Day 13: To Lewiston, Idaho

August 13, 2013

I left the motel at 7:50 and got on the road at 8:05 after a quick stop for a breakfast burrito. The day's ride started with a steady 500 foot climb, then a short descent to the village of Delaney. No services there.

Some of the last wind turbines I saw during this tour.

Strange to see a grain elevator in the middle of nowhere.

The shoulder on US 12 disappears between Delaney and Pomeroy. I had several close encounters with passing trucks during the long gentle climb to Pomeroy. Traffic decreased a bit after the highway 127 turnoff where some of the traffic turned towards Spokane.

I arrived at Pomeroy at 12:15. I'm making good progress today. Pomeroy is another very charming town. 4 consecutive charming towns now.

After lunch I continued the long gentle climb through golden rolling hills to Alpowa summit. I took a long stop at the rest area at the summit because it was the only shade for many miles. The view from the summit was nothing special.

Not exactly a spectacular view from the summit.

US 12 descends 2000 feet between Alpowa summit and the Snake river.

9 miles before Clarkston the highway connects to the Snake river, going upstream. Here it's a big reservoir because of a dam downstream.

US 12 along the Snake river (here it's a reservoir).

The port of Lewiston is on the opposite side of the lake. It's the most inland navigable port in the Columbia river watershed. Frequent dredging and a large number of locks are required to make the port navigable. It would be interesting to know how many taxpayer dollars are spent on locks and dredging for every barge that leaves the Port of Lewiston.

I pedaled through the town of Clarkston, Washington, then across the Snake river on a busy 4-lane bridge during the afternoon rush hour. Now I'm in the state of Idaho, in the larger town of Lewiston.

The towns are named after Meriwether Lewis and John Clark, leaders of the Corps of Discovery that was dispatched in 1804 to find a route to the Pacific ocean across the unmapped continent that the U.S. had just purchased from France.

Crossing the Snake river from Clarkston, Washington to Lewiston, Idaho.

Downtown Lewiston is surprisingly shady for a desert city. So many trees that it was difficult to take good pictures of the buildings. The city has more contemporary buildings than the last several towns I've seen. That suggests that Lewiston grew and prospered enough that it needed to replace most of the century old-buildings that are still standing in other towns like Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Dayton, and Pomeroy.

User friendly fountain in downtown Lewiston.

I'm now in the ancestral homeland of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans. Lewis and Clark noted in their journals that the Nez Perce had very nice clothes, jewelry, and homes, plus large herds of livestock. Over the next few days I will learn more about how this prosperous and civilized tribe was expelled after gold was discovered on their homeland. Before surrendering, 2/3 of Chief Joseph's tribe died while they were chased 1000 miles by an army whose behavior was absolutely barbaric.

Nez Perce county courthouse and an impressive statue of a Nez Perce Indian.

In Lewiston I got a $55 room at EconoLodge on the east end of downtown. I felt much more rested today than I did the previous two days. It was a good day.

For the first time in several days the sky was sunny all day long. High of about 95F when I arrived in Lewiston (756 feet elevation).

Distance: 74.3 miles (119 km)
Climbing: 2630 feet (797 m)
Average Speed: 11.6 mph (18.6 km/h)

Today's ride: 74 miles (119 km)
Total: 690 miles (1,110 km)

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