Day 7 - Superior, MT. [under construction...]

Our room as like a crypt - cold and dark - perfect for sleeping. Only that's not why we came to the great town of Superior, MT. We packed up our gear, and headed up the street for gas. BigDog asked a local fella where to get breakfast, and he just pointed across the lawn to a school. WTF? Well, that's the Old Schoolhouse, and one wing is now a cafe. A good one too. The waitress heckled the hell out of BigDog, and we had another big breakfast - lunch might never come. We exited town and crossed under the damned Interstate, and headed off to HooDoo Pass. With a name like that, it's gotta be weird, eh? The ladies at the Cafe told us the pass was open, despite it being a couple weeks early for the traditional opening. Sweet. The pavement quickly gave way to dirt, and the dust plumes commenced. I must have waited ten minutes here to let the dust settle away. We steadily climbed, never once seeing another vehicle. The first glimpses of snow, insulated from sunlight by our northerly approach the the thick boughs of the pines became the norm. And finally, we reached the summit of HooDoo Pass. Now we have to decide where to go next, so we just stopped and were awed the view.

As I sat on the summit of HooDoo Pass, I realized we were crossing into Idaho again. Since southern Canada got scrapped from the ride, another possibility came into focus - Hell's Canyon. Heading down the Idaho side of HooDoo Pass on the Pierce Superior Road.... The forest was alive with the spring thaw now behind it, and the first days of summer just ahead. We were in the Clearwater National Forest when we noticed this sign.... You could actually ride a real dirtbike here, on real singletrack! I looked down at the 950 Adventure and she said nothing doing, buddy. Mark spotted a moose cow with two calves (?) off in the distance. A cow can be very protective of the calf, and stomp the ever loving bejeebus out of a fella. We kept our distance and waited for them to grow weary of our presence. We motored more or less westward along a series of beautifully clear rivers. Eventually, we were following the Moose Creek, which flows into the North Fork of the Clearwater River. There wasn't any information about these bridges at all, but the trails they connected to were begging to be explored.... We cut across another saddle, to the southwest, leaving the Clearwater behind, and picked up a new set of tributaries heading to the Snake River. Eventually, we reached a paved road, and before we knew it, we were in Pierce, ID. Time for a beer and a burger, I think.... Resting some tired eyes.... While we were eating, we planned a run over to Asotin, WA - to the top of Hell's Canyon, perhaps to find somewhere to stay or camp, and get another plan going. Adios, Pierce....and we headed out west on Upper Fords Creek Road to Orofino.... At Orofino, we plopped onto Rt. 12 and had a mind numbing ride towards Lewiston in 90+ degree heat. I actually was beginning to doze off on the bike when the fuel light illuminated. After thwarting the unwashed hordes of the big city, we found ourselves in Asotin, and realized there was nowhere to stay. We braved the hordes again, and found ourself a cheapo motel in Clarkston. As is the usual, as soon as I got there, I washed my clothes to take full advantage of the sunlight, which kept the countryside bathed in light until nearly 2200! My bungees once again became my clotheslines..... Dinner consisted of Subway sandwiches and Coronas. The BigDog retired early, while 'Chollo and I laid waste to that twelve pack of Coronas.

Tale of the tape for today....

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