Motorcycling into the Sunset: Day 39: Camping wet in Nez Perce

Agpar Campround, Hwy 12 Idaho.
Distance traveled: 376.4 km
Cumulative traveled: 8,713.8 km
Top speed: 130 kph
Moving average: 83 kph
Temperature range: 19.0 - 35.2

Sorry for the delay, no cell service where we camped last night.

Up fairly early with the noise in the hallways of the hotel. It allowed us time for each to have a shower and get a good breakfast, get packed up and on the road before 9:00 am. Our hotel for the past two nights, The Stagecoach Inn was really great as they are accustomed to having motorcyclers as guests so they had already anticipated a few things that motoryclers like. For example, they had a place right in front of the lobby under the awning for motordycles to park so that they would (a) be under cover and (b) visible to front desk staff. Also, there was a hose to wash bikes and racks of old towels that motorcyclers could use to wipe off their bikes, saddle bags, windscreen, helmets or whatever. Usually, I ask for a rag before I bring the panniers into a motel/hotel room, especially if we have been riding in dust or rain.

There was a large group of people milling around the entrance area waiting to be picked up by a bus to take them on their rafting adventure. There looked to be about 20 or 25 people, including some teenagers. One member came over when he spotted our "Human Organ for Transplant" bag and asked if we had a spare liver. "Fresh out" I told him. "All we have left is stolen kidneys". I asked him what was the commonality of such a large group and he said they were separate groups. Two, I think but not sure. He told me that one of the groups was some Rwandans and since they were white, probably missionaries. I noticed that one of the groups had a very large quantity of beer and other "refreshments" for their 5 day river trip. Maybe the Rwandans. I would liked to have met one of them to get their perspective on the county, since I visited the country in 1984. Where I was incarcerated briefly for photographing children playing in a school yard. Until I escaped.

We made our first stop 20 minutes into the ride, since we did not know how likely we were to find a gas station between Salmon and Lolo. (I cannot type or say that name without thinking of the song Lola, L-O-L-A Lola.). While filling up, the school bus carrying the rafters pulled into the same station to acquire their fishing permits while on the river. Strictly catch-and-release, I heard one say. I guess they won't be fishing to survive out there.

Our next stop was Darby, which was a small community about the mid point between Salmon and Lolo. The main benefit of Darby was that they had a drive-through espresso bar and we were sorely in need of another coffee. Not just any coffee, a latte. We walked up and stood at the window and ordered two lattes. At that moment, Nan spotted a small table and two lawn chairs at the door to the coffee house so we told the gal who was answering our prayers that we were going to set up the chairs and sit on her porch so she said she would bring our coffees out to us.

At about that time, somebody else filling up with gas walked over and ordered herself a coffee. She noticed our riding gear and came over and asked us about our trip. She commented that are from Alberta, they ride Harleys and that they were going to Sturgis this year. I asked her if she towed her bike to ten miles outside of Sturgis then ride in the last bit. She said that the view is the best part of the ride so no, no towing. Oh, in the process of describing this to us, she dropped several F-bombs along the way. I would say she was our age, maybe a little older.

She then talked about how beautiful Hwy 93 is that we were riding and they were driving and that if she had unlimited amounts of money, she would buy a place along there. I agreed and said if I had unlimited money I would buy a LOT of places. THEN she said that if SHE had unlimited money, she would hire a hitman and have Trudeau shot. And then Singh. Well, that went south fast. I said I am no fan of Trudeau but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Somehow, she quickly took her leave after that comment.
And somehow, the road got awfully boring all the way to L-O-L-A Lolo.

Even though we had filled up with gas only 175 km before, not knowing what was ahead we filled up in Lolo and picked up some groceries for dinner since our intention was to camp. We jammed a pasta mix, can of tuna and two sandwiches into nooks and crannies on the bike then headed to Hwy 12. This was a bit of a significant moment for me because we had been here in 2017 on the Great American Eclipse Squiggle Tour. Highway 12 is a very well known road to motorcyclers because of its twistiness and beautiful surroundings and I had made a specific plan that year to ride it. We filled up at the same gas station, which is at the intersection of Hwy 12 and Hwy 93. In 2017 however, we had arrived FIFTEEN minutes after the highway was closed due to a wildfire at the time. We did hang around then for an hour or so hoping that They would change their minds but did not and we were forced to alter our route. Today, we only went 5 km before we saw where the fire had burned and only 10 km before we saw where the fire had burned right down to the highway.

Highway 12 delivered what was promised. However, wew have seen some spectacular scenery on this trip and Hwy 12 didn't quite measure up. Nan asked me if I was disappointed. I said no, just that it didn't make one of my top rides of the trip. It was still fun and beautiful. It was also the first day we saw more motorcycles than other vehicles.

We did find a campground inside the edge of the national forest about 40 km. We had had lunch in a campground earlier and were surprised that there were only two vehicles there and dozens of vacant spots. Angling is very popular long this route so we had expected to see the campgrounds full. At the campground we chose to stay the night, there was one camper already entrenched, then us, then one other group has followed us in. We are right beside the river, which is very pretty and I went for a swim before I sat down to do today's post.

When we pulled into the Agpar campground, we figured we had struck gold. Small little campground with only 7 sites. Paved road, two sets of outhouses, fresh water taps and right beside the river. We got the tent set up and sleeping bags organized, I went for a little swim in the river and then started cooking dinner. Then the rain started. It was raining pretty hard about the time dinner was ready. The one thing this campground didn't have was a cook shelter so we huddled under the trees trying to without getting soaked. About the time we finished dinner, the rain let up and gave us a reprieve... until later.