Once we arrived at the Clarkston campground (and what a beautiful campground right along Snake River!), we set up the clubhouse for the Lewis and Clark Medicine Man Show. He was great! He talked about all the illnesses and diseases that the expedition faced and what types of cures they used. He was more than interesting! Rich volunteered so that he could show us how they would “bleed” someone for the really bad illnesses.

Day 33, Off to Beamers Hells Canyon Tour! Their billboard looked like a postcard.

WHAT A FUN DAY! We boarded the jet boat for our 7 hour cruise. We got off to a “sticky” start. Seems there are a lot of little trees and sticks floating and it’s common for jet boats to suck up a stick, which necessitated a stop & fishing it out. But the captain’s grandson, Skylar (his mate) did a great job and we were back in business.


We stopped at a gift shop and café (yes it was in the middle of nowhere) for our continental breakfast and of course to buy souvenirs.

Once we got into “Hell’s Canyon” it was more wilderness as the only way to get there was by boat. There were no roads. We could not believe that people built vacation homes here! Our captain said it takes up to 3 years to build a house. EVERYTHING from nails to framing needs to be brought in BY BOAT. They use solar or generators for electricity. There were a few very, very beautiful homes and some that are not finished but up for sale. They call it Hell’s Canyon because in the summer it gets hotter than ___.

Our next stop was in Hell’s Canyon at a small camp type area. We were met at the dock by one of the hands in what he called his “Redneck Taxi.” That was quite cute.

We were served lunch by a girl who was part Souix, Nez Perce and another Indian tribe. She lives at the camp during the summer season and loves it when she has visitors to fuss over. She gets her supplies from the mail boat or any other boat who might be coming up river.

While on our journey, we ran into a guy who works for the government and does fish studies and he’s paid to fish in the canyon. That would be a cool job!

This is the area where Chief Joseph led 2,000 members of his tribe across the canyon and didn’t lose anyone (men, women, children or horses). The soldiers crossed the canyon a little further up river and lost 70% of their men.

We stopped at an area where there were pictographs which have been identified as 3-5,000 years old. We wer not allowed to get off the boat because in the past, people damaged the artifacts, so now you can only look from the boat.

The rock formation is columnar basalt formed when the earth cooled. The formations are different, depending on how quickly the earth cooled. It was really strange to see some vertical, horizontal, bowed…..

We took so many pictures that it was difficult to choose which ones to post.

Day 27, Driving to Helena was the prettiest drive yet! I could not stop taking pictures.

At Tower Rock (I think it was called) we stopped at the scenic view pull-off and what a view! It is well worth climbing the steps for the view.

We arrived at our campground early so that we could head out to the Gates of the Mountains for our 2 hour boat cruise. Our captain is a retired school teacher and what a wealth of information!
He pointed out where Lewis and Clark’s expedition stopped along the river, the rock formation, Indian pictographs, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. We didn’t see any sheep or goats, but we did see ospreys and bald eagles.

For Lewis and Clark, the rock embankments made towing from shore impossible, and the deep channel forced the men to row rather than pole their boats forward. The limestone cliffs rose to a spectacular height of 1200 feet.

At each bend in the waterway, great stone walls seemed to block passage, only to open like gentle giant gates at they got closer. Lewis called this place “Gates of the Mountains,” which it is still called today. We stopped to stretch our legs at one of the few places in the canyon that a boat can be beached and it is believed that the expedition camped in this spot in 1805. There is a picnic area and grills in the area, so on our next trip, we would love to be able to plan a cook out.

The pictographs (pictured below in the middle of the picture) are evidence that Lewis and Clark were not the first in this area. It is believed that Indians were there 300 years before Lewis and Clark.

Just before dusk, a few of us took a ride up the road and saw a herd of cow elks. They didn’t seem real bothered by us watching them. Right about dusk we spotted the silhouette of a few of them on the hilltop. THAT WAS COOL!
The city of Helena seemed to twinkle in the night. I think it it weren’t so cold in the winter, this would be a wonderful place to live.