We left Clarkston and headed across the Snake River into the Lewiston. Our plan was to head up through Orofino and up to Lolo Pass to ride the famous 77 mile twisty Highway 12 up to Missoula.  We stopped for gas at Kamiah and to check out why we could no longer communicate on the FRS radios. I found that somewhere between Orofino and Kamiah, my radio had jumped off the tank bag. It was for sure in a million pieces somewhere along the road. Fortunately the radios come in pairs, so I had an extra. I plugged it in and stuffed in inside my tank bag for instead of just clipping it to the handle of the tank bag.

Highway 12 up to Lolo Pass did not disappoint. It runs next to the Clearwater River which is a favorite of rafters and they were out in droves. We had to stop a couple times to rest, because we were tired. I have new respect for the MotoGP and endurance racers that push hard for a whole race. It’s hard work!

We stopped in Lolo for a quick bite to eat and gas up again before heading up Highway 93 to Chief Joseph Pass. This was a great road - well engineered and a nice combination of fast sweepers and slow technical corners, up to the Continental Divide. Right after the pass we headed east on Highway 43 and then south on highway 278 into the Big Hole Valley and Jackson.

This road wasn’t a really twisty piece but had some fantastic vistas. Set between two mountain ranges, it was beautiful.  It’s clear why Montana is known as the Big Sky Country. The sky seemed to go on forever between the mountains. We stopped along the way and took pictures before pulling into Jackson.

In Jackson we meet up with Dave (Greench440) and Ron (XLR8) at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge. We had a wonderful dinner and drank some beers and Dave shared some of his Scotch. The lodge was beautiful and the very warm pool was fed by the local hot springs. We turned in for the night and anticipated the ride into Yellowstone National park the next day.

About the lodge: The heiress of Proctor and Gamble fell in love with a local rancher and she built the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge in 1950 to entertain US Supreme Court justices and Hollywood celebrities.  After she died, her son split the lodge in two and took one half to Dillon, about 45 miles down the road.  Three years ago, the Dillon lodge was dismantled and the logs auctioned off, along with all the historic furniture.