P called just as I was leaving the parking lot and directed me to a filling station and then we found a place to park downtown so we could walk to Olive's for coffee and coffee cake. I think we sat there and talked for an hour before I said I really needed to get going so I could meet Q for lunch in Pullman. But I'd mentioned that I wasn't sure my hitch was set correctly and P said that he knew the guy at Melody Muffler and he was really good with hitches. So we drove over there and I met Mike Hammond. To protect the identity of the people I talk about, I usually just refer to them by first initial. But Mike deserves the publicity. He's my kind of guy. Check out his website at http://mikehammond.com/. He's not only a muffler man, he makes muffler art. And he sings and plays in a band ripping out some of the best electric blues I've heard. We traded. He gave me a CD and I gave him a book. I listened to the CD all the way to Pullman and was really rocking. Oh. There was nothing wrong with my hitch, but it took me 45 minutes to get out of Melody Muffler.
I picked up Q at her friend's house in Pullman about 1:30 and we headed out to eat at the New Garden Chinese Restaurant. The food was good and we had a chance to catch up and talk one last time before the darling daughter flies down to meet me for Thanksgiving at my sister's house in Texas. It was kinda sad to let go of her and head out to U.S. Hwy 95 to resume my southward journey through Idaho.
I quickly discovered that I was headed into Nez Perce land, including the Nez Perce National Historical Park. Just a few miles southeast of Lewiston, I came to the Museum and Park information station. It was fascinating. One of the best Park museums I've ever seen. It isn't huge, but if you get a chance, stop there. The ranger on duty was very helpful. In addition to the museum, you can watch a 20 minute video on the Nez Perce. There are children's activities. And I found out about the 38 historical sites in the park, many of which I was near. I think I stopped at every historical marker along the way and had a great time.
The one picture I wanted to put in here was too fuzzed to use. I must have been shaking or something. I stopped at a historical marker for an archaeological dig and it also had the story of Coyote and Black Bear. Coyote, the all-powerful animal spirit was having a good time fishing in the Clearwater River until Black Bear, the busybody, began to tease him. Finally losing his temper, Coyote tossed his huge fishnet onto the hills across the river . To teach Black Bear a lesson, Coyote threw him to the top of the hill on this side of the river and turned him to stone.
I could make out what I believed to be the pattern of the fishnet across the river. It's not much different than looking at the stars and seeing constellations. But then I turned around to look at the mountain and there was Black Bear. He was clear and locked in stone against the edge of the hill. Don't miss that historical marker if you go that way.
I made it to Grangeville at about 5:30 p.m. and pulled into the Sundown RV Park where I'd called ahead for a reservation. I didn't need much of a reservation for this place as less than half the spots were taken. It was a gravel bed and the wind whipped around so much that I couldn't leave the awning out. I was okay with that since the rain hit hard again that night.
The first person I met that evening was a stranded traveler with his family. He'd burned his truck out pulling his trailer across the pass and had been towed into the park. He was waiting for repair and checking on insurance. He did say that there was a much nicer park a mile away. I decided to check it out and immediately booked the next night at Bear Den RV Park. I figured I'd explore a little from Grangeville for a couple of days. These are the two sites. Bear Den was lightyears ahead of Sundown and only $2.00 different in price.
I planned to make the trip from Grangeville to Elk City, about an hour and a half away on a small two-lane road twisting through the mountains to the Salmon River. Unfortunately, I got only a small break in the rain to move my trailer and it stayed stormy until after 2:00 in the afternoon. I didn't want to try the trip in the rain and unpredictable conditions so I spent the afternoon writing and editing. I set up the grill and had one of R&A Paradise Ranch's incredible Hanger Tenderloins. A told me this was a perfect steak for me and she was absolutely right. They are long thin steaks, often called a butcher's steak because usually the butcher keeps it. They weigh between 5 and 8 ounces, a perfect size, and are so tender it's unbelievable. I'm glad I've got four more of them in my freezer!
The facilities at Bear Den RV Park are the best I've encountered anywhere. The shower facilities and restrooms are spotless. It has a large rec room with TV and games. I took advantage of the laundry facilities to do two loads and it was a bargain to pay only $6 total for wash and dry. The last Laundromat I was in cost that much just to get things washed. I used the showers on both Thursday and Friday. Nice!
After breakfast and doing a lot of trailer maintenance, I headed up and across White Bird Summit (the hill that killed my neighbor's truck). I understood why. On the Grangeville side, it's a long slow climb, but not a problem to get to the 4,245 foot summit. The view was fantastic, but there was a sign that pointed further up a side road that said there was a summit lodge. I didn't trust taking the truck and trailer up there, not knowing if it would just deadend. So I walked. A mile and a half and another 700 feet in elevation. But it was worth it.
Frank and Terri Schmitz own and run the Whitebird Summit Lodge, a year-round bed and breakfast lodge on what I discovered was "Old Route 95." Terri was very kind and gave me a glass of water as I looked over the lodge. She and her assistant Leia were preparing large amounts of very good-smelling food for a group coming in this evening to take all seven rooms. Take a look at these great folks at http://www.whitebirdsummitlodge.com/. And if you are so inclined, "like" them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/whitebirdlodge. I did.
Just below the summit is another historical overlook site for the Nez Perce National Historical Park. I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail about how the Nez Perce were (like most native American tribes) given land until it was deemed valuable. Then a new treaty (the Stealing Treaty) was put in place so whites could go after the gold discovered there. This picture shows the White Bird Battlefield where the first shots of the Nez Perce War were fired in 1877.
There is a walking tour of the Battlefield, and after I parked the trailer in the town of White Bird at Angel's Nook RV Park, I went for a hike. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon when I started the historical trail up to the peak above the cliffs in this picture (left center).
The view that the soldiers and volunteers would have had should have given them pause if it weren't for the fact that the natives were ready for them. The Nez Perce lost three men, the U.S. Cavalry 38, many as they retreated in disorder. The Indians immediately packed up their tents and village and moved to join other member tribes against what would be another enforcement of U.S. landgrabbing from the Native Americans.
I bring this up because when I got to the top of the cliff--a mile and a half walk along the white line below--I decided to take a second trail marked just below the summit (gain of 450 feet) that would loop around to the West of the next rise and back to the trailhead. It was supposed to be about the same length, making a 3 mile loop. Unfortunately, the trail was either poorly marked or just petered out, because it was close to three miles along the red line below until I finally made my way out of the park three-quarters of a mile below where I'd left my truck. Instead of a nice hour-long walk to the cliff and back, I was out about two hours and covered about five miles with a lot of up and down.
My important discovery was that even though I was better prepared for this walk than the walk to the summit of White Bird, I am not prepared for wilderness hiking. I didn't even take my cell phone! Stupid! I was in a fairly confined area, so I got along without my compass (stupid!). I did have my walking stick, water, and gloves. But before I head into Hells Canyon tomorrow, I'm working on what I'm carrying!
Beautiful views!
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