From Hell’s Canyon, the Grand Coulee, and the Snake River Plain to the Diamond Valley, Ruby Mountains, and Valley of Fire, the Great American Northwest beckons with adventures truly describable as big, bold, and beautiful. You can gaze upon landscapes so unique and diverse they could be only in the West. The Snake and Columbia Rivers define much of the settlement of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, in direct contrast to the arid lands of Nevada where pioneer emigrants struggled beyond the Humboldt Sink and across the 40-Mile Desert. Marvel at the eons-old Columbia River Gorge and revel in the beauty of red-rock formations covered with petroglyphs made by people who called Nevada home centuries ago. These states have expansive open spaces, verdant forests, and haunting desert lands plus plenty of surprises, friendly people, trails, ranches, and rodeos to fill your days.

Idaho When westbound pioneers traveled the Oregon and California Trail they entered into what is now Idaho by going up and over the Bear River Divide, carefully driving their wagons down a steep incline they called Big Hill and camping on the western slope of that mountain. Theodore Talbot wrote on September 7, 1843: “We went a few miles farther when we had to cross a very high hill, which is said to be the greatest impediment on the whole route from the United States to Fort Hall.

The ascent is very long and tedious, but the descent is still more abrupt and difficult.” Of her descent in July of 1850, Margaret Frink wrote: “We started at six o’clock, forded Thomas Fork, and turning to the west, came to a high spur we were compelled to climb. The distance is seven miles, and we were five hours in crossing. Part of the way I rode horseback, the rest I walked. The descent was very long and steep. All the wheels of the wagon were tied fast, and it slid along the ground.

At one place the men held it back with ropes and let it down slowly.” Montpelier locals still call the mountain Big Hill and they have constructed the California Trail Interpretive Center on the site that was an emigrant campground. In 2004 friends of mine took wagons over Big Hill. Two of the wagons were pulled by horses, but the third had a team of oxen drawing it as would have been done in the 1800s. Although their wagons were not loaded heavily, they still found the descent to be difficult, using a skid shoe on one back wagon wheel to keep it from turning, and utilizing the wagon brakes to slow the wagon even further. Additionally, they tied one young team of oxen to the back of the wagon to act as further deterrent should the vehicle begin to descend too rapidly.

Some of the people who made that wagon crossing are summer employees at the trail center in Montpelier, where they give tours and interpret the trail history. Since they have traveled many miles on Western trails by wagon, they have first-hand knowledge of the trails and the overland experience that they are only too glad to share with you. For my part, after a visit to the center, I continued west following U.S. Highway 30 to Pocatello and a stop at the recreated Fort Hall. Although not at its original location, this historic site does a good job of representing the history of the fur trade post. Farther west, I take in the views at Twin Falls, and then follow U.S. 30 toward Boise. Along this route there are two good trail spots to visit: Milner Ruts and the Stricker Store.

At the former you can walk in deep trail swales carved by travelers on their way to Oregon and California. The latter, which served as a stop for overland wagon travelers and later stagecoach traffic, has several of the original structures. Continuing west the trail passes Thousand Springs, where, in a wet year, water cascades out of the hillside and into the Snake River. At Boise, I turned north, away from the Oregon Trail and drive along Highway 55 and U.S. Highway 95, a route that takes me into the beautiful, rugged heart of Idaho. It twisted and wound through forest and along the Salmon River before I crossed Whitebird Creek and began to travel through Nez Perce Country. My route took me through Grangeville and to Lapwai before I turned west again to Lewiston, named for Meriwether Lewis, who traveled through here in 1805 and back again in 1806.

At Lewiston, I did something that is totally out of character when I bought a ticket for a jet boat ride up the Snake River to Dug Bar, the point where the Nez Perce Indians with Chief Joseph crossed out of their homeland in 1877 as they left the Wallowa Valley for the last time. I dislike rivers and boat rides intensely, but this adventure was worth my discomfort and uneasiness since it was the best way for me to see the country. The all-day trip took a boatload of visitors to a picnic area for lunch, stopping at a natural waterfall, where some travelers took advantage of a pool of water and enjoyed a cool shower. Although my boat ride went only to Dug Bar, other excursions continue upriver into the Hells Canyon area, a rugged defile that can also be accessed from either the Idaho or Oregon sides of the river, if you are willing to drive on sometimes rough country roads. RECOMMENDED Soak in the mineral waters at Lava Hot Springs, spend the night at the Ashley Inn, and eat at Ernie’s Steakhouse in Grangeville. www.visitidaho.com

Nevada Nevada’s arid landscape challenged emigrants in the 19th century as they drove their wagons out of Idaho and Utah en route to the gold fields of California, initially, and later to the mining camps of western Nevada. By far most of the travelers used the California Trail that roughly parallels Interstate 80 from Wells west to Reno. The Humboldt River runs south of the highway. For early travelers it was a feared landmark, as Julia Wood Newton indicated in her journal entry of Aug. 3, 1853: “We are now on the much dreaded Humboldt…. This part of the road is called by all the most disagreeable part of the road.” Two days later she added, “You can hardly imagine how dusty it has been. We can hardly breathe.” By the end of the month Newton’s party had reached the spot where the Humboldt disappears—or sinks.

For trail travelers that signaled the beginning of the 40 Mile Desert, a harsh environment that claimed the lives of many head of livestock, and a few people. Fortunately for me, and other modern travelers, the Humboldt Sink is an attraction, not a place to dread; you can turn up the air conditioner and cruise on to Winnemucca. Although it is not fancy, the Winnemucca Hotel serves traditional Basque food that is about as authentic as you’ll find anywhere. The Pony Express and other trail travelers avoided the Humboldt, its sink, and the 40 Mile Desert by dropping south, skirting the Ruby Mountains and passing through the Diamond Valley.

For wide open vistas, the chance to see wild horses, and the opportunity to observe dust devils rising from the desert floor, this is your route, and it’s a good one for traversing Nevada to Carson City, but be sure to fill your fuel tank, since towns are small for the most part and far apart. First settled in 1851, Carson City became a real community seven years later and soon was a major transportation center for the mining operations in Virginia City. When the Nevada Territorial legislature met in 1862, the session took place in Carson City and it became the Capital when Nevada gained statehood in 1864. The city’s extensive historic district includes the State Capitol Building, Nevada Governor’s Mansion, and the former U.S. Mint building, which when built in 1869 was the first building of size and substance in Carson City. The city was selected for a federal branch mint because of the massive silver production from the Comstock Lode and the high cost of transporting the bullion to the San Francisco Mint.

During its operation from 1869 until 1893, more than $49 million in coins were minted locally. The building now houses the Nevada State Museum, which includes the original coin press and examples of Carson City Mint currency. Nevada musician Richard Elloyan has a beautiful and haunting song he wrote about Dat-So-La-Lee, an early 20th century Washoe Indian basket-weaver who became world renowned for her meticulous handiwork. You can see some of her baskets at the museum. Another museum exhibit replicates life in a typical Nevada ghost town with reconstructions of such buildings as a newspaper office, an assay office, a general store, and a saloon. For some (not me, I admit) the true Nevada attraction is gambling, which you will be able to experience in almost every small and large town from Wells and Winnemucca to Reno and Las Vegas. Mesquite, in extreme southeastern Nevada, is no exception to that rule, but for me the bigger attraction there is to the west, where you can visit the Valley of Fire and nearby Lost City Museum.

I went to Valley of Fire in January, which is a perfect time to hike sandy trails and view petroglyphs, prehistoric Indian rock writings that can be found on the valley walls. Some of the best preserved rock art is along the trail to a place known as the Mouse’s Tank, a natural water catch basin that was named for a renegade Indian who knew of the water source and hid out here in the 19th century. The half-mile hike is through deep sand with high rock walls. The park visitors’ center (open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) has exhibits about the geology and animal life of the region, including the rare and protected desert tortoise. While I was at Valley of Fire in January, the area is particularly vibrant during the early spring when, if there has been rain, you will see a profusion of wildflowers in bloom including desert marigold, indigobush, and desert mallow.

Among the other attractions within the park are native sandstone structures built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Known as The Cabins, they are now a picnic area. Seven huge sandstone towers—The Seven Sisters—are another picnic area and there are trails that take you through a forest of petrified logs and stumps that are more than 200 million years old. Although Valley of Fire is interesting any time of day, it literally explodes in color in late afternoon and early evening as the setting sun paints the sandstone spires, cliffs, and outcrops, giving the area its name. About 15 miles north of Valley of Fire on State Route 169, visit the Lost City Museum in Overton. This small center has artifacts and displays related to the earliest people to inhabit the valley bordered by Warm Springs and the Virgin River. Called Anasazi or “Ancient Ones” these natives had a major civilization that stretched the length of a valley. RECOMMENDED Visit the Nevada Historical Society Museum in Reno or the Trail of the 49’ers Museum in Battle Mountain. Dine at the Star Basque Restaurant in Elko or the Pine Lodge in Lamoille. www.travelnevada.com

Oregon There may be prettier valleys in Oregon than the one Chief Joseph wanted to hold for his people, but I haven’t seen them. The small towns of Joseph and Enterprise attract many people to the Wallowa Valley who come for the history associated with the Nez Perce band, to visit the grave of Old Chief Joseph, which is just outside the town of Joseph, and to enjoy recreation on Wallowa Lake. They come for hiking and horseback riding in the Imnaha River country and the Eagle Cap Wilderness, or to explore Hells Canyon Recreation Area and the Snake River gorge that is a dividing line between Oregon and Idaho. I came for the Nez Perce history and particularly enjoyed the display of photographs at the Indian center in Joseph. Chief Joseph Days, held in late July in Joseph, involves a rodeo, parade, and Indian dancing in an event that has been ongoing for 58 years, while nearby Enterprise sponsors the Hells Canyon Mule Days each September with a parade featuring horse- and mule-drawn vehicles, cowboy poetry and exhibits, and a Western art show along with mules who are ridden, shown, driven, and packed.

If you pick up a copy of my book, Chief Joseph: Guardian Of The People, you can read about the Nez Perce people who considered this their homeland and will learn the story of the man who became a symbol for their fight to remain living here. Then, if you get a copy of Following The Nez Perce Trail by Cheryl Wilfong, you will be able to locate some of the important sites in this area associated with Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce people. For an even greater in-depth study of the Nez Perce tribe, I recommend Alvin Josephy’s monumental history, The Nez Perce Indians. In 1993, I met Earl Leggett of Aurora, Ore., when he drove a fine team of mules from Independence, Mo., back to Aurora for the sesquicentennial of the Oregon Trail. He was recreating the journey of Willie Keil, who had been hauled west in an alcohol-lined coffin when his father journeyed over the Oregon Trail to found the Aurora Mills Colony 150 years ago. The wagon Earl used for his 1993 journey belonged to the Aurora Museum, and you can see it if you visit this antique-lovers’ town just south of Portland.

William Keil, a Prussian tailor-physician who founded Bethel Colony in Missouri, relocated his colony to Oregon a century and a half ago this year, establishing a new colony in a community he named Aurora Mills for his daughter and the milling enterprise he began there. Keil’s young son Willie died just before Keil set out for Oregon, but the father kept a promise and took the boy with him, carrying the body in a lead-lined, alcohol-filled coffin until reaching the site of the new community. This year Aurora Mills—now simply Aurora—celebrates its own sesquicentennial with special programs at the recently renovated Aurora Colony Museum. Farther west on the Oregon Coast is Astoria, a community now also known for its eclectic dining and shopping, but which began as a fur trader’s outpost organized by John Jacob Astor in 1811. The first American to visit the neighborhood was Captain Robert Gray, who in 1792 sailed into the mouth of the Columbia River between what would become Cape Disappointment in present Washington and Port Adams in current Oregon. Lewis and Clark arrived 13 years later and spent several months nearby in 1805-06 at Fort Clatsop, which they built as their winter quarters.

The Astorians followed in 1811, coming to the region both overland and via the ocean on the Tonquin. The first of those fur traders established Fort Astoria, forerunner to the modern city. Music festivals, historical talks and programs, and tours of historic homes are just a few of the offerings each year in Astoria. A fire at nearby Fort Clatsop destroyed the recreated Lewis and Clark site in the fall of 2005, but it is being rebuilt by the National Park Service and although the bicentennial of the explorer’s journey is now nearly concluded, ongoing programs will be held to tell the story of the first overland American exploration of the Pacific Northwest. To the south, emphasis switches from seacoast culture and river travel when you visit the High Desert Museum in Bend, where you can see river otters, a mustang, porcupines, and birds of prey in outdoor exhibits. There is a homestead, Indian tipi, sawmill, and Basque sheepherder’s wagon. Take a nature walk or learn how prescribed fire can work to enhance a national forest. High Desert Rendezvous every August features an auction of Western art and collectibles, with proceeds benefiting the museum. RECOMMENDED Take part in a Lewis and Clark Columbia River Tour, which starts in Portland, or visit the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City. www.traveloregon.com

Washington The Columbia River defines much of Washington State, separating the northern territory from Oregon. You can travel along the river on either bank. Oregon provides the fastest route along Interstate 84, while Washington’s highway 14 takes you in more leisurely fashion either up or down the river. Admittedly there is less access to some of the Columbia Gorge attractions (which are on the Oregon side of the river), but the slower pace in Washington more than makes up for that and you will find bridges over the river at various points so if you really want to touch base in Oregon, you can. On the route between Vancouver and Walla Walla are small towns, wineries, and points that were important landmarks for Lewis and Clark. You can visit the Bonneville Lock and Dam Visitor’s Center in North Bonneville or the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson, where you’ll find exhibits about the people who have lived in the Columbia River Gorge and about transportation on the river. The Columbia supports agricultural development in the Palouse country of northeastern Washington. Lake Roosevelt, Washington state’s largest reservoir, is formed by the waters of the Columbia River as they back up behind the Grand Coulee Dam.

This U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project was among those developed by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the New Deal Era of the 1930s and it has created a 160 mile-long lake with 630 miles of shoreline. Campgrounds, picnic areas, and a visitors’ center near Grand Coulee provide a place to begin enjoying this engineering marvel. I met Charlie Moses, a member of the Chief Joseph band of the Nez Perce Tribe, at his home near Nespelim and went with him to the small cemetery in that town where Chief Joseph is buried, along with Yellow Wolf and others who took part in the 1877 Nez Perce War. Charlie encouraged me to visit the Colville Tribal Museum in the town of Grand Coulee, with its displays related to the confederated tribes that make their home on the nearby reservation, including both Colville and Nez Perce people. The tribes hold a combined powwow encampment in early July and the annual Colorama Festival and Pro-West Rodeo takes place in May with an art show, rodeo, cowboy poetry gathering, and other activities.

The Grand Coulee Dam has another role besides holding back the waters of the Columbia River for agricultural and recreation purposes. During summer evenings a laser light show plays nightly, with the dam used as the “projection screen.” The show gives the story of the Columbia River plus the history and purposes of the Grand Coulee Dam. The drive from Grand Coulee to Spokane takes you across some of the farmlands irrigated by water held in Lake Roosevelt. Spokane itself is on the Spokane River, which you can enjoy at Riverfront Park, where you will have views of Spokane Falls, as well as an opportunity to ride a carousel, attend a concert in the park on some evenings, or take part in other recreational activities. While in the Spokane area, take in a wine tasting at the Arbor Crest Winery or any one of ten other area wineries, or visit one of the city’s museums or historic sites.

RECOMMENDED Stay at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla, where you can visit the nearby Whitman Mission Historical Site, or at the Red Lion Hotel at Riverfront Park in Spokane. www.experiencewashington.com.

Candy Moulton, who lives in Encampment, Wyo., is editor of Roundup, the magazine of the Western Writers of America. She is a regular contributor to American Cowboy.

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