Day Fourteen
Mount Rainier, Whitman Mission, Nez Perce
Instead of taking a direct route back to Boise, we are heading due est, then south, so this will be another long day for us. We stopped at the Reflection Lakes on our way out of Mount Rainier National Park to try to once again capture this scene. After having seen the now developed photo's, it becomes apparent that a different type of lens is needed or that I'm not as good a photography as I'd like to be!
We left the park driving out the east entrance, and having seen all four entrances, this one has to one of my favorites. On my next return to this park, this is the one I will take. I highly recomend it for those travelling to this area. Of course, the most used entrance (the east one) is still my second favorite. As a side note, I have to say that that road, from the east entrance to Paradise is one of my favorite roads period to drive. For those that like driving on mountainous roads, this is one for you! For those that don't, don't worry, it doesn't contain any steep drop offs, just lots of hard curves, and steep climbing ones too. Its best when the road is empty and I recomend mid September and 17:30 to 18:30. On the day I drove it at this time, the road was empty (not one car the entire 20 miles!), and it was an extreme pleasure.
After three hours of driving, we passed through Walla Walla and on to the Whitman Mission National Historical Site. The site preserves the remains of a mission that was led bt Dr. Marcus Whitman in 1835. Stirred by accounts of explorers and traders (and a story of some western indians traveling east seeking the "Book of Heaven"), missionaries began to take an interest in establishing missions throughout the west. The story of the Whitman's is also a story of the Oregon Trail. The two women in the party were the first white women to cross the continent overland. The missionaries wagon, reduced to a cart, was the first wheeled to travel as far west as Fort Boise. Their success inspired many families to follow. The site tells the story of the early beginings of westward migration, how the mission grew and was later destroyed, and the impact it had on later developments. Its a must see for those that love this period in American history. Its a little out of the way for others, but worth it if you have the time.
Our next stop after crossing the hilly terrain (which look more like huge waves on the ocean frozen in land covered by farms) of eastern Washington, we entered Idaho at Lewiston (Idaho's only port!) and stopped at the Nez Perce National Historical Park. For thousands of years the valleys, praries, and plateaus of north central Idaho and adjacent Oregon and Washington have been the home to the Nez Perce people. Today, 38 separate sites scattered across these states and Montana commemorate the legends and history of the Nez Perce and the interaction with the explorers, fur traders, missionaries, soldiers, settlers, gold miners, loggers, and farmers who moved through or into the area. As you travel from site to site, you will gradually sense the rich and diverse cultural history they represent. A visit to the visitor center in Spaulding will help orient you to these. The Nez Perce lived in the valleys of the Clearwater and Snake rivers and their tributaries. They fished the streams, hunted in the woodlands, and dug the bulbs of the edible camas lily on the high plateaus. In 1948, the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho became a self-governing body under an approved constitution and bylaws that were were revised in 1961. The Nez Perce people have not lost sight of their proud past or their hopes for the future. This park, established in 1965 and enlarged in 1992, has helped increase appreciation and understanding of Nez Perce history and culture among all people.
After a long drive south through western Idaho, we arrived back at our home base in Meridian, ID, just outside of Boise.
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