Week 7 Journals

Day 43 August 3, 2002 Saturday, Lewiston, ID (miles driven 13 + 118 mile round trip on the Snake River)

The jet boat was scheduled to leave Hell's Gate Park at 10:00 AM. When we arrived we had to sign a liability release form and then proceed to the boat. This day there were 17 paying customers on board a boat that can hold 24 people. In addition to the captain, Butch by name, there was Chuck the color commentator and the game spotter and also Chucks wife who was going along for the ride. Butch explained that we would be going 59 miles up the Snake River with a stop for lunch after about two hours of riding. According to Butch, the boat is powered by three 350 horsepower Chevrolet engines which drive the pumps that power the jet boat. The boat is capable of maintaining full speed in a minimum of 10 inches of water.

After leaving the dock the boat started up river at a good pace. In spots the boat was keeping up or passing cars on the road that parallels the river on the Washington side. I didn't get to ask what the top speed of the boat was. We learned that downstream traffic has the right of way so on the way up Butch had to slow way down when rafts or boats were coming downriver. On the Washington side the road ran along the river for about 17 miles. On the Idaho side the road did not run along the river for any notable distance. What was amazing to learn that the early settlers moved up river great distances to establish farms and ranches on the river banks. Some ranches were still in operation on the Idaho side. The Snake River is now controlled by 8 dams on the Snake and also numerous dams on the tributaries. thus the flow is controlled to a large degree. It is hard to imagine what the homesteaders and miners had to put up with when the river was totally free. Paddle boats did use the Snake above Lewiston in the late 1800's but in a few places the boats had to pull themselves past the rapids by using cables that were attached to the rock walls. One paddleboat was bringing material to a start up mining and  processing operation and got its paddle wheel drive tangled in the cable and was sunk with no loss of life. That event folded the mine and no ore was ever processed at this mine even though extensive construction had been completed. The only remains of the mining operation was a massive concrete footing for the ore crushing building. All the other structures had been torn down and re-used by homesteaders elsewhere.

At one point the boat pulled up to the bank and we could see Indian petroglyphs carved into the rocks. The petroglyphs were on private property. Up to last year the tour company had permission to allow its passengers to get off the boat and inspect the drawings/carvings but that permission had been withdrawn after vandalism had gotten out of hand. The ranch that held the petroglyphs was on the Idaho side of the river. According to Butch, the ranch was reachable by vehicle but the first 9 miles out of the canyon would take about two hours to climb the 4000 to 5000 foot canyon walls. Across the river from the ranch on the Washington side was a two vehicle garage and on the river on the Idaho side was a float boat. If there was a need for hurry then the cross river to garage route was faster. After a while Butch explained that at one point there had been a subdivision of land into 5 acre lots which had been auctioned off. The buyers then built cabins for weekend retreats by bringing materials up-river by jet boat. We could see many cabins before we finally reached the National Recreation area and none of them looked any too shabby. I guess if you can afford to bring in material by small boat you can afford the best.

After two hours on the river we stopped for a box lunch at Cache Creek Visitors Center which marks the beginning of the recreational area. Any boat proceeding beyond this point must register with the Forestry volunteer who is stationed at this location. This station is set in the a very beautiful area. The station itself has a large bungalow structure which houses a museum/visitors center in the front and living quarters in the back. According to Chuck the assignment to this station is much sought after due to its location. We could see why.

After proceeding up to Dug Bar which is 59 miles from Lewiston the boat made a turnaround. This point is also known as the Nez Perce Crossing. When ordered to the reservation Chief Joseph was forced to cross the river at flood stage with all his horses, cattle and people. The Nez Perce knew this spot for crossing as it had back eddy's on both sides. You entered the river and the current would take you up-stream for a couple hundred yards and guide you out in the middle and then downstream. The back eddy on the other side would then grab you and guide you into shore further downstream.

The ride up and back was exiting especially when running the rapids. The boat went right through the whitewater without much spray. I think the captains handling had something to do with it. In some spots it was a wild and wooly ride but there was not excessive bouncing. Animals we spotted were - Chukker Grouse, Heron's, Beaver, and Big Horn Sheep. (there were lots of these-but hard to photo.) I have pictures but they are not internet worthy.

We really enjoyed this 6.5 hour excursion on the river. We are also glad that we chose the shorter half day trip totaling 118 miles round trip. The full day trip would have added 70 total extra miles to the trip and another three hours. This trip was just right and we would recommend it to anyone. They do take wheelchairs and we had one person in a wheelchair on board.

The River Quest Excursions Jet Boat

Up the Rapids on the Snake

Rafters on the Snake

The view from Cache Creek Visitors Center on the Snake

Snake River View

Snake River View

Snake River-the narrowest part

Shooting the rapids on a jet boat

PS on the Snake River

One thing that was noticeable on the Snake on the way down the river was the obvious drop in elevation which generated the rapids. On the way up this was not evident but sitting in the boat on the way down you could see that we were running downhill. I asked Chuck about the drop and he explained that the river drops in excess of 350 feet in elevation from the point where we turned around to Lewiston. In the first few miles the drop is about 12 feet per mile and on the average it is approximately 7 feet per mile. I also want to add that we met a real nice retired couple from the Reading area and we had a nice time talking with them throughout the trip. They were out on their way to the Oregon coast and up until Lewiston had been in many of the same places we had been on the way across, even Teddy Roosevelt NP,Glacier, Waterton, Calgary and Banff.

Day 44 August 4, 2002 Sunday, Lewiston, ID to McCall, ID (mile s driven 213)

First let me say that we are in McCall, ID and the temperature here at 5021 feet above sea level is 57 degrees.

This morning we went to church over in Clarkston,WA which is across the Snake River from Lewiston. As soon as the choir started up I got chills up my spine. The choir consisted of 4 women and the they all had my mothers voice. My mother was a loud singer in church and she could not carry a tune. Forgive me Ma wherever you are. After church we stopped at a MCD's to get a coffee. The girl behind the counter was obviously on the job for the first day. She had to ask another girl which was the large cup and seemed real disoriented. The coffee came to $1.06 and I gave her $2.00. She was having trouble making the right change. Mom started to say I have .06C. If I would have suggested that at this point I think the girl would have gone over the edge. I could see she was close. We let her work things through and she was smiling at the end of the transaction.

From Lewiston we were going to head towards Sun Valley and the Sawtooth Mountians. Rather than taking the most direct route we took the scenic US 12 as far as Kooskia and then ID 13 to Grangeville to pick up US 95 south to New Meadows where we would pick up ID 55 to get to McCall on the Payette River Scenic Byway. I must say that every road in Idaho is a scenic byway.

US 12 heads along the Clearwater River through the Clearwater Canyon. At one point we came upon a marker that said that Lewis and Clark crossed the Clearwater at that spot - see the picture. Further down this road at Kamiah we came upon a part of the Nez Perce National Park called the Heart of the Monster. According to Nez Perce legend Coyote killed the Monster and scattered its body parts all over the land. Wherever the body parts landed new Indian peoples came to existence. The Nez Perce came from where the heart landed. Close to this was a Presbyterian church that had served as a mission since 1873. Among the gravestones in the cemetery were those of the first missionaries. One of the interesting stones was for an Indian who died in 1899 at estimated age 99. To think he was 2 to 3 years old when Lewis and Clark came through. Near Kooskia we came upon a restaurant called Jillian's which served the most delicious salmon.

After reaching Grangeville we joined US 12 and headed up White Bird Hill Summit (El 4248). The view at the top was spectacular and the descent was similar to the Lewiston Hill with frequent runaway truck ramps. About a quarter of the way down was a historical marker dedicated to the first battle of the Nez Perce War. After the Nez Perce crossed the Snake in 1877 some settlers were attacked by Nez Perce and the army sent some troops after them. They caught up with them at White Bird. The battle at White Bird resulted in the loss of 100 of the army. No Nez Perce were killed. The views here were spectacular however they were hazy due to smoke from the forest fires that started up last night from lightning strikes.  

After White Bird we descended down into the Salmon River Canyon. The Salmon is the last major free running river without any dams in this part of the country. The river had a lot of rafters on it and the scenery along this river and canyon was spectacular.  After Riggins we followed the Little Salmon River which led us into New Meadows. The land around New Meadows was flat pastureland which was filled with either hay fields or grazing cattle. We later learned that the cattle are brought in every spring from as far away as Texas to graze and fatten over the summer. They are shipped out in the fall as the winters here are very harsh.  After New Meadows we climbed a tortuous Brundage Mountain on the Payete River Scenic Byway. This was a steep climb of about 3200 feet.  McCall is a ski resort town in winter and a  summer resort on the edge of Payette Lake. After dinner we walked along the lakeshore and listened to a bluegrass band giving an outdoor concert. 

We would have had more activities this day but at Riggins we crossed from Pacific to Mountain time and lost an hour of exploring.

Lewis and Clark Sign

Clearwater Canyon

Church at Kamiah site of Mission to Nez Perce

On ID 13 before Grangeville

Scene from White Bird - nice place for a house

Sign at White Bird about battle

Salmon River Canyon

Salmon River Canyon

Day 45 August 5, 2002 Monday, McCall, ID to Sun Valley, ID (mile s driven 274) 

The planned route took us south from McCall to Banks on the Payette River Scenic Byway and then over to Lowman and then Stanley on to Ketchum/Sun Valley through the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. After Cascade and Smiths Ferry the road was all downhill and the Payette River North Fork was a ten mile stretch of white water. Unfortunately there had been a construction backup and us being in the middle of the convoy we didn't want to chance a sudden turnout to take some pictures of this torrent. The road was cutting thru canyons just like yesterday at the Salmon River. I missed the turnoff at Banks and had to double back 10 miles to get back on stream. The road from Banks to Lowman followed the South Fork of the Payette River and was no slouch in the scenery department either. Both forks of the Payette River are excellent white water rafting rivers and we saw many on each. At Lowman we stopped at the US forestry service to pick up a cassette tape which was keyed to the mileposts on the highway ID 21 between Boise and Stanley. Lowman was around milepost 68 so we picked the tape up at about the middle. The tape covered the scenery and some history of the area we were traveling through.

At Lowman there is a one room schoolhouse which is still in use and provides education up to grade 6. We didn't think there were any more of these in use anymore. There was no indication where they go for additional education. Since the Lowman area was the scene of a big forest fire in 1987 which destroyed 20 buildings without loss of life, a big portion of the tape from Lowman on talked about the forest fires and the aftermath of the fires. The fires started as a result of a massive thunderstorm during which lightning strikes at a rate of 100 per hour were striking in the area. Hard to imagine that much of a lightning barrage. Further up the road from Lowman was an area of hot springs that flowed at 140 degrees at the point of exit. Further down from the mouth of the spring the water was bathwater warm. The water ran downhill and in a series of cascades and pools joined the Payette river. There were people in the pools taking a warm shower or sitting in a natural hot tub. 

Prior to reaching Stanley we got our first glimpse of the Sawtooth Range. At the first pullout we met a couple from Idaho who volunteered to take our picture with the Sawtooths in the background. We reciprocated. The Sawtooths are gorgeous sharp peaks. Unfortunately some of the effect was lost by the huge amount of smoke being pushed east from the Oregon fires as well as fires in nearby forests. Upon reaching Stanley we dropped off the tape at the Stanley unit of the forest service and picked up a tape for the road between Stanley and Ketchum. The second tape dealt more with the history of the area. The tape system is interesting. The tape is keyed to mileposts and instructs you when to shut it off and at what milepost to pick it up again. This is the first time we have seen anything like this. About 20 miles below Stanley we pulled off on to a dirt road and followed that to an old historic Ranger station. Mom really loved the off road drive - not. Shortly after that there was a dirt road that takes you to the headwaters of the Salmon River. At this point the tape said you can step across the Salmon which from here starts its 500 mile trip through the Sawtooth Wilderness and joins up with the Snake below Lewiston. We skipped this road. The Salmon river is known as the River of No Return through the Frank Church Wilderness area. Prior to jet boats the only direction on this river was downstream. After crossing the Galena Summit at 8701 feet we coasted into the money town of Ketchum with its condos and winter ski retreat lodges. Close to Ketchum was the area where Clint Eastwood's "Pale Rider" was filmed. Also "Bus Stop" with Marilyn Monroe.

I was kind of leery about the hotel we selected to call. The clerk first asked for how many would be staying in the room. I said two. Then he asked two men or a married couple. If two men we could have a room with two beds. When he found out it was a married couple he upgraded us to a suite. Strangest registration I ever went thru. We asked the hotel clerk if there was a reasonable place for dinner in Ketchum as mom had read that most places were pricy and required a reservation. The clerk said there is nothing reasonable in Ketchum unless it is pizza or burgers or Mexican. We settled on a Mexican restaurant that was crowded but reasonable.

Ketchum has a strange street crossing procedure at busy intersections that do not have traffic lights. On each corner there is a stand that holds orange/red flags. If you want to cross the street you pick up the flag, stick it out in all directions where it can be seen and then holding the flag in front of you, across you go. On the other side you place the flag in the holder over there. I liked it as it gave me a chance to make a fool of myself. Never miss that opportunity.  

Rafters on the South Fork of the Payette River

One room Schoolhouse at Lowman, Idaho

Hot Spring bathers at Lowman

Sawtooth Range

Sawtooth Range

White Cloud Peaks, Idaho

What $308 could buy in 1909 - Ranger Station

Boulder Peak above Ketchum, Idaho

Day 46 August 6, 2002 Tuesday, Sun Valley, ID - W. Yellowstone, MT (mile s driven 274) 

Before getting on the road we drove over to the Sun Valley Lodge to take a look at the place that anybody who was anybody went skiing before the anybody's discovered Aspen. The inn was the brainchild of  Avarell Harriman who prior to getting involved in politics and the diplomatic service made his living as a railroad magnate. His dream was to develop a ski resort property in the Northwest to compete with the European resorts. Of course the railroad would benefit also. He hired a French nobleman to help in the search and one of the suggested sites for investigation was Aspen. The Frenchman turned that down because the mountains were too high. The Frenchman abandoned the search, left for Denver and gave instructions to his assistant in the search to call him if anything turns up. The assistant went into a bar one night and was discussing his problems in the search when a patron suggested the area around Ketchum. The nobleman was summoned and he agreed that this was the place.   

The interior of the lodge spoke of money. We didn't inquire what the rates were. We walked thru the lobby to the back patio and watched some skaters practicing on the outdoor rink. The rink was covered on top by sun screens but the sides were open. There were 6 skaters out there with an instructor. We later learned that there were ice shows and these were the performers practicing for the events. The main corridor of the lodge leading to the dining room had photographs of all the celebrities that frequented Sun Valley. Numerous pictures were here of the Kennedy's. Gary Cooper, Ernest Hemmingway, Lucille Ball, Desi, Mary Pickford, Janet Leigh. Of the recent area there were pictures of Cliff Roberson, Carol Burnett and Clint Eastwood. The baton had been passed to Aspen.

Having hob knobbed with the rich we left Sun Valley/Ketchum and headed to see the Craters of the Moon National Monument which was about 70 miles from Sun Valley. The scenery switched rapidly from one of tree covered mountains to a desert like hill country. Upon reaching the National Monument area you could start to see large mounds of black volcanic rock. There were historic signs along the road detailing the difficulties the settlers had in crossing this area on their way to Washington and Oregon. At the visitors center we learned that the Craters of the Moon NM covers 74 square miles so it was not so easy to get around this area when following the Snake River Valley west.

The National Monument has a seven mile loop road that takes you to various parking areas where you can walk the blacktop or concrete trails to see the effects of the volcanic activity that had taken place here over the past 16,000 years. The North Caldera loop trail was in the latest activity zone which was about 2000 years ago. Park scientists estimate that in another 1000 years there will be more activity. Being the youngest volcanic zone, the lava flows were the most defined in the area. The older zones had more vegetation on them and more of the flows had been broken down by erosion or other natural activity. It was amazing to see the varied vegetation that has taken hold in volcanic cinders. There were many flowers growing in what seemed as rocks.

We walked the North Caldera Loop, the Devils Orchard trail, and also walked up to the Splatter Cones which when active spewed lava. One of the cone chimneys still had snow in it as the lava is a good insulator and the sun never shines directly down the vertical shaft. I also took a tortuous walk up a steep cinder cone which had a vertical rise of about 200 feet.

After leaving this interesting site we headed to Arco, ID for lunch. Arco has the distinction as being the test town in the 50's that was the first town in the US to get its power from an Atomic facility. Our lunch did not glow in the dark. Further along the road we passed through a nuclear research area of some kind. There were signs that said Restricted Area - official visitors only.

We arrived in West Yellowstone at around 5:30 pm and located what was billed as the last motel in town with available rooms by the local visitors center. The town of West Yellowstone is the western answer to Gattlinburg, Tenn. There are many souvenir shops and restaurants, all of which base their existence of the Yellowstone NP right next door.

Skaters at Sun Valley Lodge

Swimmers at Sun Valley Lodge

The Settlers Story at Craters of the Moon

This log was 1350 years old at its death.

North Loop Trail at Craters of the Moon NM

In the Devils Orchard at Craters of the Moon

View down the steep cinder cone trail

Splatter Cone at Craters of the Moon

Day 47 August 7, 2002 Wednesday, W. Yellowstone, MT to Old Faithful Inn, WY (miles driven 105)  

At 7:30 AM I called the room reservations number at Yellowstone NP and was able to secure a room for the night at the Old Faithful Inn. They had two rooms available, which probably would have been gone by 9:00 AM. They were fully booked yesterday. We left West Yellowstone at 8:00 AM to get a good start on the day in the park. We did experience a 15 minute construction delay as the road we wanted to take to get to Norris Geyser Basin was closed from 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM for construction. After this our objective was to see as much as we could see or until we dropped. We did take a walk through the Norris Geyser Basin which is the largest active geyser basin. It has an eerie appearance from the top of the trails. We did watch the Whirligig Geyser with its chugging sounds. Not too high but very entertaining. At the ranger station at Norris we learned that the wolf population is being studied and that they have charts on all the packs down to DNA samples. This way they track which members split off and form other packs.

From Norris we headed to the Canyon Area. This area never ceases to amaze me with the majesty of the Lower Falls and the colors in the canyon walls. We stopped at Inspiration Point, Grandview, Lookout Point before I took a hike down the Red Rock Point trail which goes down 500 feet in a distance of 3/8 of a mile and them comes back up 500 feet in 3/8 of a mile. This is a strenuous trail. Going down was easy and coming up wasn't.  We had the makings of a picnic lunch with us in the cooler and at we took our cooler and two lawn chairs into the picnic grounds at Wapiti trailhead for lunch. We really wanted to try the taste of the Walla Walla Sweet Onions we had bought in the Lake Chelan area and were trying to get back to NJ. They were good. After lunch we went to Artists Point which was another good viewpoint of the falls.

From the Canyon area we were on our way to the West Thumb geyser when we noticed a herd of buffalo across the Yellowstone river in a meadow. We even saw two of them swimming across the river and coming up on the other bank. We continued on and at another spot there were buffalo alongside the road with a real traffic jam of buffalo peepers. I was able to get a good shot through the side window of my car at about 5 mph. Stopping here would have been insane as two rangers were there trying to keep traffic moving. At the Mud Volcanoes area mom decided to stay in the car as the odor of sulphur was heavy in the air. Along the way to West Thumb mom did spot a coyotte next to the road which was being photographed by others. I missed it and didn't want to go back.

In 1995 when we were in Yellowstone we just started to walk down the trail at West Thumb when a thunderstorm opened up and we had to leave the area. This was going to be our chance to see it at last. The West Thumb geyser area is interesting in that some of the geysers/hot springs are out in the lake. One of them is called Fishing Cone which rises out of the water not too far from shore. In the earlier days, individuals would stand in the lake and catch a fish and then cook it in the hot water of the spring by dipping the fish into the pool while still on the hook. This practice is now taboo as the cone was being damaged and in some instances the individuals would get burned at the cone.  There are other pretty colored pools here. I am glad we got to see this area.

After checking into Old Faithful Inn I wanted to see about dinner reservations. Nothing was available until 9:45 PM. We opted to go to the other lodge in this area known as Snow Lodge where we had an excellent dinner with no reservations and no waiting. We struck up a conversation with the next table who overheard us talk about St. Louis. They were from there and gave us some tips on what to see while there on our return trip. Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt at 7:10 so we walked over to see this National treasure. All was set for a brilliant performance. The sun was behind us and would so I thought light up the water and steam column. Just before the eruption the sun went behind a cloud and darkened the sky for pictures. Such is the life of an amateur photographer.

Our room is on the third floor looking right at Old Faithful Geyser. As I am writing this it is pitch black outside and I can hear the geyser giving its show. Mom is at the window and can catch glimpses of the geyser as flashes from cameras are going off.

This has been one spectacular day. We will leave here about 11:00 am at check-out time and start heading for Colorado.

Madison River, Yellowstone NP

Norris Basin, Yellowstone NP

Norris Basin-Constant Geyser in background

Norris Basin-Whirligig Geyser

Yellowstone Lower Falls from Inspiration Point

Yellowstone Lower Falls

Yellowstone Lower Falls from Artists Point

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Yellowstone River in meadow

West Thumb Geyser Basin

Fishing Cone, West Thumb Basin

Old Faithful Geyser - where did the sun go?

Day 48 August 8, 2002 Thursday, Old Faithful Inn, WY to DuBois, WY (miles driven 182)   

Yesterday was such an exiting day that sleep was hard to come by last night. Both of us were dead tired in the morning and we probably only got 3 to 4 hours each. Check-out wasn't until 11:00 am and we planned to use all of the time in Yellowstone tired or not. After breakfast we encountered and joined a free historical tour of the Old Faithful Inn given by an excellent guide. Old Faithful was build by the railroad companies in 1904 as a hotel in the NP for the wealthy. In those years you got off the train at Gardiner, MT and got on a 4 horse drawn stagecoach for the 55 mile trip to Old Faithful. It was a two day trip and there were other hotels/tent camps that were used the first night. For $50.00 you got 5 days in the park inclusive of some meals. That was a large sum as the average wages for Joe Six Pack in those days was 2.50 per day max. Up through 1940 or so Old faithful Inn was only open to registered guests. The great unwashed could not walk into the lobby even to look around. After WWII the public was welcome to enter the hotel. The inn had two additions - one in 1913 and the other in 1937. The original building and both additions were done by the same architect. The structural members of the original inn are of lodgepole pine. Originally the logs had the bark left on them but by 1937 they were de-barked and varnished. That is the way they look now. The inn survived the fires of 1988 due in large part to luck and some engineering. As the fire approached the inn the wind shifted three degrees which was enough to make a difference. Also in 1987 outside sprinklers had been installed on the roof and this prevented cinders from igniting the building. Another interesting tale in the tour was that at one point the inn had 8 flag poles on the roof but now only sports six. When the two poles were removed they found a note signed by four construction workers dated April 1904. The note read "Snowed like hell today. Drank 2 quarts of booze. Now see 118 poles." 

After the tour we decided to watch Old Faithful geyser go up one more time in hopes of getting a shot in the sun. True to yesterdays events the sun was out and went behind a cloud just as the eruption came. Only after the major portion of the eruption was over did the sun come out. I was able to get one sunlit shot of the last part of the eruption.

We left Yellowstone at around noon and had a picnic lunch within the Grand Teton NP. The Tetons are sharp jagged peaks which were snow covered in spots. They are awesome. After encountering a construction detour we finally reached Moran Junction and took the very scenic Wy 287 through the Bridger Teton National Forest into DuBois, WY. Prior to reaching DuBois we spotted an osprey nest on a pole next to the Wind River. Through the binoculars we could make out the parent and at least one chick on the nest. We decided to call it quits for the day at 5:00 PM in DuBois. 

Old Faithful Inn, above the lobby

Old Faithful Geyser, the sun finally came out

The Tetons across the lake, Teton NP, WY

The Tetons

The Absaroka Range in the Bridger Teton Forest

A place just listed as The Falls - off route WY 287

Ranch in front of red cliffs before DuBois

Hay bales on WY 287 before DuBois

Day 49 August 9, 2002 Friday,  DuBois, WY to Atlantic City, WY (miles driven 135)

We started out the morning by visiting the Mountain Bighorn Sheep Interpretive center in DuBois. The center is dedicated to educate visitors about the Bighorn sheep and the efforts made to increase their habitat. The center had many displays of wild sheep from all over the world - stuffed of course. We watched a 16 minute video featuring Slim Pickens which described the Bighorns life in Wyoming and how the populations are controlled by hunting, relocation and forage management. The museum was beautifully laid out and interesting. After DuBois we headed south towards Ft. Washakie which is in the Wind River Indian Reservation, primarily Shoshone. The map stated that the grave of Sacajawea was in this location and It was along our intended route. At Fort Washakie there was a marker that stated that Chief Washakie was a  good friend to the white settlers. The fort was renamed to Washakie in honor of this chief. We went into the museum/store which sold many Indian made items. The museum part was small but interesting. There was one note that stated that at one time  President Chester Arthur invited Chief Washakie to meet with him in Washington DC. The chief declined the offer and made a counter offer of his own. Since the Chief was the elder, the President should call on him. I don't believe the meeting took place. At the store one of the sales people gave me a map of the reservation which pointed out where the Sacajewa Cemetery and the statue of Chief Washakie were located.

The cemetery was a drive of about 2 miles. Once we arrived at the cemetery we were amazed by the colors of the artificial flowers that covered almost every grave. The markers on the graves ranged a spectrum from wooden crosses, field stones painted white and then lettered, concrete plaques, wooden grave markers to the most fancy granite monuments. Some of the wooden crosses were painted with fancy decorations. Sacajawea's grave was marked with a granite marker and the grave was decorated with flowers, coins of money, some plastic toys, beads - very colorful. Besides her were the markers for her son Bazil and a marker for Baptiste Charbonneau who was born on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Baptiste is buried out in the Wind River Mountains which are visible in the distance. In the cemetery are also other relatives of Sacajawea. Within the cemetery there is an old building which dates to before 1873 which was a mission and a school. It has been relocated here and is in need of restoration work. On one side there is a brace to keep it standing. On the building there is a plaque which states that in 1873 the bishop of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico baptized 11 Shoshone Indians and that 4 of them were grandchildren of Sacajawea. Further down the road was the Washakie cemetery which held the grave of Chief Washakie. The stone was a big granite marker which simply said "Washakie 1804 - 1900". Across the road was the second copy of a bronze statue of the chief. The original statue is in the Capitol in Washington DC and the first copy is in the Wyoming state capitol.

From Ft. Washakie we proceeded to drive towards Rock Springs which was about 100 miles away. I wanted to pass through Atlantic City and South Pass City which are two historic mining towns. After stopping for a roadside lunch at Lander, WY we proceeded to drive over South Pass. All I can say is what a drive. I took pictures before the pass at Red Rock Canyon which had a great view. We arrived at Atlantic City - "the sign says - pop. about 57" and went into the Atlantic City Mercantile which is a restaurant with a store next door. The Mercantile is a restaurant and saloon and also a museum. The bartender said that they had music in the evening and that they also had cabins which were available. We went into the store and mom did some shopping. We then drove over to South Pass City for a look. The sign over there read "pop. - about 17" Along the way there was the Carissa Gold Mine which was out of business but the buildings were busy falling down. At South Pass city we decided to turn around and go back to Atlantic City and stay the night. The cabin we got was a run down "A" frame with kitchen facilities and two bedrooms in the loft. The stairs to the loft are steep so in the night they will be interesting to handle in case nature makes its call. For one night it will do but mom says I owe her one. I guess somewhere along the line I will have to take her to a Marriott to make up for this. We walked around the little town and walked up to the St. Andrews Episcopal Church on the hill. It was dedicated in 1913. The interior of the church was beautifully simple. In the back of the church was a register of the services the church had hosted. In some instances there were only 4 people in attendance. In the back of the church there were local cook books for sale at 10.95. For dinner we went to the Mercantile for a steak dinner. I noted that on the appetizer menu there was a listing for "Bull Balls". I asked the waitress if that was what they were and she gave a big yes and that in some places they were called Rocky Mountain Oysters. About halfway through my meal the waitress came out with one of these fried items on a plate and said I couldn't leave Wyoming without having at least one. It was good. 

I have known about Atlantic City in Wyoming ever since about 1970 when I worked with Allied Chemical and spent a lot of time in Rock Springs. Some of the engineers that spent the whole year in this area kept talking about AC and the restaurant there. I must say that my interest on this area has been piqued since that time. At last I have done it. The waitress at the restaurant said that it was name AC because it was on the Atlantic side of the Continental divide. She also said that mostly retired people live in town and that the few children  that are in town get driven to school in a suburban in Lander which is 28 miles away. The dirt road is kept open in the winter. The owner of the restaurant said that all the shopping must be done in Lander or Rock Springs. It was a great day. You haven't seen Wyoming until you have seen Atlantic City/South Pass city.

Red Bluffs along the Wind River

Crowheart Bluff Historical sign before Ft. Washakie

Sacajawea grave in Wind River Indian Reservation

Mission building in Wind River Reservation at Cemetery

Statue of Chief Washakie

They aren't kidding when they say "Loose Stock"

Red Rock Canyon before South Pass

Atlantic City Mercantile, AC, WY

Carissa Gold Mine

Quite the welcoming sign

Interior of St. Andrews Church, AC, WY

St. Andrews Episcopal Church, AC, WY

Summer 2002 Trip Journals   Home Page