2023 Trip 7: Northwest US: History and Adventure: September 3

Kellogg, Idaho Sunday September 3

Serendipity. At breakfast this morning (Sunday) we sat across from a young (to us) couple. We got to talking. When they had arrived last night, we were working on the blog and greeted them. They were looking for a restaurant recommendation and were then going to crash since their travel day had started around 3AM that morning.

Sunday morning as we were chatting, it came out that the woman was from Carlisle PA where we had lived for over 20 years. Not only that, she had lived just a few blocks from us although we had left Carlisle by the time she was even in high school. It was fun chatting with the two of them and comparing Carlisle memories.

In another example of serendipity, Saturday night, again while we were working on the blog in a common area of the B and B, two other couples came in and we all got to chatting. It turns out the two husbands had played football in a Nevada high school against each other although not knowing each other 40 years earlier. There were several other coincidences between the two couples.

All of this talking delayed and confused my blog posting but it was a pleasant interlude. One of the benefits of staying at a B and B versus Airbnb.

Sunday morning, we had a three hour drive from Bonners Ferry to Kellogg ID. We are still in the narrow, northern panhandle of Idaho, just along Interstate 90 as it travels from Spokane Washington to Missoula Montana. Kellogg is another small town, population 2,500. It is an old mining town but has a ski resort that is trying to provide economic impact. For us, the ski resort was appealing because it has a 3.1 mile gondola ride that crosses several ridge lines as it reached an elevation above 5,600 feet. This is the longest gondola ride in the United States.

The full impact of the 3,000 foot elevation gain was minimized as the ride started in light showers and ended in rolling clouds. Lunch at the top was so-so. Best benefit was it gave us time to sit and gain a slight improvement in the cloud cover.

Mountain biking is very popular and we watched numerous riders head off on slopes and rides we would never consider. We overheard one rider sitting in the lunch area discussing how he had just popped his shoulder again.

Once we returned down to earth from the clouds, we visited a mining museum in Kellogg. Starting in 1886, over time, this area of Idaho (known as the Silver Valley) has produced more silver than anywhere else in the US. Annually, it still produces the third largest quantity of silver of all states in the U.S. This area has had its share of mining problems; environmental degradation, labor-owner battles, fluctuating price of silver that affects steady production, etc. The owners of the mines and smelter in the area had a long history of indifference to health impacts to workers, residents, and downstream communities. Eventually in 1982 the smelter, largest in the world at the time, was shut down to avoid upgrading it. In 1983, the site was added to the national Superfund list.

Our final bit of mining history was a surprise, sad event. Just down the road a few miles, in 1972, was the worst mining disaster in the United States. 91 miners died in the Sunshine mine disaster. You think with modern technology and safety regulations that such deadly disasters were relegated to the ash bin of past history. For those 91 workers and their families, disaster is still too real.

For dinner we stopped at the local grocery store and picked up milk, juice, salads, Tillamook ice cream (hard to choose between Tillamook and Umqua brands),and a local paper. The paper had the current prices for metals mined in the area, just like farm belt towns might have grain prices. Our ice cream was packaged in a “cold sack”, have not seen one of those in a long time.

Ed and Chris, Kellogg Idaho September 4