Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Day Eighteen - Sandpoint, Idaho to Montana Junction at Highway 200 & Highway 56

Day 18
June 3rd
Wednesday
46 Miles 

Sandpoint, Idaho to Montana Junction at Highway 200 & Highway 56

We were only in Idaho a few days. The part of the state we visited was very nice, clean, and friendly. The rain stopped, leaving a cool and cloudy day, perfect for riding.  Our ride from Sandpoint took us on a fairly flat road around Lake Pend Orielle  (pronounced: pond-o-ray is the largest lake in the northern Idaho Panhandle, with a surface area of 148 square miles) until we could see Sandpoint in the distance on the other side.  The road was busy with no shoulder so we constantly checked the rear view mirror for cars.  Several times we saw trucks with oversized loads.  The trucks or their lead vehicles would start honking when they saw us and we would quickly stop to get off the road until they passed.

The most scenic part of the ride started around Clark Fork and continued into Montana. The Clark Fork River followed the road leading us to Cabinet Gorge Reservoir.  The shimmering river was beautiful, lined with tall pine and cedar trees, and framed by mountains. We saw bald eagles, osprey, and varieties of ducks we have never seen before. The climbs started as we entered Montana but none were very difficult.

We arrived at Two Rivers RV & Campground early afternoon.  We unloaded our gear and had lunch, a sandwich we purchased earlier from the Clark Fork Pantry, a store with all natural fresh baked goods, bulk spices, hand made pasta, and other grocery items. Later we took a walk on a trail behind the campground that lead to the lake.  We sat on the dock enjoying the warm afternoon sun. Along the shore there were many interesting shaped rocks that captured our attention.  We loved the secluded, quiet, serenity as we were surrounded only by thick forest, mountains and the sound of the 
water.




Small Cabin at 2 Rivers RV Park / Campground



Hiking trail to lake




View from river bank at camp ground

Osprey in flight

Rocks were all very interesting, we assume the different shapes,
marking, and coloring is from the glaciers that formed this area












Along Highway 200 a workshop where old car frames
lined the road for 1/4 mile




Clark Fork River



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