Return to Nez Perce country

Yesterday, I spent the night in Lewiston, ID.  I lived here once in the mid-80's for four summers and a winter while working at Nez Perce National Historical Park.  I was a seasonal laborer back then, doing maintenance work for the park...cleaning the visitor center, mowing the lawn, putting up fences, etc.  It was a great job and I had some good times with the staff both on and off work.  I had only visited the park once since then, about ten years ago.  There were still a couple of people from my original days at the park, but I hadn't kept in touch.  While doing a bit research on the park in preparation for my road trip, I found out one of my friends from the old days was still working there.  I hadn't seen him on my last visit, and I was eager to see him again.

When I arrived at Nez Perce NHP this morning, the visitor center looked pretty much the same as I remembered it.  Stepping through the front doors, I noted the rest rooms just inside...I used to clean those, AND the front door glass as part of my usual maintenance tasks.  As I entered the lobby, my long lost friend was standing there to greet me with a hug.

Kevin is Nez Perce and currently employed as a park ranger at Nez Perce NHP.  Twenty-five years back, he worked with the park curator and was part of the interpretive staff.  We spent about an hour reminiscing old times and catching up on new things.  I looked over the museum's artifacts, and most are still as I remember them.  I also remembered the ceiling lights that required me to climb up a VERY tall ladder to change!

After exchanging contact info and promising to stay in touch, I said my goodbyes to Kevin and continued on my road trip.  As I traveled east, I checked out one of the park's roadside interpretive sites.  Ant and Yellowjacket is a rock formation that depicts a Nez Perce legend of the two creatures frozen in time by the powerful animal spirit Coyote.

I stopped to grab some lunch at Orofino and took some pics of Dworshak Dam, the third tallest dam in the U.S. 

Two more stops in the afternoon...two more park interpretive sites.  The first was the Heart Of The Monster at Kamiah.  This place holds great significance to the Nez Perce people as their ancestors were said to originate from the heart of a monster that swallowed every living creature, only to be defeated by the ever clever Coyote.

Finally, I stopped at the White Bird Battlefield viewpoint.  The opening battle of the Nez Perce War in 1877 occurred here.  Even though the Nez Perce won the battle, they would eventually lose the war, remembered by Chief Joseph's famous words, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."  If you've never visited Nez Perce country, check it out.  Lots of awesome history and culture.