Panorama of the Bitterroot Mountains
Taken approximately 1,000 feet above Lookout Pass
Montana/Idaho State Line
June 17th, 2018
Yesterday, in
honor of Father's Day (or just to get out of the house), Kevin and I took a 200-mile
drive around western Montana and northern Idaho. I say it was in honor of
Father's Day because the standing joke in our family was that my father would
drive to Powell (Wyoming) by way of Cody (Wyoming). For those of you who don't
know this region, you can easily drive a pretty straight line from Billings,
Montana to Powell, Wyoming, but Father would head west to Livingston, Montana,
then south through Yellowstone Park, and finally east to Cody, eventually
ending up in Powell. This turned an 88-mile drive into one covering 326 miles
and taking at least 7 hours.
The first of many tunnels
(Northern Pacific Railroad Grade)
Near Lookout Pass, Mineral County, Montana
June 17th, 2018
Honaker Creek
Mineral County, Montana
June 17th, 2018
A Honaker Creek Tributary
Near Bullion Pass, Mineral County, Montana
June 17th, 2018
Man, those things are big when they're at eye level
Near Bullion Pass, Mineral County, Montana
June 17th, 2018
(Note the very dirty windshield)
Run, Run For Your Life!
Near Bullion Pass, Mineral County, Montana
June 17th, 2018
We crossed into
Idaho and the road deteriorated drastically. On the Idaho side, the road is
called the Bullion Creek Road, or Forest Road 507. We drove slowly down the mountain
(maybe 5 mph), dodging rocks and in two places fording streams that had
overflowed their banks and were in the process of washing away the road. By
this time, the geocaching app on my cell phone had given up, showing us only a
gray square where we should see roads--no cell service, don't ya know--and my
Garmin Montana 650t was showing us lots of contour lines, but I had no sense of
scale so I couldn't tell Kevin how much more of this torture we were due for. 25 miles isn't very far in today's world--but when you're driving at 5 miles
per hour....
Southern End of Bullion Creek Road
Shoshone County, Idaho
June 17th, 2018
Eventually we
came to a Yield sign nailed to the side of a tall pine (another photo op), and
signs pointing north to Wallace, Idaho (17 miles) or south to Avery (11 miles).
We turned south and soon found ourselves at a four-way junction with no
direction signs that were at all helpful. (Yes, there were signs. No, none of
them mentioned Avery at all.) Continuing on toward Pearson, the western
terminus of the Hiawatha Trail, we soon found ourselves driving on the
Milwaukee railbed for the ten miles from Pearson to Avery with only this
"comforting" sign to guide us. "One lane road with passing
points next 10 miles." What the sign didn't warn us was that the one lane
road passed through several railroad tunnels, some of which were so long that
you couldn’t see one end from the beginning. With no light at the end of the
tunnel, it was quite possible to get caught inside a tunnel facing oncoming
traffic and one or the other of you would have to back up. Fortunately, that
did not happen. Not only did we drive through tunnels, but also crossed a
couple of railroad trestles, including one across the North Fork of the St. Joe
River. I will say this, as we were on a railroad bed, the grade was very
gradual, and Idaho (or Shoshone County) has done an admirable job of keeping
the road up. After almost 10 miles, we went around a bend and saw a garbage
dump right on the side of the road. Strikingly ugly in an otherwise pristine
landscape. Around the next bend we found Avery.
Back in the
day, Avery was a bustling railroad town, the point where the Milwaukee switched
from electric power used through the Rocky Mountains to coal or later diesel
for the trek west toward Seattle, with a round house and all the accompanying
shops. Today, Avery is a wide spot on Forest
Highway 50 populated mostly by vacationing families living in travel trailers
or rental units. The Avery Post Office
is located in the old Milwaukee Depot and there is a gift shop and a
convenience store that serves “fast food,” including deli sandwiches, hot dogs,
burgers and even fish and chips if you’re brave enough. I wasn’t, so we stuck to burgers (cheese
burger for me) and fries. The burgers
were ok—better than a lot I’ve had, but the fries were terrific. If you find yourself in Avery, you gotta try
Scheffy’s. Seriously, it’s the only
place in town to eat. The ONLY place in
town.
The Kyle Tunnel (#33), Milwaukee Railroad Bed
Shoshone County, Idaho
June 17th, 2018
Forest Highway
50 is one of those roads to nowhere that makes no sense in today’s cost-conscious
world. Its western terminus is at Idaho
Highway 3 just outside St. Maries in Benewah County, and its eastern terminus
is the Montana state line 16 miles south of St. Regis. In its 89-mile length, it passes through Calder
(unincorporated) and Avery (also unincorporated) and nothing else. Yet, for some unknown (to me) reason, it is a
beautifully paved road, well maintained, that follows the St. Joe River and is
now known as the St. Joe River Scenic Byway.
For my money, it’s one of the
most beautiful drives in our part of the country and I highly recommend it. This was Kevin’s first time on the road and
he was suitably impressed. Of course,
when you reach the state line, the pavement ends and you have a dirt road most
of the rest of the way to St. Regis. I
will say this, the dirt road was easily two lanes wide and very smooth. The best dirt road we had today by a long
shot. By the time we hit the state line,
it was getting late, and I took no more photos nor did we stop to find more geocaches as
we were both ready to get home. All in
all a lovely day out in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
The Saint Joe River
Shoshone County, Idaho
June 17th, 2018
