6/17 Livingston, MT to Walla Walla, WA

Heading west from Livingston on I-90, we took an early opportunity to get off the freeway by choosing highway US 12, which took us north into Helena. We followed 12 all the way to Missoula and on to the Lolo Pass area, one of our favorite scenic mountain pass highways. We’ve been over it several times by motorcycle, and the PT Cruiser was up to the task of its mile after mile of curving hills as well.

We reached the summit fairly quickly, crossing from Montana into Idaho and into the Pacific Time Zone as well. From there we followed the Lochsa River through an area known as the Wild Scenic River Corridor for over 70 miles as we descended towards Lewiston. Along the way there were several trailheads into the wilderness, several which had a suspension walking bridge crossing the river. As elsewhere in the country, the river was running very strong with the runoff from record winter snowfalls. At one turnout, we saw a pair of motor homes with several kayaks strapped to the top of each one. We assumed they were scoping out the river and looking for a launch point. We continued on, and further down the road stopped at another suspension bridge. Here the river was a bit narrower, causing the water to run even more swiftly. Boulders on the river bed contributed to additional turbulence as well. We wondered if we’d see those kayaks coming around the bend soon, so waited a few minutes just in case. Sure enough, here they came – still secured to the roofs of the motor homes as they pulled over at this stop. Further down the mountain, where the river widened a bit, we did see both kayakers and rafters enjoying the day.

There aren’t many towns or establishments along the way, and we were getting pretty hungry by the time we came to Lowell, where we stopped at the local café for a late lunch or early dinner. I guess it was dinner since we didn’t have another meal later. Here at Lowell the Selway River meets the Lochsa to form the Clearwater River, which we followed for another 100 miles or so into Lewiston. We crossed over the Snake River into Clarkston and Washington State, staying on highway 12 as it wound through the hills of the Palouse towards Walla Walla.