I left Challis Idaho around 10 with the intent to get as far as Missoula Montana, which is about 200 miles. Early morning was quite cool (maybe in the 50s) but it warmed up and the sun shone pretty much all day. Salmon ID is only about 60 miles and is a much bigger town (pop 3000) and is close to the confluence of the North and South forks of the Salmon river at a little place aptly named North Fork!.
Along the way there are areas where the valley is quite wide and there is a lot of irrigated alfalfa (thanks for the correct spelling from my sister Mags!). There are some very nice homes, some with spectacular views, but equally there are lots of crappy mobile homes and houses buried in the middle of piles of junk that nobody could be bothered to clean up. It certainly distracts from the beautiful scenery and is a shame.
As well as the broad valleys there are also narrow canyons that the river passes through and quite steep grades so the water is flowing fast. Along the river there are small areas of what I think are cottonwood trees and some are designated camping areas (there are lots of other places to camp as well).
The Salmon river heads west from the town of Salmon and eventually joins the Snake River, the major tributary of the Columbia River that flows into the Pacific in Portland Oregon. I need to go back and look at the geography, but that is what Wikapedia tells me!!
From Salmon the road starts to climb and twist and turn all the way to the Lost Trail Pass at 7014 ft. It is also the Western continental divide. The road from there to Missoula is much wider and progressively more populated. Had I known what I now know I would have headed east on a small road across another pass and avoided Missoula entirely. I may still backtrack on at least a part of that road today. I elected to just slow down for Missoula and headed east on the Interstate to Drommond. It is a small town of no great distinction but was a place to stay. There are a couple of places to eat in town and I had decided on a steak and a beer. Not a bad plan, but the restaurant / bar had new ownership that (judging by my food and the service) will not last long. The beer was good but the steak was terrible and the baked potato only half cooked. I thought people were shot for that kind of thing in Montana!! Oh well that is life.The plan for today, such as it is, is to head down some small roads to Anaconda MT and then on to the Idaho Falls area with a view to go to the Grand Teton National Park on Saturday. Plans have known to be changed but that will do for a start.
