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The next morning I walked out to the truck in the Nez Pierce parking lot. It was covered with ice! Ice, a lot of ice. This was mid-August! At breakfast we asked the waitress if it was normal here to have ice on your vehicle in mid-August. She said, "You boys ought to come back in a couple months, there’s so much snow here the elk are forced to walk on the road because there’s too much snow everywhere else!"

We headed out to the second spot recommended by the Lady at the General Store. Eleven miles out of town, on top of the hill, pull into the Cemetery, walk through the headstones to the groundskeepers shed, through the small hole in the fence and down the bluff. Another great fishing spot! Brook Trout & Rainbows.

On the way through the Cemetery we looked as some of the headstones. Many were from the 1800’s, one in particular caught our attention. A headstone embellished with a large elk horn and a fishing rod set in concrete. Inscribed, by hand, in a concrete pad was a message from this fellows hunting & fishing buddies wishing him good hunting and fishing in the happy hunting ground. A nice tribute.

We headed back to Wisdom and on to the Bitterroot valley. Along the way we stopped at the Big Hole National Battleground. Over the 8000’+ Lost Trail Pass into the Bitterroot Valley. Throughout our trip we talked about the Lewis & Clark Expedition, "The Corps of Discovery", and related our discovery experiences to those of the first explorers of this vast, rugged and beautiful country.

We found the Bitterroot River to have good access provided by the State at several locations along the river.

We were fishing one of these access points when a guide and client pulled up at the launch to start their drift for the day. A friend had come along to move the boat trailer down to the pick-up point. After the guide left the launch, we talked to the pickup driver. He said the place we were fishing was ok, but there was a much better place down stream. Follow me, he said.

Arriving down river, he pointed out several spots we should fish. We caught several trout, and missed a couple big ones using hoppers & droppers. Throughout our travels we commented several times how friendly & helpful the locals were. Andy fished one large, deep pool in the bend of the river. It had to hold fish, it just looked too good. After throwing nearly everything in his fly box in the pool, an old gentleman approached carrying a spinning rod and a can of worms. After a brief chat on "How’s the fishing?" the old man pitched a worm in the pool Andy had been flogging for an hour. The next thing I heard was, "Can you get this hook out of this fish with your pliers?", as the old man came walking toward me with a 2 lb. Cutthroat. Humm, I knew I should have tried that San Juan worm pattern!

We fished our way down the Bitterroot to Missoula, and as we traveled Andy asked "What was the river in the movie, A River Runs thru it?" "That was the Blackfoot." "Where is it?" "Just to the north of Missoula." Off we went to the Blackfoot. As we drove down the Bitterroot we talked about the Lewis & Clark Expedition following the same route. At the Lolo Pass cutoff we talked about the Corps of Discovery turning into the rugged Bitterroot Mountains at this place and almost dying before they emerged on the West side. Reduced to eating bear tallow candles and their leather cloths, the Corps was in trouble. Arriving at the Blackfoot, we had a bit of trouble finding access and the few places we fished weren’t very productive. We’ll have to do more G2 on the Blackfoot and come back another time.

I asked Al if he’d ever been to Glacier National Park before. He said, "No". Georgia and I had visited Glacier a few years before and it was one of the most beautiful parks I’d ever seen. After describing the Road to the Sun, and the beauty of McDonnell Lake and the McDonnell River, we decided to go.

Heading north we drove by Flathead Lake, and shared stories we’d heard about the huge Lake Trout that live in the lake. We arrived in Kalispell late that evening. We found a place to stay and went looking for dinner. As we drove by a Casino, I asked Al if he’d ever been in a Casino before. They usually have pretty good food. We pulled in. After a nice meal, we gave the electronic bandits a try to top off the evening.