I love this photo.
It was taken one evening in the smoky forest-fire-filled summer of 2006. Heading eastbound out of Lowell, Idaho, leaving the “civilization” of the Clearwater Canyon area above Lewiston, US 12 climbs the Lochsa River towards Lolo Pass at the crest of the Bitterroots. This is an area of our country rich in history, but largely forgotten today. This path was at one time one of the primary east-west routes through the Rocky Mountains, but now is rarely used – except by guys on motorcycles and in sports cars seeking roads less travelled. I’ve taken this road half a dozen times in my life and it never fails to please. It is long, and largely devoid of “services”… offering no stunning vistas or expansive viewpoints. All it does is twist and turn, writhe and wiggle. For miles and miles.
While the rains set in and winter begins to envelop us for the next few months I occasionally daydream about places like this. Roads less travelled. Twists and turns. Writhing and wiggling. Shifting and drifting.
It keeps me warm.
