2009 Roadtrip, Part 2: North by NorthwestJune 21: About 40 miles north of Salmon, the mountain scenery becomes more wooded. U.S. 93 starts to twist upon itself and climbs to 7000 feet at the pass into Montana. The switchbacks extend visability enough for me to double-yellow pass a camper and comfortably coast through the Bitterroot National Forest. For a Sunday, it's surprisingly congested in Missoula and then through northern Idaho on I-90. Even the scenery seems congested in these woods; I'm already missing the plains, plateaus, and prairies: "I had a job in the great north woods / Working as a cook for a spell / But I never did like it all that much / And one day the ax just fell." Still, I want to see Washington state. I've been there before, but I haven't seen it: My parents took me to all 50 states, but I fell asleep on the trip through Washington, and nobody woke me up, so I didn't see it. Now the weather and traffic are becoming more congested; I call it an early day in Spokane. June 22: There's a Honda dealership nearby, so the hybrid gets an oil change and checkup. U.S. 2 takes me north on a misty day, but at least I finally get to see my 50th state. Traffic remains congested, and there's even a long backup that slows my return to Idaho. The scenery around Lake Pend Oreille is pleasant yet brief. I'm near Canada but can't go there because I don't have a passport; instead, I head back to Montana and stay the night in Kalispell. June 23: The weather has cleared. East of Glacier National Park, in the Blackfeet Indian nation I catch U.S. 89 south. As if by magic, the traffic all but disappears, and the scenery becomes more to my liking:  The picture I missed: A cowboy cantering on a paint to the top of a grassy hill, framed against snow-capped mountains. The driving is easy, and I make it to Livingston on the Yellowstone River, an hour north of the park. June 24: A sign at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park says something about firearms, but I don't catch the details. The scenery is the most crisp and vivid because of the pristine air quality. The park is the last remaining portion of Wyoming Territory: it was created in 1872, well before Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho became states. Its geysers, hot springs, and earthquakes are frequent reminders of the supervolcano below; large patches of dead trees result when the hydrothermals shift, get in the tree roots, and petrify them. Yellowstone in the summer is even more congested than western Montana, especially when there's any wildlife around and everyone stops to take a picture. The bison are shedding their winter coats:  I continue south, enter Grand Teton National Park, and follow the Snake River past the Teton rockies into Jackson, which seems to be the most elaborate tourist trap ever devised. I half-seriously consider taking U.S. 89 through Utah to the Grand Canyon and beyond. Wyoming 22 climbs over the Tetons at 8400 feet, and another double-yellow pass makes the steep descent into Idaho enjoyable. Idaho 33, 32, and 47 provide more scenic views of the Tetons; then U.S. 20 takes me to another entrance of the park, West Yellowstone, Montana. (I've been driving all day to end up nearly where I started.) June 25: This time I drive along Yellowstone Lake (elevation 7700 feet) in the opposite direction and then a little further as I climb out the east entrance on U.S. 20 and into Wyoming. The descent through the Shoshone National Forest is exhilarating. In Cody I visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center: five museums for the price of three: Western Art, Plains Indian, Natural History (snore), Firearms, and of course Buffalo Bill. The Cody Firearms Museum is overwhelming and presents firearms as culture/product, appropriately enough for the Center. (I liked Ogden's Browning Museum better, though: firearms as life's work; and three museums for the price of one.) I humbly suggest adding a Remington 700 to the collection, perhaps in 7mm Magnum, the cartridge that debuted with the rifle in 1962. The scenery on this roadtrip has certainly been good -- head-on-a-swivel good -- thanks to the scenic routes indicated in the road atlas. I've also enjoyed listening to a series of Joe Pickett novels, about a Wyoming game warden in the Bighorn rockies. So the plan is to take scenic U.S. 14A east to the Bighorns and then the scenic portion of U.S. 14 west to Greybull. However, on 14A in Lovell, I don't see the turn to stay on the road I'm already on (arrgh!) and end up taking U.S. 310 to 14 and going through the Bighorns in the opposite direction. I don't miss any scenery, but I would have enjoyed descending 14's switchbacks more than climbing them. In any event, over the years the sheep and elk have worn a trail from their seasonal migrations between elevations, a thin line just visible across not-so Dry Creek:
There are meadows and beaver dams along U.S. 14 at the top of the range. The descent on 14A is dramatic but not very challenging (as long as your transmission and brakes are working properly). The grades are steep: at times the road ahead disappears -- improving the view of the basin below -- as it approaches the rollercoaster plunges. But the road is mostly straight, and I coast for miles back to Lovell for the night. June 26: The weather turns messy and dampens the scenery through the southern portion of the Bighorn rockies on U.S. 16. The misty rain persists on I-90, on WY 24 around the Black Hills National Forest and past Devil's Tower, and into Spearfish, South Dakota where I call it an early day. Last modified: 7/19/2009 |
