Halfway, Idaho to Lolo, Montana - Lolo to Livingston

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Halfway to Lolo (Montana)

Cut an early track up to Hells Canyon dam for a looksie before crossing the state line into Idaho around 9am. We found the Kleinschmidt road which was recommended to us by Dave at BMW as a good ride with dirt, gravel and plenty of corners. It didn't disappoint, Trev thoroughly enjoyed the steep ride up (although I was puckering looking down the sheer drop into Hells canyon).

We reached Council, a small town which was originally a shishoni Indian village. We had a brief lunch here before continuing on to do the 'old' white bird road which was a series of switchbacks up a steep hill overlooking the canyon. Good riding fun!

Riding through some of the small towns there were fields full of tents and trucks, it soon became clear these were evacuation grounds for the local residents who were currently under orders to leave their homes due to the fires. It was heart wrenching to see their situation. Trev overheard a woman arguing with a fireman at the gas station. She had been told to get out and she said she was going home! The fireman said ok, we'll just have to rescue you later. Gotta feel for both parties.

Next we stopped for a much anticipated fuel stop at Grangeville where we also thankfully had a quick snack and put on a few layers as we'd been feeling the cold. This was a good move as not long into the next stretch the temperature plummeted to around 7 degrees and then started raining. Trev put his wet weather gear on but I decided to gut it out (never underestimate the power of human stupidity). Needless to say after a further three hours riding I was very cold and very wet but in relatively good spirits.

Spent the night at Days Inn at Lolo Montana which was most pleasant.


Lolo to Livingston

We left a little later this morning after a much needed rest. Today's ride consisted of plenty of scenery and wonderful roads. We're avoiding the interstate as much as possible and taking old roads that sweep into small towns; much more to see and the riding's better by miles ? plus you get to chat with locals.

We stopped in Butte, MT to fill up and talk with some locals about good routes to take and got talking with some avid bikers with some great ideas on where is a 'must ride'. We rode out of town to try and ride up the hill to see Our Lady of the Rockies, however although we could see it from the road, access was limited to tour buses; not our idea of fun!

We rode on in stellar conditions arriving at Livingston, MT. Got some amazingly cute accommodation here and spent the afternoon deciding our route into Yellowstone, walking and dining. Livingston is an old trading post town which was home to Calamity Jane for 20 years.

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