Reader's Digest Scenic Drives Archives

Day 259 – In Flathead Indian Country -Part 2

Day 259 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Petey and I pulled into a campground at Seely Lake late last night and spent part of the morning chatting with the campground hosts who were from Huntsville, Texas. They were staying through the Labor Day holiday weekend and then touring around the northwest before heading back to the hot south for the winter.

After catching up with my fellow Texans, Petey and I began our next scenic drive through Flathead National Forest along Route 83. We headed north on the Seeley Swan Scenic Drive to Holland Lake. Holland Lake covers 400 acres and includes several trails, a 41-site campground, and a day use area. The recreational area provides visitors a plethora of activities from hiking to waterskiing.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 257 – Salmon – Bitterroot Country

Day 257 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

Today ended up being a lot of driving and a lot of road construction. I tried visiting Bonanza and Custer, two ghost towns from the mining days, but the road to the towns was closed for two hours at a time. When the flagger heard me say, “Ok, I’ll skip it then”, he let out a sigh of relief! Instead, I snapped a quick photo of a dam that was erected in 1910 and blown up in 1934 as it was prohibiting salmon from swimming upstream to spawn.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 256 – Sawtooth Sampler

Day 256 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

Ernest Hemingway’s Grave

On my way out of Ketchum and Sun Valley, I stopped at the local cemetery to pay respects to Ernest Hemingway. He penned portions of For Whom the Bell Tolls while he stayed at the Sun Valley Lodge. His grave stone is like a wishing well…covered in coins. Surrounding it are various empty bottles of wine and champagne.

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Day 254 – Idaho Heartland (Part 2)

Day 254 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

Ant and the Yellow Jacket

From Dworshak State Park, we followed the Clearwater River through the Nez Perce Indian Reservation and made a roadside stop at the Ant and the Yellow Jacket. According to an Indian Legend, the stone arch was once two insects. Ant and Yellow Jacket fought over who had the right to eat dried salmon in the area. The Coyote, the all-powerful animal spirit, ordered them to stop. They failed to heed his warning, thus he turned them into stone while their backs were arched and their jaws locked together during combat.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 253 – Idaho Heartland

Day 253 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

As I was leaving Missoula, I realized there were a few sights I probably should have explored, but I guess I was excited to get to Idaho which is the last of the 48 contiguous states in which I really haven’t spent any time aside from driving through a portion of it a month ago. I was hoping to fulfill my geocaching needs in this state, but AT&T doesn’t seem to exist here thus my apps are currently worthless.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 252 – In Flathead Indian Country

Day 252 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Relative to yesterday, we had a slow day, including a slow start. I was blessed with a marvelous migraine and had to take Petey to the vet for a puncture wound. Once we finally bid farewell to Melinda in Kalispell, we took Highway 93 south along the western shore of Flathead Lake. The lake is lovely, but not very conducive to old, injured dog activities.

Polson

As a result, we made our first stop at its southern tip in Polson, where I had lunch at Pop’s Grill, one of a few choices in the small town. After lunch, Petey and I took a stroll through town and down to a park on the edge of Flathead Lake before returning to VANilla.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 251 – Going-To-The-Sun Road

Day 251 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

St Mary’s Falls Trail

What a wonderful day in Glacier National Park! Our first stop on the Going to the Sun Road was at the St. Mary’s Falls Trailhead. I followed the St. Mary’s Falls trail through the forest along the aqua blue river to numerous waterfalls. In fact, there were so many falls on the 3.6 mile round trip, that I, along with others, were confused as to which were which.

I was expecting to only see St. Mary’s Falls and Virginia Falls, but there were two more in between. What a pleasant surprise! At St. Mary’s Falls, water cascaded over the rocks as the river bent around cliffs like a backwards “C”. The next two unnamed cascades were multi-tiered falls certainly worthy of a visit. In fact, I liked them better than the final destination, Virginia Falls. That said, Virginia Falls, whose main falls tumbles 50 feet is quite impressive.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 128 – A Day in Carefree

Day 128 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Carefree

Petey and I spent a relaxing day in Carefree, AZ. This morning we took a walk with Fluff, a long-time family friend, around The Boulders stopping to admire the blooming cacti, bunny rabbits, and quail. The morning sun combined with a cool breeze presented a perfect temperature.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 126 – Red Rock Country Part 2

Day 126 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Tuzigoot National Monument

Once we found the local Starbucks, tucked away in the Safeway, we drove four miles to Tuzigoot National Monument located just north of Cottonwood. Tuzigoot, Apache for crooked water, is the remnant of a Southern Sinagua Village that was built in the 1100s. The original pueblo of 77 ground floor rooms was two stories and sat upon a ridge above the Verde Valley. The village was home to approximately 50 people for 100 years. In the 1200s, the population doubled and then doubled again as farmers fled drought and settled here.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 125 – Call of the Canyon in Red Rock Country

Day 125 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Call of the Canyon Day Use Area

Today Petey and I started our Red Rock Country scenic drive toward Sedona. We simply drove one mile south to Call of the Canyon Day Use Area and took a five mile hike on West Fork Trail. Less than a quarter mile into Oak Creek Canyon are the ruins of the Mayhew Lodge constructed in the late 1800’s. The oldest structure was built by “Bear” Howard, who earned his nickname by killing four bears armed with only a knife.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!