You might be anticipating photos of the wildflowers of the Beartooth. Those are coming, but first before we got there we had to drive through Idaho. The most direct route follows the Lochsa River from Lewiston, ID to Missoula, MT along Highway 12, also known as the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway, because Lewis and Clark followed this route back home. If you you haven't driven that road before, I definitely recommend it for your next road trip. Here is a link to a publication about the road. http://npshistory.com/publications/usfs/region/1/nez-perce/hwy-12.pdf
I think there are 5 wooden suspension bridges over the Lochsa that is for foot and pack animal traffic only and crosses over to a trail. The one we stopped at is at mile post 143. Sometime long ago, when my kids were little, we stopped there and I remember William taking a lot of photos down under the bridge with a camera we were letting him use. It seems this was an important part of his beginnings in photography. The kids were always wanting to use my camera, so one by one, we found them a camera to use. It was back at the beginning of digital cameras, and expensive cameras weren't even as good as the phone cameras we have today.
Remember the frustration of shutter lag? You press the button and a few seconds later the shutter clicks a photo. By then the child has stopped smiling, the butterfly has flown away, and the squirrel has jumped to another tree. Even so, my kids loved. They took lots of photos, and we didn't have to pay for printing very many. Instead we would make family slide shows of our trips. If only I could find the hard drive they are all located on. William loved using those little cameras so much he is still shooting photos, now with a much fancier camera and significantly updated skills.
As we crossed that bridge again, we thought about the fun we had as a family, and how nice it was that no one was with us currently that was hungry, thirsty, or tired. We are really love our kids, and we are also really getting into doing things as a couple again. It is nice when it is fun both ways.
We found a sign that informed us that we were on the Mocus Point Trail #469. Since no one was complaining about having to go on a hike, we started up the trail wondering where it might lead. But our hike abruptly stopped after we had hardly gone anywhere.
I spotted a bush loaded with ripe Huckleberries. Not only were there huckleberries, they were one of my favorite varieties, the ones that are blue and purple tinted at the same time.
I evenly divided the few I found on that bush to share with Rob, but there really was no need, because he found a bush too. Slowly we progressed forward, one bush at a time, until we were satisfied, and decided to leave the rest for some other hiker.
The trail wound slowly up, through the thick trees. There was a bird chirping in the tree, the kind that wants to be heard, but not seen. I started spotting wildflowers right away. Self-Heal, and some Asters. They don't make any noise, but they are much easier to see and photograph. Further along I found Twin Flowers hiding in the shadows. They were so hard to photography, because they light was so low.
Pipsissewa, or Prince's Pine are so cute, if you can get low enough to the ground. They point their cute open parts down.
Don't you think they look a bit like a Jello Salad, with a lime jello mold in the center, sitting on pink lettuce leaves, and circled with walnuts?
All through the year you can find the rosette leaves of the Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid. They are a distinctive circle of green with white lines going through the center of the leaves. Today I not only found leaves, but a flower spike. If only I could have come back a week later. Still, I'm happily recognising this plant that appears to be healthy and strong in this environment.
My eyes were open for wild orchids now. Next I found some Pine Drops about ready to open, likely growing inches by the day, as these get quite tall. Sometimes you will find the dried stalk and seed pods still standing there the next summer near where the new ones are starting to grow. They aren't orchids, but they don't have any green leaves either. To grow, Pine Drops need a fungal host. It takes years for them to get established. If they or the host are disturbed, they will grow there no more.
I found another plant that was going to seed. It had large oval leaves. It was another orchid. I'm not positive, but I believe that it was a Mountain Lady Slipper whose flower had recently faded. If only I had been there a week earlier.
I didn't recognise these seed pods in a circular arrangement, but they sure are cute.
I think the trail is around 5 miles long, but we had to turn around long before it reached the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area, so we could reach a good place at least somewhat close to the Beartooth before bedtime.
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