idaho. As we left there, there was a sign that said “Winding, steep road – next 99 miles” – and they were not exaggerating! We traveled through 85 miles of the most gorgeous wilderness we have ever seen – around every curve there was another panoramic view of the mountains and alpine forest – all the way following a clear bubbling river right next to the road! The Lochsa River is a premier white water rafting/kayaking river in the spring. I can’t even imagine how it roars through the gorge then! No way to capture it all with a camera!

Emily called last night and when I answered said “Tima, can you get on SKYPE? Call me on SKYPE!” Such a cute little voice! She wanted to tell us all about a dinosaur birthday party she went to; show us her apron she made at school when they made cupcakes; and tell us how she can swim without her floaties! Such a cutie! Samantha is in school so we will have to wait until the week-end to talk with her – the time difference makes it difficult when she goes to bed and school early.