Family Friendly North Central Idaho -- Lewis & Clark Country

Where is the most remote place on earth you have been?  No cell reception, no good food, no Starbucks?  No, not the Aswan High Dam, but the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway All American Road -- what a mouthful!  This is Nez Perce (Lewis and Clark) country.  The drive was along the Clearwater River was some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve seen in the Lower 48.

Best part: no one is here.  Idaho is empty.  You can come during high season and you won’t feel crowded.  You are off the beaten path, my friend.  This area of the country is difficult to get to so you really have to enjoy road trips.  I’ve been on many myself and no exagerration, aside from my children arguing in the back seat, this was one of the most enjoyable.  I’ve been on the 17 Mile Road in Carmel and truthfully, this drive, on Highway 12, which follows the Clearwater River, is so much more enjoyable because it’s neither too windy nor too steep.  You will develop an appreciation of how difficult Lewis and Clark had it because the area has hardly been developed since that time.  Sure, there’s a road and a few people floating down the river, but not much else between the remote and tiny towns.

The NCITA (North Central Idaho Travel Association) has audio tours that you can download to your MP3 player to listen to while you’re on the road.

We drove from White Bird, Idaho and ended up in Clarkston, WA, which is just across the Snake River from Lewiston, ID. With all of our stops, it took about 4 hours -- about 100 miles.  It was a Sunday, so not much was open, although we did go to the Dworshak Fish Hatchery and take a parking lot tour of the correctional facility -- prison -- in Orofino.  That was the part where we gave our kids a lecture for not listening to us, telling (begging) them not to argue.

Please remember that this is Idaho and not Italy: that means that the food is... not so great. We went to a supermarket and bought food for a picnic along the Clearwater River. So lovely and I'm sure the food was better than any diner we passed. (That said, please let me know if I'm wrong -- we did eat in restaurants a bit on this trip.)

In Clarkston, WA (just across the river from Lewiston, ID), we stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites on the Snake River and although it was not nearly as eccentric as our B&B stayin White Bird, it fit our needs:

• It was super clean
• There was a pool that my non-swimming five year old could stand in (it was 100 degrees outside - the pool was IMPORTANT!)
• We had a cool view of the mountains, framing the Marina
• Service was outstanding

For dinner, we ate at Rooster’s Waterfront Restaurant, walking distance from the hotel.
This is a turbo-charged, family-friendly restaurant that serves enormous portions and has a fantastic outdoor deck to sit on (when it’s not 100 degrees outside), overlooking the Snake River.  Kids’ meals are quite inexpensive and happy hour is a deal and a half.  They have half a dozen local beers on tap (!) and I ate a delicious, wild salmon.

Although there are lots of activities that you can do in Clarkston, (it is another entry point for Hell’s Canyon tours), we moved on the next day into Walla Walla, which is a little less than two hours away.

Walla Walla has a charm that extends beyond its population of thirty thousand.  This is Washington wine country and the town boasts a plethora of good restaurants, tasting rooms and fun shops that cater to tourists.  It doesn’t feel like a touristy town; it feels like Sonoma or Napa.  OK, maybe that is touristy -- but with a super high level of sophistication (especially for Eastern Washington).  I had an A+ iced latte at Olive Marketplace & Cafe.  Walla Walla is a great half-way point between Seattle and Boise.

When I go back without my kids, there will be more to say about Walla Walla...

Author's Note: This was a sponsored trip.  I received food and lodging.

Hell's Canyon: Twice as Deep as the Grand Canyon

When you go to North Central Idaho (located below the panhandle and north of… Boise), you go for the outdoors.  This is not spa country.  The restaurants are just OK at best, there are not many fabulous accommodations. We came up here from Boise (about 3 ½ hours), primarily to go on aJet Boat Tour of Hell’s Canyon.  If this video doesn’t convince you to come, nothing will:

To take that video, they dropped me off on a rock by the side of the river.  Seriously.  I wasn't sure how I was going to get back on the boat since I figured he wouldn't be able to maneuver in a way that I could easily climb back on.  After I took the video -- knowing that my husband and two precious kids were on that boat -- the driver maneuvered the boat to within three inches of me and the rock, like he was extending his hand to me.  Incredible.

We decided to take our children, 5 and 7, on a jet boat tour instead of a float down the river.  We figured that since the jet boat was bigger, they would feel more secure.  We didn’t want to get stuck on the river with panicky kids.  We rode with Killgore Adventures– a family run operation.  Kurt, the son, has been piloting the boat for the past ten years.  Kurt’s mom, Heather and his sister, Courtney are deck hands.  Some benefits of taking the tour with Killgore:

• Perfect safety record
• Sun cover over the boat (six hours in the blazing sun in Hell’s Canyon would be Hell, truly)
• Killgore provides the only six hour tour that goes all the way to the Dam at the top of Hell’s Canyon

You will get wet.  Your heart will palpitate.  Your adrenaline will course throughout your body.  

You will have a great time.  


To get on the boat, you can drive to Pittsburg Landing yourself or you can take the shuttle with Kilgore.  It’s a technical, steep, non-paved road.  It’s doable, but if you are an insecure driver, take the shuttle.  That said, our Prius did fine on the unpaved road.  Killgore provides lunch, water, soda.  

Here’s what you should bring:

• Hat with a cord so that it doesn’t fly away (it will, my son’s hat did)
• Sunglasses – for the sun as well as the wind
• Sunblock – lots of it
• Camera with video

We made many stops, one at Kirkwood Historic Ranch, and from the boat saw big horn sheep and mountain goats.  Kurt told us to keep an eye out for bears.  Bears?  Mercy.  We saw none.

There was an 87 year old grandmother on our boat (yes, the same boat you saw in the video going through the gnarly rapids) and she was having a grand time getting drenched and contributing to the peels of laughter and screams all around as we went through the rapids.

Hell’s Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, the Snake River gets to about 69 degrees in the summer (read: swimmable) and the scenery is as rugged as it was when Lewis and Clark laid eyes on it.  It’s true Americana not to be missed in your lifetime.  You will probably only go once, but you must make sure to get there.  It’s a remote part of the world that is truly off the beaten path -- even for Idaho.

After six hours on the river and another 45 minute drive back to the highway, we were beat.  We ate at the ONLY restaurant in White Bird (population: 150): Mac’s Supper Club – best dish was the house smoked BBQ chicken – and went back to our lodging at White Bird Summit Lodge.

Terri Schmitz runs the White Bird Summit Lodge.  She and her husband, Frank, hunt and fish.  If you are an ethical vegetarian (or say, from San Francisco or Carroll Gardens), you might not want to stay here.  There are hundreds of stuffed and mounted animal heads on the wall.  Full animals, too!  From bears to alligators to fish to deer to wild boar to... giraffe.  Truthfully, it took some getting used to.  Surprisingly, my kids’ first insinct was to pet the grizzly bear and poke its claws.



The place was super clean, Terri cooked a terrific breakfast, (in stark comparison to the local fare) and although we were still a little overwhelmed by the heads (buffalo! mountain goat!), we liked staying there.  The lodge is a bed and breakfast, terrific for groups.  We stayed in a family room with 2 bunk beds, the bottom of one was a double bed.  Best part: the shower had a steam function built in.  I like that -- even in summer.

White Bird Summit Lodge is directly between White Bird and Graingeville, which has, really, no good restaurants. (names omitted to protect the guilty)  Know this: you are not here to eat good food.  You are here to see the stunning scenery and get on the river.  Maybe someday, you will be able to combine the two, but not yet.  Remember, it’s Idaho, not Italy.

Next up: We drive the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway All American Road (they couldn’t make it more pithy?)

Note:  This trip was sponsored by the North Central Idaho Travel Association 

Weiser, Idaho: Chocolate & Fiddles

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is the Summer of Idaho. My family is exploring the glory of Idaho each weekend this summer.

The last weekend in June, we went to Weiser, Idaho (on the Oregon border) to check out the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest. Whenever I asked one of my Boise friends if they had been to the fiddle festival, EVERYONE said, “Oh, I want to do that.” But they still haven’t. Everyone heard it was fun. Get off your asses, my friends. Weiser is only an hour and fifteen minutes from Boise.

Boise Getaway: Sun Valley/Redfish Lake

Summer of Idaho continues! Where else can you ice skate on an OUTDOOR rink in July? In America? Sun Valley Resort! It’s a true treat to be able to ice skate without freezing or even having to wear gloves – although there were some glove wearers. Affect or custom? But hear this: ice skating outdoors in July does not come cheap.

Warhawk Museum, Nampa Idaho (Near Boise)

It’s still the summer of Idaho and my family and I are hell bent on learning about our new home state. Here’s a pithy lesson: don’t try to discover Nampa, Idaho on a Sunday. The town is D E A D. Closed. Rolled up. TheFlying M Coffee Garage was open. I’m used to the one in downtown Boise: hipsters, great gift shop, local art – and you have to be New-York-aggressive to find a place to sit.

In Nampa, there is plenty of space (well, especially on a Sunday) to stretch out, plug in your laptop and get to work. Same great coffee and pastries. And hipsters. Much cooler and expansive space.

Our purpose in Nampa was to go to the Warhawk Air Museum, inside a hangar at the Nampa airport. The mission of the museum is to teach and preserve America’s history during times of war from the home front to the war front and aviation history from the advent of flight through the space age. The museum has two of only a few remaining Curtiss P-40 World War II Fighter Airplanes left in the world and a very rare World War II P-51C Mustang Fighter Airplane. It’s got lots of actual planes that you can’t touch and plenty of memorabilia if you are an aviation history buff.

Here’s the rub: my family includes no aviation history buffs. My 5 and 7 year olds were plenty put out at not being able to touch the airplanes. Still, if aviation history is your thing, you should definitely come to the museum. You will be in good company. We were the interlopers. Also, to get us all in the door, it cost $28 – kind of steep for a half hour of “fun.”

My daughter decided that she would practice her on-camera presence, as she has seen mommy do many times.  I'll let you see how she's coming along.  She's 5 1/2:

After a lap at the museum, you can watch planes take off and land at the Blue Sky Café at the Nampa Airport. It’s a burger and sandwich kind of place and its view of the runway is top notch. We saw a tiny little airplane (see, no technical knowledge have I) take off and then buzz the runway before disappearing into the wild blue yonder. That was free. And that was FUN.