DRIVING LOLO PASS

Heading over Lolo Pass to Walla Walla on Saturday

Lolo Pass is a wonderful mountain drive.  I know from previous experiences service stations and rest stops can be very far apart or non-existent in many rural areas in the West.  That was why I made sure my tires were good this morning before I started this drive. 

On my way across the pass I saw a sign for Lolo Peak -- it is over 9,000 feet high.  I don't see snow on top, though it's difficult to look for long since it is almost behind me. Amazing.

And there's a sign that says, "Moose Crossing."  Don't believe I've ever seen one of those before.  I've seen moose -- just not a sign saying they may be coming.

The thermometer in my car says it 44 degrees outside at 9:30 this morning.  It's cold here, but I am prepared with heavy shoes and socks and a jacket and a couple of blankets.  (Just reporting for those of you who were worried about me making this trip) 

At the top of Lolo Pass I cross into Idaho.  It's 6% grade going down this other side.  The mountains are so high here that I can't even see the sky out the side windows and often not out the windshield.

The sign I just passed says, "Winding road for the next 99 miles." I love crooked winding mountain roads so this day is just getting better and better.

I just found two deer standing beside the road.  I am able to drive within 5 feet of them and they just watch me, unafraid.  They only problem is they are standing in a gravel parking area beside the road -- they should be in the woods or at least in the grass so my picture shows them in their native habitat. They had no intention of moving. 




Russian Creek is running beside the road.  It's rather shallow and wide, but filled with rocks and timber and logs.  It's the kind we used to camp beside when we were growing up, the kind that as kids, we always tried to dam up with rocks.

As I descend the Idaho side of the pass I look ahead and see what appears to be fog.  As I get closer I realize it is smoke from forest fires someplace in the area.  I don't know if it's a wild fire or a controlled burn.  I don't see any flames, but I know smoke can travel a long ways. The smoke is so thick in some places it really limits visibility.  It's like driving in a thick grey fog. A few miles up the road I stop at the ranger station for a break and to inquire about the fire.  I talk with a gentleman in the parking lot who is studying a topographic map.  He says the smoke is from wild fires across the river, that there are multiple fire locations, but they are not near the highway.  The air is very smoky and I can certainly smell the forest burning. 

Just as I get to Kooskia, all the mountains that were completely covered with evergreens on Lolo Pass are now totally bald.  They totally fill my windshield.  There are a few trees dotted here and there but the entire landscape changed rather suddenly.

After Kamiah, the road is hugging the edge of the bald hills with the river just below the edge of the road. There's still a lot of smoke which makes it difficult to see how high and large these hills.  It's like  putting everything in a fog.  I'm not even trying to take pictures.  In clear weather it's a challenge; in the smoke, nothing will show up.  I'm obviously going to follow smoke for a long time today.

Dworshak Dam

At Orofino, I stop at the Dworshak Fish Hatchery and Dam. I've heard about these places for many years and even seen photos, but have never been here in person until today.  This stop is for Dad, who did much of the design work on this state-of-the-art hatchery when it was built many years ago.  An important part of the dam building projects was to make sure the fish were taken care of, that they had a way to return to their spawning grounds.  I only wish Dad was here to explain all about the hatchery to me -- it would make a lot more sense.  There were no personnel here today because it's Saturday, so I relied on the signs for explanations.

The spillway

The fish hatchery

After I leave Orofino I continue to drive along these huge bald hills.  I marvel at their size.  I've seen similar balds before but it's been a long time.  Their color is like tan suede.  There is an occasional house on these balds, but these are not farms because the hills are too steep.  There are a few trees along the bottom. I see Walla Walla, my home town, on the road sign for the first time:  127 miles.  My route will be longer since I am going through Lewiston, Idaho and Pullman, Washington on the way.

When I get to Lewiston, my plan is to go up the Lewiston Grade -- a famous road for it's twists and turns and steepness.  When I was in college we often drove the grade on weekend afternoons just to get off campus for awhile. The road now is four-lane which makes the drive easy, but does not reduce it's spectacular climb to the top of the balds and bluffs. The fields are harvested, all that remains is the yellow straw and stubble. At the top of the grade, I enter the State of Washington and am heading towards Pullman, the home of my alma mater, Washington State University. I have finally gotten above the smoke after driving in it for several hours. The wheat fields are absolutely gorgeous.  I am grateful these rolling hills are not obscured by the smoke.

I'm on a two-lane winding road through the wheat fields and just passed about ten small combines coming the other way.  The cars in my lane moved over to make room for them since they take up more than their lane. I had forgotten that large farm machinery is often on the main highways out here.

I can't get enough of the scenery here.  It feels like home and I am soaking it up like a sponge that has been dry for many years.  As I drive I sometimes wonder if my friends would find this as beautiful and stunning as I do.  On this entire trip, through Iowa and Minnesota and North Dakota and Montana it is the landscapes that fill a deep place within me, it's the landscapes that feed my soul.  I'm thinking now this trip might not be long enough....to restore what has been missing for a long time. Perhaps it's been a longing that only now I am beginning to understand.