Lolo, Montana: Such a quiet and wonderful sleep along the Lochsa River. Nothing to do and nowhere to go today. Just continuing east on Highway 12. We have left the Clearwater River and will follow the Lochsa east.
We stopped along the Lochsa for brunch/lunch camp. This stretch of Highway 12 is simply outstanding. We were definitely day camping, as we put down the leveling jacks, extended the awning and the slide room.
Corfu Omelet: Green pepper and red onion, sauteed in olive oil until soft. Topped with whipped (with a fork) eggs and garnished (must garnish) with dried oregano and crumbled feta. I made toast in a dry skillet. Gourmet lunch on the side of the road by a river.
We crossed into Montana and lost an hour (am still no younger). At this point, we crossed the Continental Divide, and all water runs east. We stopped in Lolo to visit the Travelers Rest State Park. This Montana State Park ($8 fee) holds the only archaeologically verified campsite of the Corps of Discovery. Scientists and archaeologists have dug down into this site - which has been used for thousands of years as a crossroads/meeting place for native travelers (even travelers going between Mexico and Canada) - and have found fragments of bullets the Corps were making during their stay here, beads, and even found mercury in the latrine, as the diaries of the trip include notations of mercury given to some of the men to "clean out" their systems. Science is real, people!
The visitor center has displays about members of the Corp of Discovery and their journey west, but (to me) the most interesting area of the center is the Grizzly Bear art exhibit. Many drawings (way before photography), hunting and fishing magazine covers, lithographs, newspaper clippings, pencil drawings, and paintings. Some of the art work was completed by a person who had never ever seen a Grizzly. Maybe 60-70 pieces in the exhibit. Everyone of them outstanding. Such fun.
The Lewis & Clark campsite, on the eastern side of the Continental Divide was known as the Place of No Salmon, as there is no salmon east of the divide. Also, few bison ever crossed the divide. This meeting place at the base of the Bitterroot mountains is where tribes traded, game was plentiful, and the area was rich with edible and medicinal plants. Today this ancient route is called the Nez Perce or Lolo Trail
Lewis and Clark came here on 9 September 1805 as they prepared to cross the Bitterroot Mountains, heading west. Lewis named this campsite Travellers Rest. The next year, June 1806, the Corp of Discovery returned here on their trip back to Washington DC. Travelers Rest is where Lewis and Clark separated. Clark led a party to explore the Yellowstone River. Lewis followed the original course east. The dynamic duo met up later in St. Louis and returned to Washington DC as heroes.
If Lewis & Clark would have only waited 125 years, they could have flown across the country.
We found a campsite a few miles west of Travelers Rest for the night. I prepped guacamole and a quesadilla.
Tomorrow, we continue east.
Until my next update, I remain, your resting traveler correspondent.
Campground Information: Yellowrock RV Park