We woke to a chilly Sunday morning in Lolo Montana with temps in the 50’s but that would feel warm before we even stopped for breakfast on this cold day in September.
Today we set out to ride over Lolo Pass. The route was chosen due to its 134 miles of curves between Lolo Mt and Kooskia Id. It was also our first experience with having to ensure we had fuel stops within riding distance. Lewiston Id. was the closest large town which was at about 194 miles and stretching our comfort zone a bit. We mapped out the ride, did some extra research on gas stops and found a place that was not on GPS but was on Google maps in Kooskia just inside the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, so we were good to go.
A quick top off in Lolo and off into the mountains we went. There were a lot of signs indicating wildlife from deer to elk to moose, but all seemed pretty quiet and that was okay with us. The ride up to the pass was nice, we followed a small river most of the way and soon we found ourselves climbing rather quickly and the temp dropping just the same. As we reached the top of the pass at about 5200 ft, a quick check of the temp let us know…. IT WAS COLD!!! We dipped the thermometer at 32 degrees and decided it was time for us to get somewhere warmer.
The ride down off the pass and into Idaho was spectacular. Nice long sweeping curves accompanied the downhill that just made the entire ride relaxing. About two thirds of the way down we found the small town of Lowell. Population 24 23 (Check the sign in the image gallery) We stopped into “The Wilderness Inn” and enjoyed a home cooked breakfast and conversation. The gall there told us that yes, her father in-law recently passed away at 96, hence the drop in population. He spent many days helping with the restaurant and one day wanted to watch his beloved football team play, he sat in the chair to watch the game and passed away. Sounded almost perfect.
From there we got to the Nex Perce Reservation and filled up in a small town called Kooskia. What a nice old town, quiet, nice people and a good little stop. Soon we were off again following the Clearwater River out of town. We entered Washington state and then headed into the Palouse picking up the Snake River and heading for Walla Walla for the night.
Wall Walla was most likely the best deal on hotels so far. We were checking in and waiting for a couple in front of us. The gentleman at the desk said that they had a three queen-bed room on the second floor, and they had asked for a first floor. They stuck with their first-floor choice, so I jokingly said, “Well if you aren’t going to take it, we’d love to have it”. Well, when we stepped up to the counter, the gentleman at the desk upgraded our reservation from a one room two queen-bed room to that two room, three queen-bed room at no charge. What a deal!!!!
