We are staying at a gem of a Harvest Host location near Darby Montana in the Bitterroot Valley. The Tapper Creek Winery is the nicest Harvest Host site we have stayed at. When the owner asked us if we wanted to stay an extra night, we jumped at the chance. Over the last four days, we made our way here from Seattle. A rest day was welcome especially since we are boondocking for five straight days.
The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains. The area is named for the Bitterroot plant. The Bitterroot plant (Lewisia rediviva) is a small perennial herb. Rediviva (“revived, reborn”) refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The fleshy taproot was an important food source for Native Americans. The Bitterroot flower is the Montana state flower.
I bicycled through this area twice with Timberline Bike Tours. The first time was in 2001 when we rode from Jackson Wyoming to Missoula Montana. The second time was during the Chasing the Great Divide tour, riding from Lordsburg Mexico to Jasper Canada. Yesterday we drove part of that bike route from Missoula. We are going north to south. On the bike tours we rode from south to north. Tomorrow we will retrace part of that bike tour driving up to Lost Trail Pass on the Montana/Idaho border, then turn east into Montana’s Big Hole Valley. The bike ride through this part of Montana is one of my favorite rides of all time.
We had a wonderful dinner by the campfire last night. Erica continues to cook wonderful meals for us and Chris continues to work his magic on the outdoor grill.
Lost Trail Pass is the only part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition where the explorers came back east the same way as when they traveled west. The Idaho crossing was the most hazardous segment of their expedition. Beset by early snow and near starvation, the men came close to dying here. I wonder how they ever did this without GPS navigation. The following link has a good description of their ordeal.
Lewis and Clark – Lost Trail Pass
Our trek over Lost Trail Pass will be much easier than the one that Lewis and Clarke had. Highway 93 now traverses the pass. A lot has changed since 1805. Now we ride steel horses.
The area is enveloped by beautiful stands of Aspen trees. Aspen trees grow in colonies and share a common root system. The largest organism in the world, according to mass, is the aspen tree whose colonies of clones can grow up to 5 miles long.
We are heading to Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in three days, just two days after the parks open. We are probably going to have both parks mostly to ourselves for a week as openings were just announced a few days ago. Normally there are millions of visitors there every year. We will see a lot of wildlife as the animals are venturing further out into the park since no people have been around.
Looks like fun! Wish I were there.
Rollins, it’s very relaxing here.
Rob, do they allow camping there? Are does one need to be self contained with toilet…
You need to be self contained, water, electricity, sewage.
I hope you enjoy your stay there Rob.