Summer 15

From the viewpoint on US-95 looking towards the previous version of the highway, that wound its way out of White Bird Canyon with multiple loops.

The Blue Fox theater in Grangeville, ID, opened in 1930 and still owned/operated by the same family -- the name of the theater was determined by a contest. The marquee was added in 1940; the interior was rebuilt after a fire in 1942. www.bluefoxtheater.com

Morning on the Clearwater River near Kamiah, ID.

Bridge of the Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain (BG&CM) shortline railroad over the Clearwater River. The BG&CM serves lumbermills (including the one on the left side of the picture) in north central Idaho. The evening before taking this I saw one of their engines near where I was camping, but it was too late to get a photo. Early in the morning I heard the train leaving the area, but didn't get the picture then either.

US 12 along the Clearwater River, with a sandy beach on the left. (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

Swifwater road bridge over Selway River, built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in 1936: livingnewdeal.org/projects/swiftwater-bridge-kooskia-id (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

Swiftwater road bridge over Selway River (see adjacent picture). Swiftwater road intersects with Selway Road, which is a mixed paved and graded road along the Selway River running south from US 12 in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest.

Another bridge over the Selway River, of the same design and built close to the same time (1934) as the CCC-built Swifwater bridge in (#0160). I could find no information on this bridge, but other information does indicated that much of the national forest structure along the Selway River was built by the CCC, thus this may be also. (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

Small blooms that almost look like cotton balls, along the Selway River. (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

Selway Falls. It was hard to provide any sense of scale here, everything is much larger than it looks -- the large rock in the lower center is about the size of small house. (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

Selway Falls. Just to the right of the center of the picture is a fairly high concrete structure that looks like it may have been part of a sluice for a mill. I found no information indicating that it was. (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

A small cable trolley, big enough for about two relatively small adults. I didn't see any way that it could be accessed from the riverbank, so couldn't figure out how it would have been used. (Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest)

Part of the grounds constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) for Fenn Station on the Selway River in Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. livingnewdeal.org/projects/fenn-ranger-station-kooskia-id

Part of the complex of national forest administrative buildings constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) for Fenn Station on the Selway River in Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. livingnewdeal.org/projects/fenn-ranger-station-kooskia-id

US 12 along the Lochsa River in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. Driving on US 12 you can't tell where the river on the side shifts from being the Lochsa to the Clearwater, but the satellite will show that the Lochsa River and the Selway River flow into the Clearwater River, which is the name of the river on the west side of the forest.

A plaque at an historic ranger station describing the building of the roads in the area. Important here is the mention of Japanese-American internees in building US 12 (the lower picture). The relatively small Kooskia Japanese Internment camp was near here during WWII and provided laborers for local projects (there was also an Italian POW camp in the area). The site of the Internment camp is not marked and not publicly accessible, though there is a project by the University of Idaho to document the camp: www.uidaho.edu/class/kicap

What happens to you with months alone in the wilderness! Photo at a Lochsa Historic ranger station on US 12.

I was surprised to find that a number of the trailheads in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest were reached by wooden bridges that seem to have been built solely for providing access to the trail.