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After spending what seemed like a lifetime getting to, and staying in Pomeroy, it is indeed a joy to arrive in the bustling metropolis of Clarkston, WA/Lewiston, ID. Arrived after the short ride around noon, and proceeded to do some much needed shopping ... bike shop for a new heavy-duty tube and the grocery store for misc. items.
The best part of getting into this area was spending the evening with Ilene and Larry McLain. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, they are heading to Gig Harbor, WA. We enjoyed great conversation over a delightful meal, then headed over to the Hells Gate State Park where they were staying for a couple of nights. They gave me a tour of their RV, which reinforces my changed view of RVs. Me thinks RVs are the way to travel ... mosquitoes outside, but not inside ... plus air conditioning and very comfortable chairs/couches. The evening was very special for me ... maybe I should dump the bike and hitch a ride with them.
During today's ride, I stopped at a historical marker ... one of many in this area pointing out points of interest concerning the Lewis & Clark Expedition. At this particular location, one could see the actual trails used by the Expedition, coming down one side of the narrow valley and up the other side (trail runs diagonally down right-to-left, at about mid-height of photo ... click on phote for enlarged view). This trail, which was pointed out by a local tribe, was the overland trail that saved the L&C traveling party quite a bit of time and miles. At this site, there was a junction of three Native American trade routes, used for thousands of years prior to Lewis and Clark coming into the area. Quite stunning to think about what little information is available concerning the history of the Western States prior to the arrival of the Euro/American explorers. As one of the historical markers pointed out, most of the travel done by the the explorers/fur traders was on well established trade routes developed over the previous thousands of years ... information about these trails was provided by the Native Americans.
While pondering the time periods involved in the habitation of this area, a rather astounding fact jolted me ... Lewis and Clark "opened up the West" in 1805, which is a little over 200 years ago. I am currently 60 years old, which means that I have been alive for most of the final one-third of the time since Lewis and Clark did their epic trip. Kind of changes my perception of time/American history.
Heading into Idaho today ... looking forward to cooler weather and prettier scenery.
The best part of getting into this area was spending the evening with Ilene and Larry McLain. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, they are heading to Gig Harbor, WA. We enjoyed great conversation over a delightful meal, then headed over to the Hells Gate State Park where they were staying for a couple of nights. They gave me a tour of their RV, which reinforces my changed view of RVs. Me thinks RVs are the way to travel ... mosquitoes outside, but not inside ... plus air conditioning and very comfortable chairs/couches. The evening was very special for me ... maybe I should dump the bike and hitch a ride with them.
During today's ride, I stopped at a historical marker ... one of many in this area pointing out points of interest concerning the Lewis & Clark Expedition. At this particular location, one could see the actual trails used by the Expedition, coming down one side of the narrow valley and up the other side (trail runs diagonally down right-to-left, at about mid-height of photo ... click on phote for enlarged view). This trail, which was pointed out by a local tribe, was the overland trail that saved the L&C traveling party quite a bit of time and miles. At this site, there was a junction of three Native American trade routes, used for thousands of years prior to Lewis and Clark coming into the area. Quite stunning to think about what little information is available concerning the history of the Western States prior to the arrival of the Euro/American explorers. As one of the historical markers pointed out, most of the travel done by the the explorers/fur traders was on well established trade routes developed over the previous thousands of years ... information about these trails was provided by the Native Americans.
While pondering the time periods involved in the habitation of this area, a rather astounding fact jolted me ... Lewis and Clark "opened up the West" in 1805, which is a little over 200 years ago. I am currently 60 years old, which means that I have been alive for most of the final one-third of the time since Lewis and Clark did their epic trip. Kind of changes my perception of time/American history.
Heading into Idaho today ... looking forward to cooler weather and prettier scenery.
Hi Mr. Garmon! I just caught up with your blog. I dreamed last night that you decided to cancel the trip and fly home. I actually had to ask Pete if that happened or if I dreamed it! Glad you are hanging in there. I think it will be fun for you when you get into the midest and the towns are closer together, more variety, more people to talk to . . . like Ragbrai. We are playing VB tomorrow night and we will toast to your trip, I promise!
ReplyDeleteFrom, Ms. Jorgensen