Supporting Idaho’s Finest

Day 2 started early with Bill and I loaded back up an on the road by 7 AM.  We headed east briefly on highway 95 before catching highway 12 all the way to Lolo, Montana.  Ride was wonderful once again today – weather was ideal, Idaho roads are splendidly maintained, and, apparently, it is still too early for the hordes of RV’s heading over Lolo Pass.  We had lunch at the pass and only had a handful of other visitors (excluding ground squirrels). 

Stopped at several historic points along the way but nothing really resonated with either Bill or I.  The only notable negative in today’s ride was Bill getting a speeding ticket.  He was leading on a wonderful stretch of road along the Clearwater River and may have been doing 70 in a 55 zone.  Fortunately for me, the Idaho State Patrol officer thought one ticket was enough.  Highlight of the traffic stop for me was the fantastic columnar jointing in the road cut.

Columnar basalt on its side. It swept up at the end of the outcrop but I couldn’t get a panned out shot. Busy road and the State Patrol officer giving Bill the ticket wouldn’t have approved.

We reached the home of our good friends (Rob and Linda) near Florence, MT around 2:30 PM.  Total miles ridden today was 207 with a trip total of 521 miles. Had a great time catching up Rob and Linda and their kids and grandkids. Really, really good people (just don’t tell Rob that).

No time looking for birds today. I did pick a couple more license plates however – Louisiana, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and British Columbia (23/2).