2010 Trip West
7/31/2010 It cooled off in the night and we slept well. We were on the road by 8:30 heading west again on Hwy-200. At Stanford MT we stopped at a farmer's market and bought some veggies, bread, and some of the best cinnamon rolls either of us have ever tasted from the Amish booth. They were coated with real caramel. (The caramelized brown sugar and butter stuff) Soon after leaving Stanford we were driving in the foothills. We went through Great Falls MT and continued west on Hwy-200.
Then we were in the mountains. We stopped atop Roger's Pass and ate lunch. We left Roger's Pass and continued west until we came to the Aspen Glen Nat'l Forest Campground. The campground was busy but we found a nice site overlooking a small meadow. It was in the 80s and quite warm when we got there. We sat outside and watched storm clouds roll in. We had lightning, thunder, and rain and it cooled off into the 60. It remained cool and comfortable the rest of the day.
8/1/2010 It got down to 53 degrees during the night. We left the campground at 10am and took Hwy-200 west through scenic mountains and into Missoula MT. We stopped for groceries, said good-by to Hwy-200 and headed west out of town on US-12. We stopped at a roadside picnic area and made our lunch. Soon after getting back on US-12, we saw a mother moose and her baby grazing along the road. When we got to Lolo Pass, we stopped at the visitor center to look around and use the pay phone as there was no cell phone service. Leaving Lolo Pass we continued west on US-12 into Idaho. It's a scenic drive as it runs along the Lochsa River and snakes through the Bitterroot Mountain Range along the route that Louis and Clark took years ago. We stopped to camp at Whitehouse Nat'l Forest Campground, one of our favorite stops. It's a small campground with just 11 sites, which were mostly filled but we were lucky to find a site open that was right on the river. We relaxed and just enjoyed this beautiful place. Later we waded in the river for awhile and then grilled hamburgs for dinner. We watched a flock of geese that flew in and landed on the river.
8/2/2010 It was 52 degrees when we got up. We decided to stay another day here. We talked to the campers on the site next to us. They live in Boise and have been coming here for 25 years. They gave us some good suggestions on routes to take west from here. We had a nice day. The temperature was 75 degrees. We went for some walks, read, and waded in the river. We made a campfire and roasted hot dogs for supper.
8/3/2010 It was 50 degrees overnight. Nice sleeping weather. We left the campground and continued west on US-12. For 80 miles it descends slowly through a valley with mountains on both sides as it follows the Lochsa river downstream. We had a 12 minute wait when we came across a road crew that was dislodging rocks from the sides of a mountain so they wouldn't fall on someones car later. When we came to Kooskia we left US-12, took hwy 13 over a mountain, and got on US-95 south at Grangeville. All the roads in Idaho must be scenic as this one was no exception. Shortly after passing through New Meadows we entered the Payette Nat'l Forest. We stopped at the Evergreen Nat'l forest campground and picked out a nice site to stay at. It was quite hot when we stopped but soon the sun descended below the trees and it cooled off quickly.
8/4/2010 It was 52 degrees when we woke up. We love sleeping in the mountains at higher elevations as it always cools off in the night. When we left the campground we headed south again on US-95. At Fruitland ID we crossed the river into Oregon and picked up US-20 west. We were soon driving in a high desert area of farmland mixed in with dry sage brush covered fields. There were fields with onions, corn, beans, and other vegetables growing thanks to large irrigation systems. West of Burns we took US-395 south. We were still around 4000 feet and driving through high desert but now there was mostly open grazing land. Even at that elevation it was hot, in the mid 90s. We passed dry lake beds and even some sand dunes. We stopped at a rest area south of Alkali Lake and talked to two motorcycle riders who were headed north. They were worried that they might not have enough gas to make it the 100 miles to the next service station. They finally decided to go for it. We headed south again and north of Lakeview we stopped at the Albert Rim Oasis RV park for the night. We had electricity so we were able to run the air conditioner. Bonnie went up to the bath house to take a shower and was attacked by toads that jumped off the walls and landed on her. When she got back I went up and as soon as I walked through the door a toad jumped on me from above. Luckily we both survived “The attack of the Toads”
Then we were in the mountains. We stopped atop Roger's Pass and ate lunch. We left Roger's Pass and continued west until we came to the Aspen Glen Nat'l Forest Campground. The campground was busy but we found a nice site overlooking a small meadow. It was in the 80s and quite warm when we got there. We sat outside and watched storm clouds roll in. We had lightning, thunder, and rain and it cooled off into the 60. It remained cool and comfortable the rest of the day.
8/1/2010 It got down to 53 degrees during the night. We left the campground at 10am and took Hwy-200 west through scenic mountains and into Missoula MT. We stopped for groceries, said good-by to Hwy-200 and headed west out of town on US-12. We stopped at a roadside picnic area and made our lunch. Soon after getting back on US-12, we saw a mother moose and her baby grazing along the road. When we got to Lolo Pass, we stopped at the visitor center to look around and use the pay phone as there was no cell phone service. Leaving Lolo Pass we continued west on US-12 into Idaho. It's a scenic drive as it runs along the Lochsa River and snakes through the Bitterroot Mountain Range along the route that Louis and Clark took years ago. We stopped to camp at Whitehouse Nat'l Forest Campground, one of our favorite stops. It's a small campground with just 11 sites, which were mostly filled but we were lucky to find a site open that was right on the river. We relaxed and just enjoyed this beautiful place. Later we waded in the river for awhile and then grilled hamburgs for dinner. We watched a flock of geese that flew in and landed on the river.
8/2/2010 It was 52 degrees when we got up. We decided to stay another day here. We talked to the campers on the site next to us. They live in Boise and have been coming here for 25 years. They gave us some good suggestions on routes to take west from here. We had a nice day. The temperature was 75 degrees. We went for some walks, read, and waded in the river. We made a campfire and roasted hot dogs for supper.
8/3/2010 It was 50 degrees overnight. Nice sleeping weather. We left the campground and continued west on US-12. For 80 miles it descends slowly through a valley with mountains on both sides as it follows the Lochsa river downstream. We had a 12 minute wait when we came across a road crew that was dislodging rocks from the sides of a mountain so they wouldn't fall on someones car later. When we came to Kooskia we left US-12, took hwy 13 over a mountain, and got on US-95 south at Grangeville. All the roads in Idaho must be scenic as this one was no exception. Shortly after passing through New Meadows we entered the Payette Nat'l Forest. We stopped at the Evergreen Nat'l forest campground and picked out a nice site to stay at. It was quite hot when we stopped but soon the sun descended below the trees and it cooled off quickly.
8/4/2010 It was 52 degrees when we woke up. We love sleeping in the mountains at higher elevations as it always cools off in the night. When we left the campground we headed south again on US-95. At Fruitland ID we crossed the river into Oregon and picked up US-20 west. We were soon driving in a high desert area of farmland mixed in with dry sage brush covered fields. There were fields with onions, corn, beans, and other vegetables growing thanks to large irrigation systems. West of Burns we took US-395 south. We were still around 4000 feet and driving through high desert but now there was mostly open grazing land. Even at that elevation it was hot, in the mid 90s. We passed dry lake beds and even some sand dunes. We stopped at a rest area south of Alkali Lake and talked to two motorcycle riders who were headed north. They were worried that they might not have enough gas to make it the 100 miles to the next service station. They finally decided to go for it. We headed south again and north of Lakeview we stopped at the Albert Rim Oasis RV park for the night. We had electricity so we were able to run the air conditioner. Bonnie went up to the bath house to take a shower and was attacked by toads that jumped off the walls and landed on her. When she got back I went up and as soon as I walked through the door a toad jumped on me from above. Luckily we both survived “The attack of the Toads”