Last weekend, we went to Orofino to check out a riding mower that someone was selling. The drive to Orofino is quite scenic, dropping into a canyon, and then climbing back out before reaching Kendrick, passing a few small mountains, and then descending into the big canyon: the Clearwater River. Orofino is kind of neat in its geographic setting, it sits deep in the intersection of the North Fork of the Clearwater River and the Middle Fork (South Fork? ). It almost reminds me of those towns in Europe that are nested between steep mountains and a river, only not quite as elegant.
There is another way to get to Orofino, and that is by way of the Elk River Scenic Byway, which connects Elk River to Orofino. The scenic byway is pretty neat, and mostly scenic. From Orofino, it travels the high country above the Dworshak Reservoir, a lake created from a dam on the North Fork, one of the largest dams in the northwest. The dam created a lake about 50 miles up stream into some pretty and wild country. The reservoir itself is owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, but beyond that, the land is primarily owned by the timber companies. So, in the course of driving through lush woodland and high country wetlands, you do come to some clearings.
Once we hit Elk River, we’re back on familiar ground, skirting the still-frozen reservoir with a glimpse of the freshly snow-covered Elk Butte. From there, it’s back home by route 8. There are so many cool places to see around here, even by scenic drives, but as the price of gasoline continues to to rise, I wonder how many of these joy rides I’ll be able to take. But some of them will get me deep into the backcountry where I hope to escape for a few days at a time.