Today was THE DAY, the first leg of our bike tour! Knowing that this would be a fairly short day, Corey and I left the hotel around 8:30. At Scott’s house we took a few pictures and headed back out around 9:30.
Wonderful hosts, Scott, Anna, Roo.
The Three Amigos, ready to roll. Scott, Mike, Corey.
Between Missoula and Lolo, which is where we would turn West on 12 to head up over the Lolo Pass, there was a nice bike trail. I understand the trail heads south another 40 miles or so to Hamilton (Tami, a good bike trail for us to try, maybe when we go sapphire hunting!) (T: Yes, please! Sounds like my kind of riding). Along that trail there was a spot where everyone had told us we would be able to see a large herd of bison. Unfortunately today was their day to go into hiding somewhere else. Scott said he had never failed to see them there before. Oh well, Buffalo Gal won’t you come out tonight, come out tonight….
The Bitterroot River. Looks cool and refreshing.
Shortly after we turned off onto 12 at Lolo, we stopped at a park at Travelers’ Rest State Park, a Louis and Clark camping spot.
Travelers’ Rest State Park
There was a nice museum, and we ran into a docent who walked us around the grounds. He even showed us where the L&C latrine had been! This was actually significant, as it was what enabled archeologists to determine that this was the actual camping spot by analyzing the soil and finding traces of the mercury that was used as a medicine for ailing members of the party.
Gives a new meaning to the term Thunderbolts. Science is grand.
Travelers’ Rest story
Good thing these two guys were there to point the amigos in the right direction.
A short while after that we visited the site of Fort Fizzle, a site where the army tried to stop a Native group trying to escape the area (and being put on a reservation), but the Native American’s simply bypassed the fort by going up into the hills above it, so the army’s effort fizzled.
Well-named fort.
Corey and Scott stay hydrated. Mike, are YOU staying hydrated???
The whole route from Lolo up to Lolo Hoy Springs Lodge where we are spending the night was a remarkably consistent low grade climb the whole way. We climbed maybe 1000 feet over the course of around 25 miles. At one point I noticed a business sign next to a driveway. I am guessing it might have been either for a blacksmith or a jeweler. The business was named Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. We got a chuckle out of that.
At one point, however, we LOST SCOTT! Great Scotts! We discovered today that Scott is a stronger rider than I. At one point he could no longer bare my “climbing” pace and rode ahead a bit. Soon we came around a corner and he was not visible in the distance. We were not sure whether he had pulled off or just pulled away. There were two possible places to pull off, a campground or Jack’s Saloon, which was a place we had seen a sign for a ways back that I thought might be a good place to stop for lunch. Since we did not see him when we rode by the campground, my stomach decided to gamble on Jack’s. Only it turned it when we got there that Jack’s was an indeterminate distance up a gravel road. Who knows, it might have only been 100 yards up, or it might have been several miles, but I was not about to go and try to find out. As it turned out, Scott had pulled into the campground and quickly came back to the entrance to watch for us, but we apparently rode by in the short period when he was turning around just past the bend in the campground entrance.
It did get hot, so we were glad to get to the lodge about 1:30 (total mileage for the day was 38), where we guzzled some of the pure and cold spring water in the lobby. We will fill our water bottles with THAT in the morning. We were told it is actually the water flowing into the hot springs (the lodge has two indoor soaking pools just off the lobby). The secret is to just fill your bottles with ice before you fill them with the water from the pipes pouring into the pools.
Nice of Lewis and Clark to drop by, but what is this with Christmas in July?
What is that thing? How do you use it? What is it for? Ten cents? Really?
An actual phone booth! Mike used it to call home.
This evening we will be on moose watch. There is a moose, or maybe several moose, that like to frequent a pond right next to the lodge in the evenings, and there is a fire pit where people gather to watch for the moose. Our room looks down on the pond, so we can also just sit in front of the window to keep watch if we want. We are told that the pond was specifically built to attract moose. Melinda, you might need to come stay here! (T: maybe you should try your moosey moosey song to attract them? Although it didn’t work very well in Alaska)