The Nez Perce (Nee-ME-Poo) are an Indian tribe in the Pacific Northwest. The name Nez Perce (pierced nose) was a name given to them by the French fur traders. Since they did not have pierced noses, the name probably came from some similar sounding word. Their first recorded encounter with the white man was with the Lewis and Clark expedition. The meeting was friendly, but as time went on,and as the US is historically known to do, the relationship went pear shaped. By 1877 they were at war with the US 7th Calvary after suffering abuses by the US. Rather than be moved to Oklahoma, they took off on what today is known as the Nez Perce Trail. It is now a National Trail and is in western Oregon, Idaho, Yellowstone, and Western Montana. Since our summer travels crossed and followed this trail, we learned about these people and learned about their plight. Their story, although not unique, moved us so we decided to entitle this blog after this Trail.
Our summer travels took us from the Columbia River to the Clearwater, the Lolo, the Snake, the Clark Fork, and the Salmon Rivers. We traveled from the Blue Mountains in the west over the Lolo Pass through the Bitterroots, south to the Sawtooth Mountains, and east to the Rockies. The summer was cool and generally dry up there. We discovered remote campsites near these rivers with backdrops of the mountains on the horizons. Spring and summer wildflowers were our constant companions along with the sounds of the rivers.
We hope that you enjoy going along with us in our photos and we would love to hear from you.
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