To make a long story short, Gail has a cousin that lives just outside Bozeman, MT and that she has not seen in over 60 years.  They were both in the LA area as kids but then Gail’s family moved to Texas.  Recently, they had reconnected and, since we were going to be in the area, we added them to our travel plans. We are still trying to determine exactly what level the relation is.  We think their grandparents were cousins. 

We made the second longest drive this year from St. Mary to Bozeman in one day.  And with some last-minute help from Gail’s cousin’s family, we got a hook up at the Bridger Bowl Ski Resort.  The plan had been to park at their house but the logistics of getting down the drive and parking were finally deemed unlikely!  So, we got settled at the resort and went to their house for dinner.

Nan and her husband have raised 4 kids.  3 are still in the area and we got to meet two of them. They all work at Bridger Bowl which was how we were able to stay there since they don’t have an actual RV space. We had a great dinner of Elk steak and salad fresh from the garden sitting on their porch looking out at the mountains while we caught up on the past 60 years!   The views were limited by the smokey haze from remote forest fires, but we still enjoyed the views.

The next day, they also took us over to Livingston, where they first met and where their favorite ice cream is made.  Wilcoxson’s is a Montana based ice cream manufacturer known for their huckleberry ice cream flavors and the other 64 flavors that they make.  That’s right, twice as many as Baskin-Robbins.  As you know ice cream is one of our favorites, so we picked some up too. 

And finally, we finished off the visit with an interesting dinner at one of the Montana State University cafeterias.  It is open to the public and is “all you can eat” for $16 with lots of choices including prime rib, a Mexican buffet, a Chinese selection, and pizza!  And a full freezer of Wilcoxson’s ice cream for the taking! 

We plan to stay in touch and the girls are going to try to track down more information about their family genealogy to determine their exact cousin level! 

Then we headed out to our Camp Carpe Diem RV Rendezvous in Cascade, ID with a few stops along the way.  We had 5 days to get there and a new state to explore!   Quickly, we got on Interstate 90 heading west from Bozeman and then northeast toward Missoula.  It was a nice, easy 235-mile drive on the interstate and then on through town to Lolo. 

Lolo, MT is famous as a stopping point for Lewis and Clark’s Expedition back in 1806.  They spent time there with their guides preparing for the continuation of their trip. Thus, US Hwy 12 is called the Lewis and Clark Trail from Lolo across Idaho to Lewiston.  Our intention was to drive as far as Kooskia on US 12 then turn south on US 55 toward our rendezvous. 

After getting settled, we went back toward Lolo to visit the Traveler’s Rest State Park. This area was identified as the campground that was set up by the expedition. It is right on Lolo Creek for water and in a protected area for a winter camp.  We took a short walk through the park and read the key markers along the way.  There were some deer including a young buck grazing in the park.

After a nice night in a beautiful park with towering Ponderosa Pines, we started our drive further west.  About 33 miles along Hwy 12, we came to the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest Visitor Center at Lolo Pass and the border between Montana and Idaho.  This represented my completing the last of the 50 states in the US!   My list is complete.  We had put a pin in the map for Idaho on this trip just for this reason and then found the Camp Carpe Diem Rendezvous was also going to be there as well.  So, two birds etc.! 

We stopped at the visitor center at the entrance and after a tour of the displays inside, we took the short walk around the center and the small lake.  Very nicely done!

On to Kooskia, the road wound through the park with amazing vistas and informational signs all along the way!  We also stopped at a few more times to check out the scenery including the DeVoto Memorial Cedar Grove.  This hike is into a grove of huge western red cedars!  Devoto was a famous conservationist and author who camped in the grove in the early 1950’s while researching the Lewis and Clark journals.  It is estimated that some of the trees in the stand are over 2000 years old.  Very nice walk.

Then after another 90 miles we arrived in Kooskia and got settled.  Here the Trail continues on to Lewiston, but we are heading south to Cascade.  Our stopover was at a nice park right on the Lochsa River with loads of blackberries vines.  So, Gail went berry picking as we relaxed for the evening.

We had one more stop before Cascade in the town of Riggins about 85 miles down Hwy 13 and on to Hwy 95.  This is a very scenic route along the Salmon River and even though we didn’t get a picture there was a sign that said, “Curves Next 99 Miles”.  But the most unique thing is that the town is on the time zone line between the Mountain and Pacific time zones.  Just north of town on US 95, there is a bridge over the river that has one zone on the north side and the other zone on the south side.  Really crazy.  Our phones kept changing automatically as we drove but the RV clock didn’t.  Anyway, we managed!

The RV park was about 9 miles east of town on a very winding road along the Salmon River with some places as narrow as one lane!  But on the bright side it was nicely paved and smooth.  And we were pleasantly surprised how nice the park was.  It is actually part of a large cattle ranch, and the park is called The RV Landing at Carlson Ranch.

Since we had two nights here, we decided to drive up the Seven Devils Road to Heaven’s Gate Lookout.  It seemed a bit of an oxymoron but still very interesting.  So, we took the tops off the Jeep and headed out. 

The drive starts just a little south of Riggins and turns up into the mountains.  Quickly it changes to dirt and gravel and winds up hill.  For about 20 miles we bumped up to the trailhead.  Then we saw that the road continued for 2 more miles up to the lookout.  I put her into 4-wheel drive and headed up the last leg to the top. 

The road (?) was about as wide as the Jeep.  And as another blogger stated “I found myself on the most narrow and STEEP road I’ve ever driven. Wall of mountain on the right, straight drop on the left with no railing or trees to catch a vehicle”.  The road got rougher too, so the Jeep kept bouncing even going only about 2-5 mph.  There was no place to turn around and we didn’t know what to expect at the top!  But finally, there was a large parking area, and we could breathe again.

And from there, we saw breathtaking views of the Seven Devils Mountains, Hells Canyon, and four states—Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Montana.  The elevation was about 8100 ft.  We could have hiked up to the ranger station but decided enough for the day and headed back down!   Now I was on the mountain side and Gail had the drop off views!  Then a bumpy ride back down and a return to the RV for a quiet evening.  Whew!

Our next stop was to Cascade, ID and our get together with the Camp Carpe Diem group that we had met up with in Hot Springs, AR last May.  We had put this stop on our map as soon as they announced it, and we made it ahead of schedule!   The group is coordinated by a couple that we have known for about 35 years from Dallas.  And the whole group is a fun bunch who love to visit breweries, hike and/or bike the trails, and then relax around a fire pit!  We were excited to see everyone again.

The drive to Cascade was easy and we got settled in.  The rest of the group trickled in over the next 2 days.  All in all, there were about 35 people and their RVs although a few stayed in the cabins at the park.  The first night was a potluck dinner for the ones there and time to reconnect after 16 months. The next day was relaxing, then a group gathering at a shop/wine bar in town.  Gail enjoyed playing with the fires each night! The official event started on Thursday.  So, check in to the next blog to get the full party report.