Day 9 June 24th - Lolo Pass – White Sands Campground Idaho

Decided to do some painting and drawing before leaving Bannack. First I sat on the road and painted the hills overlooking the ghost town. Next I ventured downtown and did sketches of a couple of the buildings.

Bannack Jail

I did not have cell service since I left Dillion the day before and today was no different. I headed north and had nothing fof miles. I was driving through a large valley with ranches and fields of cattle. I finally got a half a bar of cell signal, enough to receive messages but not enough to do anything and it quickly vanished.

We passed through the small town of Jackson and discovered the cutest little boutique called Buffalo Gal Hat Company and Gallery. Well a quick U-turn and I was parked out front. What a unique little place and full of HATS! Of course, I had to look for the perfect hat. There were already three ladies in there shopping and it was fun watching them try on different hats. I finally found the one I liked and chose a horse-hair band to spiff it up a bit. The other ladies all bought hats and in conversation discovered that the one lady is running for Montana State Representative in the Fall. Wished her well before she departed. The lady that runs the hat company and I had a lovely conversation while she sewed on the band of my hat and grabbed a few feathers to adorn it. I love it!!!

We drove to the Big Hole Battlefield for a quick stop. We could not walk around since it is a cemetery it is not dog friendly and I couldn’t leave Buck just set. This is another place that the Army and the Nez Perce Indians fought while they were on their exodus to Canada.

We passed over Chief Joseph Pass and then north towards Darby. I remember driving through this area in September 2021. Most of the forest service roads were closed at that time while they were battling major wild fires. I remember seeing smoke in the distance. A lot of this area was affected and the burned trees are very evident.

Hillside burned except for an occasional tree

Anyone you watches the Yellowstone series should be familiar with Darby Montana. That is where the Dutton ranch is located. It was originally called Chief Joseph Ranch, but now all the signs show the Yellowstone brand and the Dutton name. No stopping for photos, since the area was blocked off and said “no parking”. You can tell the town of Darby has benefited from all this fame, it appears to be a tourist trap at this time.

Headed north through the Bitteroot Valley. This area is known for its log home building. You can see many companies along the road with log structures in various form of being built. They will then we deconstructed and moved to the home site.

Turned north and went over Lolo Pass which brought us into Idaho. This road is very-very winding. If the sign says the curves should be taken at 40 mph, you damn well better slow down. At the Visitors Center they had a nice wetland trail. I recognized many flowers that looked similar to what grow in our area. Maybe a different color and size, but still easily recognizable.

Mountain Shooting Stars - much darker than ours at home

Jacob's Ladder

Miterwort

Large Trillium - it is normally white but turns purple as it ages

Mountain Ninebark

I was looking for a campground for the night and just happened to look up a forest service road and saw a camp sign. A quick U-turn and we were on the road to White Sands Campground. Campsite #1 was perfect. A short walk to a picnic table overlooked the Lochsa River with fast running water under a canopy of trees. When I got out of the vehicle the first thing I saw was Bear Grass. The only other time I have seen Bear Grass was in Glacier Park. I knew when I saw it, I needed to put on my bear spray and I did.