JULY 4TH!

Wednesday

Today was another day on the road. We awoke in the morning and took our time loading up. We continued to hang with Matt until noon when we said our goodbyes. Back in the car we traveled west on interstate 90 to Missoula where we opted to take the scenic route on 12 through the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests. Our road took us along the bank of the Locha River that Louis and Clark had floated on as they made their way to the Pacific. Being that it is the 4th of July we are surprised at how quiet and secluded this area is. Several hours into slowly following the river's bends we realize why. There is no access in or out of this forest so those who come in have to drive long distances to get out. But the drive definitely was worth the extra time. Once on the West entrance we continued on to town and turned North on 95. This road abruptly lifted us to Moscow (nearly 2,000 ft higher in elevation) within just a few miles.

As we drove into Moscow, Idaho we were stunned by how empty the town was. There wasn't a single car or person other than us anywhere downtown. All the shops and restaurants were closed. It was as if we had entered a ghost town. From around the corner we caught our first glance of a live person. It was our friend Hillary. (For those who don't know, Hillary is the friend who brought Nikki to The Hostel in the Forest) She swore to us that the town was usually much more active...sure it is. Later we ate at the only restaurant open and hung out at Hillary's apartment until dark. There were fireworks at the neighboring town of Pullman, WA (8 miles west and where all the other Moscowians were) yet by the time we had arrived it seemed that we had missed the show and so we turned back around. Little did we know that the finale seen from the car was only a warm up for the real show. Oh well. The rest of the night was spent catching up on the last few years over a few beers at her apartment.