Premier RV Resort in Clarkston, Washington

Friday | 27 July 2001 | Kamiah, Idaho: We had a lovely morning in Clarkston. The weather was just perfect, so we put on our Nikes and hit the bike path that runs along the river just outside the door!

The view from our campsite at the Premier RV Resort in Clarkston, Washington

I walked two miles along the river and saw many Canadian geese, mourning doves, ducks and several HUGE fish jump out of the river/lake! I passed many joggers, walkers and dogs pulling people around on leashes. West of the campground, I came to pretty little park - just dedicated this past April - Granite Lake Park. Next to the water, I read a marker (shaped like a headstone) commemorating Lewis & Clark's visit to this very spot and Clark's description from his journal of the cristal clear water in the rivers. A few feet away I read a (hopefully tongue-in-cheek) sign entitled "Lewis and Clark ALMOST Slept Here", explaining that though the Corps stopped here to make lunar observations, it was cloudy and they canoed across the river to camp. Here is a portion of that sign for your amusement: 

Funniest sign in Clarkston

DT ran five miles along the same bike path. I asked him what wildlife he had come across and he told me about a teen girl handing-out free "literature". While he went flying by, she actually asked him he wanted something to read!

Washing the wind screen before departure

We hitched-up, crossed the bridge into Idaho and continued east on Highway 12 - The Lewis & Clark Trail. (I tell you, these guys really got around!) Highway 12 follows the Clearwater River and it truly is a beautiful drive. The river is wide and - well, CLEAR! The banks of the river are lush with plant and bird life. Today, we were only going about 75 miles, so we easily arrived in Kamiah, Idaho.
 
There were several things we wanted to do/see here, so I had made reservations for two nights at a private membership campground. One spin through "town" and we knew one night would be enough, since we had arrived so early. After a lovely lunch (Swiss on rye with potato salad - home made of course!) we took off in the BC2 to explore the towns of Kamiah (Kaa-MEE-ah) and Kooskia. Well, there wasn't too much to see in Kamiah - the town is a bit worn-out. The track at the high school is nice, but it is fenced and locked-up tight! We decided to try Kooskia, about 7 miles down the road. Kooskia is preparing for their logging festival tomorrow and the town was abuzz with activity - three or four men were at the city park setting up for the contests. The fish hatchery was mostly closed. The Kooskia Visitor Information Center was not staffed, but they did have informational signs and a few brochures! Finally, we ended our afternoon with a tour through the Heart of the Monster site.

DT at The Heart of the Monster

The Heart was very interesting! We read the "informational signs" and listened to the audios and walked the trail. After we had learned about the Heart of the Monster, we continued through the park to the "wildlife viewing" trail. First, we saw a beautiful male Belted Kingfisher sitting on a tree branch, just outside of the river! Beautiful! As we came around a corner, we surprised a white-tailed doe and about a dozen quail. Okay, okay... so what if we see deer and quail everyday at home!

*****

The Heart of the Monster - My Version: Before this land was populated by the Nation of People, only animals lived here. Coyote was very upset that The Monster had eaten all the animals, so he found The Monster and dared The Monster to eat him too so he would not be lonely. The Monster, not knowing that Coyote was the cleverest of animals and had the gift of fire, ate Coyote. When Coyote was inside The Monster, he came upon Grizzly. Grizzly roared at Coyote and Coyote hit him in the face - this is why Grizzly has a flat face today. Rattle Snake also attacked Coyote, so Coyote stepped on his head - this is why Rattle Snake today has a flat head. Coyote started tearing at the heart of The Monster and started a fire inside of The Monster and The Monster died. When The Monster had died, Coyote lead all the animals out to safety and he cut The Monster into pieces and threw each part all over the Pacific Northwest. Wherever a piece of The Monster landed a Tribe emerged. Where the heart of The Monster landed the Nez Perce People emerged. The heart then turned to stone.

*****

And, conveniently enough, Coyote placed the Heart of the Monster, directly across the highway from Lewis-Clark RV Park and I am looking at it now from our RV window!

RV Park: Lewis-Clark RV Park