Grangeville, Idaho

Sunday 1 August

Day 14  4083 km

Grangeville's a little 3500 pop burg, perched up on the edge of a big plain, Camas Prairie, covered in grain crop.

We dropped out of Whitefish on H93, 70 mph speed limit, top roads in Montana, everything doing 120 clicks, even the huge vacationer RV's, towing their Ford Explorers behind on an A-frame.

Flathead Lake

Beautiful morning along Flathead Lake with the Mission and Swan ranges of the Rockies as a backdrop, breakfast stop at Polson outdoors cafe overlooking the lake.

The couples have nutted out to get kiddy meals, or share a main, the servings here are so huge

but I valiantly managed to cope with my everything-in omelette, mash, and two slabs of wheat toast.

Neil got a 3 egg and cheese one the other day that stopped his show.

Then on to Missoula for a call at the Harley dealer, (no sales tax in Montana).

Have been finding the freeways a joy on the CB compared with last year, twigged it was the difference between a cowled bike in the ST1300 being badly buffetted by the 18 wheelers, RV's, and crosswinds, and the freedom from it with the naked CB.

Lolo Pass

Also, the CB is slotting in quite nice here, ticking along all day at 4000 rpm/120  sore-ass free kph,

Sam is equally happy with his Bandit.

Today's ride over the Bitterroot Range, more Nez Perce forest and hills, and Lolo Pass...

lou lou in indian meant trading, and an early french trapper got called Lolo.

No one knows whether the Pass was named after the the act, or the actor.

Too difficult for a railroad to be built, the old injun trail stuck to the ridges.

Stopped at the visitor centre at the top of the pass, local historical society putting on a pioneer show, including black powder rifle demo.

Witnessed a motorcycle crash, bloke wrapped off doing a wheelie, (mx bike)

ran out of road, bailed out on the road instead of taking off over the 20' bank into the trees option,

broke a leg.
Sam and Carol helped him back to the visitor centre, miles away from a medical facility

sobering...., but a silly manouvre on his part.

From the bottom of the pass, a climb back up 1000', and there were the Camas plains and Grangeville.