Day 11: Missoula MT to Boise ID

Missoula MT to Boise ID - 424 Miles

We knew today would be a long ride, but it was insanely long. 12 hours door to door.

The day started nicely with a latte at a local Starbucks. We had a good laugh when a local gentleman approached us and asked "Why is it you are invading Canada ? Do I need to call Trudeau and warn him ?"

Things went a bit sideways from there....

First delay: Missoula Post Office. As in the past, I had to mail some souvenir (shirts) I purchased home because I had no room to pack them in my bags. Arrived at the post office at 8:40, 5 ppl in front of me (Automated kiosk down). I thought "this should go quick". SOOOOO wrong. I got out of there at 9:30. Almost an HOUR to handle 6 customers.

As we were leaving the Post Office, the thunder, lightening, and heavy rain started. So we had to pull over and put on all the rain gear. Delay #2.

The ride over the Lolo pass on Hwy 12 was AMAZING. This road is 100+ miles of sweeping twisties and one of the best roads we have ever been on. It hugs the Lochsa River for most of the ride. Highly recommended for any kind of vehicle you are in. Here are some pics from the road of the Lochsa:









And a pic of us in the rain gear - once out of the storms, it was like a sauna in these outfits as the temps soared to a sunny 80. I felt like I was inone of those plastic suits the wrestlers wear to sweat out water and make weight:


Kate in her rain gear - check out the new booties.


Hwy 12 is also known as the Lewis and Clark Trail:


And Lewis and Clark passed thru this way on their expedition.


We made a stop at an adorable little coffee shot on Hwy 12 for a cold glass of iced tea and a snack - stop by and see the folks at the Coffee Loft if you are ever in the area !


Along with the iced tea, the daily remedy keeping my muscles limber and pain free:



We also hit significant delays today due to the large amount of road construction happening on Hwy 95 in Idaho. There were several one lane traffic controls. Being stopped for 15-20 mins on the hot tarmac in 90 degree heat in black leathers, kinda sucked. We hit 4 of these situations today. Guessing all of this delayed us yet another hour.

Took these shots while we were stopped waiting on the pilot car to take us down the one lane road:






Prior to leaving Hwy 12, we rode along the Clearwater River:





We picked up Hwy 95, which was a mix of gorgeous valley sweepers along rivers, to flat plains of grain fields, to construction HELL. 

I will ignore the hell, and leave these pics of the rivers we rode alongside. NOTE: I pulled these pics from the web - we were pressed for time given all the delays so I was not prioritizing photo ops.

The Salmon:

    


The Payette - a haven for rafting and kayaking:



We finally got to the hotel around 8:15pm. A quick dinner and off to bed.

This is kind of theme on this trip for me personally:


Here is our route for the day - tomorrow we cross the border back into California.








Comments

  1. AnnAugust 6, 2024 at 10:18 PM

    What an amazing trip you two gals are having!

    ReplyDelete

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