After the Flathead River merges into the Clark Fork of the Columbia the larger Clark Fork continues to flow northwest through mountains cloaked in dense forests. This journey skirts the mountains of northwest Montana, if you are interested in exploring them and Glacier National Park please check out Volume 6 of the Lunchbox Journals, “The Ramparts of God.” Our path takes us through land long occupied by Native Americans and first explored by British explorer David Thompson in 1809. Here along the Clark Fork near present day Thompson Falls, MT, he established Saleesh House as the first trading post of the North West Company in the area. When the North West Company merged with Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821 the site dwindled in importance in favor of other posts more strategically located east in the Flathead Valley near St. Ignatius, MT, and west near present-day Sandpoint, ID. The Clark Fork ends by emptying into Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho.
Lake Pend Oreille is a large “T-shaped” lake that covers an area of about 148 square miles in northern Idaho reaching in and around densely forested mountains. Schweitzer Mountain Resort sprawls across 6.400’ Schweitzer Mountain above the western shore of Lake Pend Oreille and offers spectacular views to the east across the lake. The largest town along the lake is Sandpoint, home to about 8,000 people and hugging the western shore below the ski resort.
Sandpoint derives its’ name from a geologic curiosity. Sand Creek runs along the base of the mountains on the northwest side of the lake and over the centuries a sand bar built up where the creek entered Lake Pend Oreille. Canadian explorer David Thompson, founder of Saleesh House, also founded a trading post named Kullyspel House in 1809 on the northern shore of the lake north of the mouth of Sand Creek. When the railroad came through from the east in 1880 the tracks followed the western lakeshore and a small town grew up on the sand spit between Sand Creek and the actual lake. Shortly after the town was established persistent flooding on Sand Creek lead the inhabitants of the town to move higher ground on the western side of Sand Creek. Thus the town is cut off from the lakeshore by Sand Creek, the railroad tracks, and since 2012, a four-lane highway that allows through traffic to bypass the town. The small town center clearly benefits from the tourism possibilities found in the surrounding lakes and mountains, creating a charming collection of shops and restaurants. The actual main street is closed in the center of town as a more pedestrian friendly environment is being designed.
This is northern Idaho, after all, a noted conservative area, and a tongue-in-cheek sign board pokes fun at the tourists.
A bridge over Sand Creek takes Bridge Street under the railroad tracks and highway bypass to where the only sand beach on Lake Pend Oreille beckons. Turning around from my spot on the beach past the Lunch Box a train rumbles by, blocking my view of the downtown area.
Tourism is clearly important to a local economy that has seen better times. The great forests that span the northern United States from Montana to the Pacific Ocean once provided the foundation for a booming economy based on harvesting timber. Today as I wander across the area I am beginning to see a pattern of tired communities, once prosperous but now struggling as the good paying jobs associated with the timber industry have dwindled primarily due to industry consolidation and automation. Once every small town had one or more timber mills, now giant conglomerates dominate the industry and consolidation has led to a dramatic drop in the number of timber mills. As I leave Sandpoint I follow the Pend Oreille River west through a couple of timber towns with small town centers once dominated by large mill complexes, only a few mills remain.
I leave US Highway 2 at the Washington state line, heading northwest into the mountains, following the valley of the Pend Oreille surrounding by mountains clothed in trees. A side road, lyrically named the “Flowery Trail”, takes me due west over the mountains to the small town of Chewelah, WA, about an hour north of Spokane.
The small valley, home to a band of the Kalispel Native American tribe, was first called Fool’s Prairie when settled in 1859. The actual town of Chewelah was platted in 1884 and incorporated in 1903. Agriculture was the primary factor in the economy in the early years though some mining of silver, lead, copper and gold took place in the surrounding mountains. The most successful mine in the Chewelah area involved magnesite, a mineral used for making bricks and furnace linings because it helped them withstand high temperatures. Prior to World War I Austria was the world’s primary source of magnesite but the war stopped Austrian production and the mine in Chewelah flourished. By the end of the war the Chewelah plant processing magnesite was the largest producer in the world. The plant operated until 1968 before closing. The loss of jobs was mitigated by a relatively strong agricultural base and a growing appeal to tourists. Today the town of Chewelah has earned designation as a state “creative district” and the town center is beginning to benefit from a burgeoning arts community and the associated galleries, a brew pub, restaurants, local ski area and a 27-hole golf course.
Chewelah is also home to one of the more unique Ace Hardware stories that I have ever seen. The Yale Hotel was built in 1908 and dominates the main street, though it hasn’t operated as hotel in many years. In 1968 a local man purchased the building and used it to house his hardware store. The business was so successful that he expanded into two adjacent buildings to the east. With a refurbished brick façade and emerald awnings, the Chewelah Ace Hardware store is a class act!
I’m in luck on the day that I visit, a Farmer’s Market is in full-swing in the city park.
Just north of town is another recreational opportunity that sets Chewelah apart. High above the valley floor carved out of a dense forest on the side of a mountain is a 27-hole golf course community, the Chewelah Golf and Country Club. The semi-private golf course is open to the public and is surrounded by homes nestled in the tall trees as well as an actual landing strip for those with private planes. All this on the side of a mountain. Heading north of town on Sand Canyon Road, the golf course sits unseen above the sandstone cliff on the upper left in this picture.
Once up onto the small plateau the road passes by the airstrip, which apparently ends in air, and just beyond is the golf course clubhouse.
Leaving Chewelah our road continues north and west, crossing rugged and remote mountains and valleys only 45 miles south of the US-Canadian border. Off the beaten track and skirting the northern edge of the Colville Indian Reservation it’s a return to a land once prosperous but now struggling. The largest town in the area is Colville, named after Fort Colville, first established by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the early 1800’s northwest at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River and subsequently supplanted by the American Fort Colville which existed until 1882. Today the town of Colville sits at the base of a low range of mountains at the northern end of a valley.
Again it’s Farmer’s Market day and the center of town features a market around the town clock tower under the steady gaze of the resident bear across the street!
As US 20 darts west through the mountains it frequently seems like we’re traveling in a tunnel of green with occasional peeks at the heights beyond.
Deep within the rugged mountains high atop a remote ridge sits the mining town of Republic, founded as a center of a gold mining area in the late 1800’s. The gold mining boom was quickly over but small-scale mining of gold continues to this day.
Beyond Republic the descent into the Okanogan River Valley begins and the crowded forests are now interspersed with grassy meadows and sage brush under the looming peaks of the North Cascades.
The Okanogan runs south through the “rain shadow” of the North Cascades so the climate is naturally arid. Irrigation has brought green to the valley floor and hills that rise up on either side as we enter the town of Tonasket.
The Okanogan River rises in southern British Columbia and heads due south along the eastern base of the Cascade Mountains before emptying into the Columbia River between Chief Joseph Dam and the Wells Dam. Throughout recorded history the Okanogan has been an important link between the interior of western Canada and the Columbia Basin. For further information about the Columbia Basin please check out Volume 10 of the Lunch Box Journals, “The Columbia Basin.” The micro-climate of the valley is conducive to growing stone fruits, especially apples.
The confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers was a significant trading site on the Columbia Plateau as it gave access for those living in the north to the rich salmon fisheries of the Columbia. In 1811 the Pacific Fur Trading Company established Fort Okanogan on the banks of the Okanogan River just above the Columbia. After the War of 1812 the fort was relinquished to the North West Company which then passed title to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821. Hudson’s Bay decided that a site was needed on the larger Columbia River and built a new fort a mile to the west onto the north bank of the Columbia. For a number of years Hudson’s Bay maintained both forts because the currents of the smaller Okanogan were easier to manage during the loading and unloading of boats. The main fort was in operation until 1860. Today the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center sits on a small bluff above the confluence.
The view west from the interpretive center looks over orchards on the point between the two rivers and includes the much larger Columbia River on the left and the smaller Okanogan River virtually out of sight at the base of the line of bluffs on the right.
Turning to my left the view is east up the Columbia, to the right is the view north up the Okanogan Valley with the river hidden in the thin line of trees lining the center of the valley.
The center contains a small interpretive display of various artifacts found at the site of the fort but more interesting are the written displays detailing the history of the area and the center. A focal point is the original dugout used by Long Jim, a chief of the Chelan Tribe in the 1880’s as documented in this original picture from the time.
The Columbia does not flow freely anymore along most of its’ length, this area is no exception as it is the pool formed behind the Wells Dam. Highway 97 parallels the western shore of the river heading south. Orchards, mostly apples and cherries, line both banks of the river with massive fruit packing plants occasionally interspersed.
As you can see from the pictures, the weather continues to be less than great! Hopefully it will get better for the next stage of our trek across the north, crossing the North Cascade Mountains.
Next up: The North Cascades
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