It’s been a great six days, Canada.
Thank you for the warm welcome in Osoyoos, the beautiful scenery on the Icefields Parkway, and our final serving of poutine.
The USA is beckoning, so we head for the Rykerts-Porthill Border crossing, one of only two ports of entry along Idaho’s 45-mile border with British Columbia, Canada.
We only need one port of entry today, so this should work just fine.
Rykerts is on the Canadian side of the border. It’s named for John C. Rykert, who established a Canadian customs station immediately north of the boundary in 1883 to intercept steamboats and other river traffic sailing on the Kootenai River from Bonners Ferry to Kootenay Lake. Rykert was a customs officer, immigration inspector, gold commissioner’s agent, and registrar of shipping.
The name Rykerts stuck.
On the US side of border, Porthill is named for miner Charles Plummer Hill. Port (of entry) + Hill = Porthill.
We’re now on Idaho Highway 1, which lasts for only 12 miles, making it perhaps the shortest Highway 1 ever.
We turn south on US Highway 95, and almost immediately roll past the Mountain Mafia Off-Road Park, located on Purcell Trench Ranch. Throughout the year, the 90-acre grounds hosts multiple off-road motorsport and snow sports events. The place is featured on Apple TV.
We just missed Mountain Havoc, which ran June 10-13. Dang. Mountain Havoc was billed as “Pure family-friendly Vehicular Violence.”
If adrenaline sports aren’t for you, keep moving south on Highway 95.
A few miles north of Bonners Ferry, we turn onto US Highway 2, which follows the Kootenay River into Montana. It’s about 35 miles to the Kootenai Falls Swinging Bridge, which is listed Number 1 on TripAdvisor’s list of things to do in or near Libby, Montana.
The bridge, which sits 100 feet above the Kootenai River, was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 to improve access for firefighting. The bridge was destroyed by flooding in 1948, then rebuilt in the 1950s on concrete towers. The current 210-foot bridge was reconstructed on the existing cables and supports in 1993.
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The swinging bridge is about 10 miles from Libby, population 2,700.
Libby was named after miner Stephen Allen’s daughter, Elizabeth – who went by Libby.
The town’s economy was largely supported in its early years by the use of natural resources, such as logging and mining. Mining and timber mills have since closed down.
In 1919, vermiculite was discovered in the mountains near town. In 1963, W. R. Grace and Company bought the local mine, by which time it was producing 80% of the vermiculite in the world.
Because the local vermiculite contains asbestos, and the mine’s byproducts were used in local buildings and landscaping, the town suffered from an extremely high rate of asbestosis. Nearly 10 percent of the population died from asbestos contamination.
In Libby, we turn away from the Kootenay River, continuing south and east on Highway 2 toward Kalispell, where we stop for a fuel and hydration break.
The name Kalispell is a Salish word meaning “flat land above the lake.” The lake it’s above is Flathead Lake, about 10 miles south.
We ride along the western shore of Flathead Lake for the next 42 miles, en route to tonight’s destination, Polson.
Flathead Lake is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi river. It has more than 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline.
Want a high-end experience on Flathead Lake? You can buy Cromwell Island, a 348-acre charmer. It’s listed at $72 million. The property is said to be the largest private island with a single owner west of the Mississippi River.
The lake is known for its fruit orchards, which are full of Flathead Lake Cherries. There are more than 120 cherry growers in the Flathead Valley – producing some of the best cherries in the USA.
Harvest season for Flathead Lake Cherries is generally from the second week of July through the second week in August. Cherries are available at roadside stands along Flathead Lake or at local Farmers Markets. We’re just a little early.
The 2022 Flathead Lake Cherry festival is set for July 30 and 31 on Main Street in Polson.
We’ll miss the festival, but we won’t miss Polson. It’s where we’re staying tonight.
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To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.
My number today: 5 million (in pounds, amount of Flathead Lake Cherries produced annually)
What’s your number?
Riding With Gary 
So happy you’re out of the rain! SM
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