While Mark and Cindy were in the Lemhi County tax office, we walked around Salmon. We especially liked the park on the small island in the Salmon River. We met up and ate a late breakfast at Odd Fellows Bakery in Salmon. The restaurant is in an old building that had the Odd Fellows Lodge in Salmon. We had ham and jam croissant sandwiches, then split a bear claw and a molasses ginger cookie. The bakery had a small but nice dining area upstairs. Everything was very good.
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| Cindy on the Lewis & Clark Trail |
We drove by Sharkey Hot Springs and up to the top of the mountain on Forest Service Roads to reach the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail at Lemhi Pass. We walked along part of the trail that the Lewis and Clark party took over the continental divide. The area is really beautiful with fall flowers remaining in the high mountain meadows. We could understand how the explorers saw such beauty in the area.
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| At the "Most Distant Fountain" |
Our walk at Lemhi Pass took us through parts of Idaho and Montana as the trail winded along. This pass in in the Beaverhead Mountains of the Bitterroot Range at about 8,000 feet elevation. We stopped at the Sacajawea Memorial Area with a small picnic area dedicated to Sacajawea. We took a few snapshots and read interpretative signs on the Lewis and Clark expedition. We also went to “The Most Distant Fountain”, the spring that is reputed to be the head of the Missouri River. It is here that Lewis and Clark met the Shoshoni tribe. Fortunately, the chief of the tribe was Sacagawea’s brother. Although over 200 years have passed since the Lewis and Clark expedition, this area remains virtually unchanged other than a narrow dirt access road that has replaced the footrail.
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| Elk herd near Tendoy |
We drove on the Lewis and Clark Trail, coming out at Tendoy, Idaho. Turning south on ID-28, we stopped at a roadside park with interpretative signage about steelhead and salmon spawning in the area. We continued driving south on Rt. 28 near Lemhi when Mark spotted a mother moose and her two calves. Mark made a quick U turn to go back for photos. The adult moose watched us cautiously, keeping her calves near, but we were able to get a good look at the three of them.
We drove through Leadore on the Nez Perce Trail and toward the town of Gilmore to see the beehive clay charcoal ovens near Nicholia. On Rt. 28 we saw a herd of 75 over elk including several large bulls. Further south on the road, we saw several pronghorns including a herd of over 25 animals.
The Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns were built in 1886 to produce charcoal for the lead and silver mining operations at the Viola Mines about 10 miles east of the kilns. The charcoal was also used at the Nichola Smelter about three miles west of the mines. At one time there were 16 clay brick kilns at this site; each were about 20 feet in diameter and 20 feet tall. Every kiln could produce 1500 to 2000 bushels of charcoal during a two-day run. Each held 30 to 40 cords of wood, typically Douglas fir, per load.
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| Birch River charcoal kilns |
The ovens were in operation for less than three years when the price of lead fell. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and the Forest Service restored the kilns in 2000.
As we drove, we saw a harrier hawk dive down for a ground squirrel. We noticed it because of the especially long wings for a hawk. As we continued the 70-mile drive back to Salmon, we saw the pronghorn and elk herds again but from a distance this time. We also saw deer and sand hill cranes in fields as we drove.
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| Moose near Tendoy |
We decided on the Dusty Mule Bar & Grill for dinner. This is one of the dinner options near Mark and Cindy, so they are regulars at the diner. The restaurant was especially busy this evening, and the waitresses were flying around trying to get everyone served. We were able to get a table without waiting and were not in a hurry to get our meals. Mary, Cindy and Mark had the Friday special, chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes. I went with the black and blue burger, a half-pound patty with blue cheese. The burger was very good and cooked just right. However, the French fries were inedible. They were brown on the outside but completely raw. If struck me as funny to get bad potatoes at a meal in Idaho.
We made the short drive back to the house in May, where we bathed and watched the mystery, Witness for the Prosecution on Acorn.
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