Montana Trip - Day 14

[up around 0800 - had breakfast in the hotel - drove into Missoula (0830) - this place is the setting for the book "A River Runs Through It." - saw sign for [Elk Preserve] - took a little bit of time to locate it - took a nice tour and short nature walk - on US-93 south through town - drove all the way to Lolo through pretty Bitteroot Valley - visited Traveler's Rest State Park (interesting talk with Blackfoot who worked there) - walked to site of Lewis & Clark's camp - looking at map, saw that there would probably be no services for several miles - so filled up gas tank in Lolo - drove up US-12 to Lolo Pass (met Forest Service person from Texas) and into Idaho (and Pacific Time Zone!) - VERY remote after that - miles and miles of [Seyle-Bitteroot] Wilderness - following Clearwater River (it really was Clear!) - several short stops for nature walks (grove of cedar trees, Nez Perce / Nimiipuu displays) - all trails on the other side of river (had to cross wooden suspension bridges) - when I was in Sixth Grade, our teacher showed us a movie about Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, and his famous quote "I will fight no more forever" - I had always wanted to learn more about his people - with that in mind, followed US-12 to Kamiah so I could visit one of the Nez Perce Park stops (Heart of the Monster: creation story w/coyote) - backtracked to ID-13 and used it to find US-95 - stopped at Mammoth site (Tolo Lake) and then found White Bird Pass and Nez Perce War battlefield site - saw a sign for Hell's Canyon (I thought I had to be in Oregon to visit it - I guess not...) - followed gravel road over mountain to get to Pittsfield Landing on the Snake River (whew! didn't think I would make it!) - saw lots of wildlife and scenic views of the Hells Canyon - VERY remote - much hotter than I've felt for days for some reason - drive back was an hour again (to town of White Bird) - on US-95 again, entered Salmon River Canyon - even more scenic - sandy beaches, steep cliffs on both sides - getting dark (with sun behind the mountains) - smells like smoke everywhere - it had become clear earlier today that I wouldn't be able to cross into Oregon (much less, Washington), but now it was clear I wouldn't even be able to make it to Boise, so I stopped at Riggins - it is a pleasant little town - first place for cell service all day - ended up staying at Salmon River Motel - ate dinner at nearby [Summerfield's] - talked with Nicky on the phone for a long time tonight - bed late...]