Salmon, ID is a beautiful little western town in a spectacular setting. The Salmon River which flows hundreds of kilometres to the Snake River near the Washington-Oregon border. This morning our plan was to ride north on Highway 93 to Missoula, MT, then head west to Couer d'Alene for the night.
Highway 93 north of Salmon winds its way along the Salmon River through canyons as it gains altitude on its way to Montana. Not far out of Salmon a deer walked into the middle of the highway. I slowed down to let it get off the road when I saw another one at the side of the highway. I hauled my Harley to a stop just as the deer bolted across in front of me. Had I not stopped I suspect that I might not be writing this right now.
The highway climbed into the mountains through the river valley and the contours of the hills through which it ran gaining altitude all the while. Again this was a terrific motorcycle road and we again had a great time riding it. The rock cuts and the Salmon River framed this fantastic ride.
The ride north from Salmon, ID.
As we approached the summit, Jim, who was following me several hundred metres back saw three bighorn sheep emerging from the trees beside the road. This must have been an impressive sight and I regret that I did not see them as well. My sightings have been limited to numerous deer and five wild turkeys. Jim has the advantage on this trip, I believe.
We crossed into Montana at the summit of Lost Trail Pass at 7014 feet and began the descent into the Bitterroot Valley. We stopped at Darby, MT for a rest break and a coffee before carrying on to Missoula through Hamilton and Lolo. At one point we thought of riding Highway 12 over the Lolo Pass and back to Lewiston but decided to leave this for later as we were running short on time.
After a slow crawl through Missoula we arrived at Grizzly, H-D and went in to check out the bikes and to move the close to 90 degree heat to the air conditioning inside. Jim took a smoke break outside where he met a couple from Detroit, MI.
Ken and Cindy had flown to Missoula and rented a Harley-Davidson motorcycle because for years they wanted to tour the Canadian Rockies and with the economic situation it took a long time to make it happen. Ken said that after three job losses and two surgeries they were able to make it happen. Cindy said that she has worked for all three large American auto manufacturers and she lost her jobs as the companies moved plants to Mexico to cut labour costs.
Ken has had surgeries but he has had a steady job in sanitation and recycling so by being careful with their money they were able to keep from losing their house like so many others did during the financial meltdown of 2008. He was also able to keep his motorcycle. This is a guy who knows what is important and Cindy seems to be the right person to make sure he is able to keep the things of value.
Ken & Cindy from Detroit, MI
Ken and Cindy had ten days to do this trip and made it to Jasper, AB, after riding through much of the Rockies. Today was the day they returned their rented motorcycle and tomorrow they will fly back to resume their lives after a spectacular vacation. I have to admire their will power in overcoming the financial and medical setbacks they have experienced to make a dream come true.
After refueling in Missoula we made a quick seventy-five mile run to the 50 000 Dollar Saloon near the Montana-Idaho border where we stopped for lunch. A woman at the bar said that there were actually 66 542 Morgan silver dollars in the bar and on plaques which are hung from the walls. If each of these Morgan dollars are valued at about twenty US dollars, the value of the coins displayed in this saloon is more than one million three hundred thousand dollars.
Morgan silver dollars on the original bar.
Plaques on the wall of the saloon
Each of the coins has an owner who can claim it if they wish, but no one seems to do so. Some people even come by to see the coins that their grandparents left there. The oldest dollars I saw at the bar were put there by John & Eric Alysham from Saskatchewan in 1954, more than sixty years ago.
Our plan was to stay in Couer d'Alene for the night but when we arrived there the motels that we checked had no vacancies, the first time in three trips that we have had this happened. In addition, Jim's bike was behaving erratically, not starting properly at times so that was a concern because we didn't want to end up far away from a dealer with a bike that wouldn't start.
Instead of staying in the US over night our plan changed and we decided to head to Canada. North of Bonner's Ferry the problem cleared up but we were committed so we carried on. After a short stop at the Duty Free at Porthill, we rode in to Creston where the first two motels we checked had no vacancies. Things weren't looking good and at that point we had been on the road for close to twelve hours and were becoming concerned that we would have to ride on to Cranbrook to find a room. As we were riding the main street I saw a motel and pulled in to see if there was a vacancy. There was, and the place was actually better and cheaper than the room we stayed in when we were here on Monday.
Black clouds rolled in and a really strong wind began to blow knocking over chairs. It was good to have a place to stay and not to be riding in that wind. After 730 kilometres today we were ready to get off the road into a comfortable place.
Tomorrow we plan on rising to Cranbrook and then heading north to Golden, BC. But, as always, plans are liable to change so we'll see how things work out. w have done some incredible rising this week and both of us have gained an appetite for Idaho riding. Next year we hope to go back and do it again.
No comments:
Post a Comment