Best Road Trip in the North Western United States

Columbia Gorge looking East.

My husband and I just returned from a road trip from Portland, Oregon via the Columbia Gorge to Great Falls, Montana and back again.  I think this may have been the best summer vacation we have ever taken.  We were only gone one week and 4 nights were spent in Great Falls golfing and visiting with "snow bird" friends.  How this translates into your plans is up to you.  I think those 4 nights could be used as longer stops along the way.  Here is the way it went.

Day 1
We left Portland early in the morning and traveled west along I-84.  We decided to exit at Boardman onto Hwy 730 (Columbia River Highway) so we could stop at a fruit stand and buy water melons and Walla Walla sweet unions to take to our hosts.  The seller at the fruit stand challenged my husband to guess the weight of the water melon we were buying to get a free melon.  Silly woman...we delivered the free melon when we arrived in Great Falls.

Note:  We then turned onto I-82/395.  This interstate turns into I-90 near Spokane and we stayed on I-90 until we left Missoula where we took Montana 200 into Great Falls.

Ritzville Grain Elevators

Lake Coeur D Alene boardwalk very near dowtown.

We then took I-82 & I-90 on to through Spokane into Coeur D Alene where we spent that night.  The drive took us from the verdant green of the Columbia Gorge through the north central Oregon high dessert into the wheat fields of Washington near Ritzville back into the timber near Spokane and on to Coeur D Alene Lake and all it offers.

The Coeur d'Alene area is surrounded by dozens of lakes left behind by the glaciers of the ice age. There are more than 55 lakes within easy driving distance of Coeur d'Alene, but none more scenic and full of activities than Lake Coeur d'Alene itself. (Coeur d' Alene Visitors Bureau)

I think you can see how this day could be turned into much more.  We spent a long time on the road that day.  We could have stopped much sooner if we were not on a quest to arrive in Montana...sigh!

Day 2
We were up very early again the next morning...my husband just could not wait to get to Montana.  Since I was not awake and certainly not hungry I suggested we wait until we get to Wallace for breakfast.  Kellogg and Wallace are two very old mining "camps" that lay in a narrow gorge leading away from the lake.  They have somehow managed to maintain the feeling that the silver rush is still in full swing.  Some say they never gave up the mining dream.

Club 1313

Wallace sits directly underneath the interstate...strange but true.  A small creek runs near town...Lead Creek I think. One of their big attractions is a Bordello Museum.  I need to see that one someday soon.

We had breakfast at the Club 1313.  This is one stop I would not have missed for anything.  Honestly, I am not a good tourist because I don't ever want to read about where I am going.  I know we must miss things but there is something so special about finding a treasure all on your own.  That is what Club 1313 was...a treasure I FOUND as though no one else knew about it.

I stood at the bar with my foot on the brass rail and ate breakfast staring at the buffalo head hung on the wall above what may have been a giant hornets nest inside a glass box.  It was unique to say the least.

Idaho has a law that requires bar owners to conceal their liquor from 2 am until 10:00 am.  In this bar the back bar was covered with sheets of stained and lacquered plywood.  The waitress said they would remove the boards at 10:00 am.

We traveled through the beautiful Bitterroot Mountains across the continental divide and arrived in Great Fall at about 4:00 pm.

Day 3-5
We golfed the next day at the Meadowlark Country Club where our friends are members.  This old club is home to several generations of golfers.  It truly is a jewel in the golfing world.

Meadow Lark Country Club was founded in 1919 and sits at the confluence of the Sun and Missouri Rivers. Meadow Lark is one of the premier Country Clubs in the Pacific Northwest and the large main clubhouse is the crown jewel of traditional private Country Clubs in Montana.

Cars line the bank...members grandparents donated the to prevent erosion.

View of the Missouri from the 18th hole.

The members we played with said that the old cars that line the banks of the Missouri River were the very cars that come of the grandparents of members drove long years ago.  The Missouri runs by in a lazy fashion that belies its depth and the furious damage it did to Great Falls earlier this spring.

My husband enjoyed a visit to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center just south of town.  The center is set very near to one of the dams that span the Missouri.  There is one at at the top of each of the three falls. 

Day 5
On day five we set out for home.  We traveled all the way to Lewiston, Idaho that day.  We traveled through the Bitterroot Mountains again but by a more southerly route.  This is a designated wilderness area and no dams are allowed on the Lolo River.  The history of the area is told by Lewis and Clark in Lewis's journals.  They related killing a colt because the passage was so difficult and game was scarce:

This Indian trail across the Bitterroot Mountains was used by western indians to reach the eastern plains buffalo hunting grounds for centuries before Lewis and Clark arrived. The expedition found the trail through the cold, high ground difficult, rocky and steep. One of their horses fell 300 feet down a mountainside. As the Indians had told them, there was no game. They were forced to eat candles, bear oil, horsemeat, and packaged "portable" soup they'd brought from the east.  (State of Montana website)

My favorite picture from that day is of a resort near the west end of the Lolo River very near where it flows into the Clearwater River.  The resort had seen better days but is still in operation with a small store, cabins and a restaurant.  It was the last resort going east into the gorge I think.  The end of the line as it were.  Oh by the way, the ice cream bars are wonderful after many hours of no hope for food or water...now I know what Lewis and Clark were talking about. (Link: Traveling Great Falls Montana to Portland, Oregon)

Lewiston turned out to be a treat with entertainment in the Red Lion Lounge patio and good old buffalo wings for dinner.  The beds were wonderful.  I asked for a senior room so we were treated to two queen beds. 

Day 6

Grain Elevator in The Palouse

As we climbed out of the valley where Lewiston sits, we entered The Palouse region of Washington.  This region covers the 120 miles between Spokane and Walla Walla and is some of the most beautiful wheat and rape seed farm land anywhere.  The region is farmed for as far as the eye can see.  As we approached Walla Walla on Highway 12 the evergreen trees lay in every gully and near the homes.  This part of the regions lays very close to the Blue Mountains.  I don't know if it is this green this late in the summer every year but it is now.  I could only think of a beautiful spring day as we travels through the small communities along the route.

We did not stop in Walla Walla but I think you should.  This area is home to two colleges.  Whitman is in Walla Walla.  This lovely little liberal arts private college is premiere in colleges of it's size. It was built in honor of Marcus Whitman.  Whitman was the Methodist missionary that attempted to convert the Walla Walla tribe and were later killed because the people of that tribe believed they were being poisoned after an outbreak of measles. A visit to that historic Whitman Mission is worth your while.

Interestingly, the Mullen Road built in 1860 connected to a fort very near Great Falls.

Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by US Army Lieut. John Mullan between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860. It led from Fort Benton, Montana, [near Great Falls] the navigational head of the Missouri River (and once farthest inland port in the world) to Fort Walla Walla, Washington Territory, near the Columbia River. The road previewed the route approximately followed of modern-day Interstate 15 and Interstate 90 through what are now Montana, Idaho and Washington.

We had followed a some of that route on our vacation.

Neighboring College Place is home to the Seventh Day Adventist community private schools and a Seventh Day university called Walla Walla University.

Walla Walla has welcomed a burgeoning winery industry and wineries dot the roads in every direction.  The old community has a hotel called The Marcus Whitman that is worth the stop in town just on it's own.  The old hotel was built in 1927 and retains that era's charm and opulence.

As we returned to the Columbia Gorge, the wind began to blow.  At the place where the Columbia turn northward toward Canada the wind roars like no where else.  It seems like a micro climate all it's own.  We were anxious to be home so we turned on auto pilot and rushed to our home in Hillsboro.

Thank you for traveling with Retire In Style Blog.

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Traveling Great Falls, Montana to Lewiston Idaho...Retire In Style Blog on the road!

Lochsa facing upstream in the afternoon light. Picture by Barbara Torris

Retire In Style has been on the road for almost a week.  We have been visiting friends in Great Falls Montana and have not been able to connect with the internet. Believe it or not, not every one has a wireless system in their home!  Surprise!

Autumn haze hangs over the Lochsa! Picture by Barbara Torris

We left Great Falls this morning. This Montana city is located in the north central part of the state on the eastern side of the continental divide.  We decided that we would come home by traveling south of Missoula through Idaho via Lolo Pass and down the Lochsa River to Lewiston Idaho.  I took pictures and reveled in the beauty of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area.  While the Lochsa River ran like a well behaved stream along the side of the road I know that this same river would be a raging torrent earlier in the summer as the snow melted in the Bitterroots.  I somehow missed that wondrous wild river I had seen several times before.

The Lochsa (pronounced "lock-saw") was included by the U.S. Congress in 1968 as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.^[8]The Lochsa and Selway rivers and their tributaries have no dams, and their flow is unregulated. In late spring, mid-May to mid-June, the Lochsa River is rated as one of the world's best for continuous whitewater. (wikipedia)

This wilderness area covers over a million acres of land in Idaho and really is so beautiful it is a national treasure.  The wilderness was designated in 1964 and remains just a beautiful as it was almost 50 years ago.

I was reminded of traveling along the Big Sur in California.  While the road is very good, don't count on anyplace to buy water or eat for long stretches of road.  In fact we did not see much traffic and only two kayaks along the way.  The road is very curvy although in great condition.  We ate breakfast in Lincoln Montana, then took Highway 12 out of Missoula through Lolo Pass and traveled most of the day to arrive in Lewiston Idaho.

I am alway caught up in the Lewis and Clark story as I travel these roads.  I just may reread Steven Ambrose's Undaunted Courage again when I get home.

To go from the edge of the plains in Montana, across the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness area and back into the dry western Idaho/Eastern Washington/Oregon sagebrush country in only one day is hard to wrap my mind around.  We will travel down the Columbia River back to the Portland metro area tomorrow.

Pictures later.  My camera and this computer do not play well together.

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On the road with Retire In Style Blog

Traveling here in the Northwest can be as inexpensive or expensive as you want to make it.  I think that Coeur D Alene, Id is a perfect example.  This community located on the northern shore of Lake Coeur D Alene is just a few short miles east of Spokane Wa.  It is a destination resort area and boast one of the premier golf courses in the nation.  Coeur D Alene Resort Golf Course is the Pacific Northwest's answer to Pebble Beach.  The famous island green as stymied many a golfer over the years.  The resort rates can come it at around $500 a night for two people using a special package deal.

On the other hand if you want to stay on the northside of town in a very plain motel with clean beds and recently painted walls you can get a room for $79 including taxes both city and state.  It is your choice.

We are staying at a Guesthouse Inn booked through Orbitz.  We have one bed and get a breakfast in the morning.  The bed is fine and the bathroom is clean.  It has a microwave and a small refrigerator.  It is a short drive to the lake.

So, you make the choice...big and fancy, special occasion resort or a road trip stop on the way to Montana.  You can do it either way.

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Oregon to Arizona...the long way!

Image by Always at Home via Flickr

We are moving toward our selfish time of the year. In summers we come back to Oregon where we spend time with our children and grandchildren. Our days are filled with family. Then, as fall approaches, we begin to wander mentally to our little "doll house" in the desert of Arizona. The condo makes the transition from a busy center of life with a black cat to an empty cold shell. The black cat gets to go live with our daughter, the condo is shut down and we load our little Subaru with all the things we think we will need. Over the years we have managed to accumulate two of almost everything. I only want to take my big Mexican mortar/pestle set and a wonderful collections of spices/condiments. Golf clubs, computers and clothes (some very warm clothes for the Estes Park stay) are crowded in and we are ready to travel.

We will travel east from Portland along 1-84 across Oregon with a stop in Ontario. On day 2 we will continue I-84 to Twin Falls, ID and on south on Utah HWY 79 to Eden near Ogden. On day 3 we will go east again to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Day 4 will find us at our midway point in the trip, Estes Park, CO. We will just be tourist for a few days in the Rockies before we hit the road again. We have a time share with World Mark so our condo awaits our arrival there. Then we will go south through New Mexico on to Tucson, AZ where our park model is waiting to come back to life.

We travel using our timeshares a great deal. The World Mark has a wonderful feature that allows us to use those rooms that are not booked as bonus time with a charge of less that $50 dollars per night. We usually stay in a 1 bedroom condo. We will keep you posted on how that works out this time. We already have one night of bonus time booked outside of Ogden at a place called Wolf Creek (Eden, UT.)

So here is the wrap up. We will travel through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and into Arizona. We will travel approximately 2200 miles. We will take a little less than two weeks.

Did I see that the price of oil went up again the morning? Sigh!!

Stay tuned!

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