The Bitterroots

On the Road Again Day 16 | Mountains and rivers... and bees

We left Salmon early this morning, heading for Montana. We cached along the way, loving the Salmon River valley that enclosed our route. It's a steep windy climb to get over the mountains, 6100 feet, still climbing. Lost Trail Pass signs at 6600 feet, and signs about the Lewis and Clark expedition coming this way, an old wagon route (and modern ski lifts) across the river valley. No one lives up here. At 7000 feet, we're in Montana. Photos posted at the rest area show snow up to the eaves of the visitor's center here.

The Montana side of the pass drops down into the gorgeous Bitterroot River valley. Oh, boy... fly fishing paradise (not to mention non-stop scenic beauty. We stopped in a couple of small towns; loved the town of Darby, nice feel, surrounded by ranches and mountains, lots of horses and cattle.

We did a fuel and food stop in Hamilton, and dropped into a fly shop to chat. It sounds like the fishing, down here and in the mountains, is going to go on our list for future trips.

Did you know they transport bee hives by truck? I didn't. Maybe they're relocating hives into places where the bees have died out, and orchards or farms are in trouble because of it. Wish I had pictures. On the freeway in Idaho we saw two semi-loads of stacked white beehives, the whole load covered with some kind of mesh fabric. There were bees swarming under the mesh, and quite a few managed to get out from underneath, looking for freedom. And quite a few ended their lives smashed against the front of the truck.