Route: Three Forks to Whitehall, MT
Saya’s quote of the day came when we were spelunking in the
Lewis & Clark Caverns: “Don’t fall down that big hole, Daddy. If you die, Sho and me will have to ask
strangers for directions the rest of this trip.”
After cycling for two days on an annoyingly busy highway, we
were rewarded today with a gorgeous ride through towering canyons along the
Jefferson River. When Lewis & Clark
were in this area, they were in a desperate search for the Shoshone Indians,
who they hoped would provide horses and guide them over the Rocky
Mountains. Lewis & Clark did not
realize how difficult it would be to cross the continental divide, but Sho,
Saya and I do! In a few days, we will
ride over Lehmi Pass, the first of several mountain passes we will cross on our
way to the Pacific Ocean.
We took a break halfway through our ride to explore the
Lewis & Clark Caverns, joining a 2-hour guided tour through the fascinating
caves. The entrance was 3 miles off the
highway, up a series of steep switchbacks.
Recognizing that we didn’t have time to cycle up that climb and take the
tour, and hoping to avoid such an exhausting ride, we hitched a ride with a
friendly family from northern California (see pic). We shared the tour with them and appreciated
how lucky we were to meet such generous people.
Lewis & Clark, by the way, never visited these
caves. They were wandering around far
below in the Jefferson River Canyon in search of the Shoshone tribe, and not
faring well. On July 31, 1805, Meriwether
Lewis (who wasn’t the greatest of spellers) wrote, “We have a lame crew just
now, two with tumers or bad boils on various parts of them, one with a bad
stone bruise, one with his arm accedently dislocated but fortunately well
replaced, and a fifth has streigned his back by sliping and falling backwards
on the gunwall of the canoe.” Sho, Saya
and I read the L&C Journals each night, and entries like this one make our
sore butts much easier to accept.
Here are some pics:
Sho and Saya by the Jefferson River
We heard the eagle's echoing call, then watched it soar
The friendly family who gave us a ride to the L&C Caverns
Not far from where Saya uttered her quote of the day
Action shot during the ride
Leaving the Jefferson River Canyon
We love following your blog and each day seems to get more exciting. Maddie is hoping for more on Sacajawea and the Shoshones, and Sydney says "keep sending Sata quotes!" You guys are going to rock the Rocky Mountains...you have a family of fans who is cheering you on from Costa Rica! We can't wait fir more updates.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying the blog CR! Looks like plenty of adventure still to come!
ReplyDeleteCharlie, Sho and Saya - we love reading your blogs! You are doing great - so proud to have you as our friends. Saya - your comments are hilarious ;) Keep on riding happily and safe. Love from Switzerland, Claudia and family
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