Grangeville, ID.

We have climbed out of the wilderness up to Grangeville and back into cellphone networks, wifi, and the familiar surrounds of a city park.

Clearwater River

Since Missoula we've been following rivers though narrow forested valleys. This closely follows the route of the 1805 Lewis & Clark expedition and the later flight of the Nez Perce. First was Lolo Creek then Lochsa River which grew wider through yesterday's ride and joined the Middle Fork Clearwater River at Lowell.

To Grangeville, ID.

20 July. We are usually quite strung out, so a bunch pic is rare. Here we are being led by the pilot cab through some roadworks.

Lochsa River to Lowell

19 July. We followed the Lochsa River through the Bitterroot Wilderness for 65 miles to Lowell.

Devoto Memorial Cedar Grove.

Spent some time amongst these cedars that were already old when Columbus and the boys were sailing around.

Lolo Creek

Lolo Creek that we'll be following for a couple of days.

Idaho

At the top of Lolo pass we entered Idaho again. This time we are going across to Oregon.

Missoula, MT - Powell camp, ID

View of Lolo peak as we rode to Lolo pass.

Adventure Cycling

Polaroids of cycle tourists that have visited the office recently.

Adventure Cycling

In Missoula, MT we stopped by Adventure Cycling's offices....free ice cream and cold drinks and to have our portraits taken for the archives. We got a tour of memorabilia from the bikecentenial in 1976 and the early days of Adventure Cycling. On our layover day today we were treated by the staff to a BBQ.

To Darby, MT.

It had now warmed up and was perfect pedaling up Chief Joseph Pass as the road followed the Trail Creek and then the Joseph Creek through meadows of wild flowers and Lodgepole Pines. At the top of the pass, 7241ft, we crossed the continental divide, again! We then dropped 3000ft into the 80 deg F hot and dry valley to Darby,

Big Hole battlefield.

This is the view from the visitors centre over the battlefield. We watched a video presentation of the events that lead to the 1877 battle between the Nez Perce (Indians) and the US Army.

Jackson - Darby, MT.

15 July. An icy start to our 74 miles to Darby. We stopped in Wisdom after 18 miles to thaw out our fingers and toes and enjoyed a second breakfast.

To Jackson, MT

When you spend a large part of the day at 4mph, you really get to enjoy the wild flowers. They don't stand out against the clouds, but the peaks in the background are still covered in snow.

To Jackson. MT.

The descent into Big Hole Valley.

To Jackson, MT.

The lush high valley between Badger and Big Hole Passes.

Dillon - Jackson, MT.

14 July. A gloomy day greeted us today. Although the route was only 47 miles, there were two passes to cross and a headwind to make progress frustratingly slow.

To Dillon, MT.

Beaverhead Rock is a landmark in this valley noted by the Lewis & Clark expedition. We were going south through the valley, so the same wind that blew us along at 30mph yesterday came back to bite us today. For the last 25 miles to Dillon I had to work hard to do 5mph!