I’ve visited nearly all of the 48 contiguous states in my lifetime and can attest that there is beauty in every single one. Still, I’m convinced Idaho has an overabundance of scenic wonderland.
I fell in love with the area while researching to write Grandma’s mini-memoir, “All Aboard! The Adventures of Miss Ratcliff” and I’m forever grateful Jim and I were able to travel and see it for ourselves. What a blessing.
We arrived in Kamiah on a Sunday evening, exhausted (even Shotgun) and ready to relax in The Sportsman’s Loft. We had great hosts (Randy & Jolene) and a wonderful, clean, and comfortable home away from home for the week.
The next morning, we found The Hearthstone in downtown Kamiah and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. Great service in a lovely historic pharmacy with such charm. We ate there more than once while we were in Kamiah.
Our local guide, Jerry, planned to meet us later in the week to show us around, but I just couldn’t wait to see Woodland and it was ONLY 12 miles up the road (Keyword: UP) so we set off by ourselves — that was our first mistake!
Our second was when we put “Woodland Friends Church” into our GPS on the dashboard. We followed the path not knowing the GPS would lead us astray. We did make it to the church but only after some intense moments.
We crossed the Clearwater River, then headed North on a blacktop which – after a few miles – turned into a road with deep loose gravel or chat. It was extremely “washboard-y” and very narrow. We’ve driven on washboard roads in Kansas – no problem – but when they’re deep in chat on the side of a mountain with no guardrails they’re no fun. And, of course, there was no place to turn around, nor was there any place to stop for pictures.
Had we met a car (which we didn’t) one of us would have had to back up and you can bet your sweet bippy (what IS a bippy, anyway?) it wasn’t going to be Jim. He was white-knuckled to the steering wheel and hugging the cliff. I was on the bleeding side so I was busy praying (silently, so as not to disturb him). Oh, I peeked a few times, and don’t get me wrong, the view was BEYOND AMAZING. I just wish I had pictures to share. THOSE views are forever seared in my brain. Seriously breathtaking sights on the crazy path shown to the left!
Remember in Grandma’s book when I jokingly said the road between Kamiah and Woodland would be longer if it was stretched out straight. It seriously would be. When GPS says it’ll take 30 minutes to drive 8 miles, you really should worry. (As Dorothy would say, “Toto, we’re NOT in Kansas anymore!”)
We’ve been on similar mountain roads in Colorado where pine trees are on the ‘downhill’ side. If you went off the side there, you’d be slowed down by ‘pinball’ action between the trees. On THIS road, however, you’d DIE of fright as you plunge straight down. There is nothing to slow you down at all. (I may be exaggerating, but only slightly.)
When we finally made it to the Woodland Friends Church I knocked on the door of the parsonage and visited with the pastor. I chatted with him months earlier while researching for Grandma’s book. We intended to be at their service that next Sunday, but I told him IF we ever got back DOWN from this glorious plateau, we’d probably never come up again. A helicopter seemed our best way down the mountainside. He seemed to snicker and said if we thought THAT road was bad, we shouldn’t take the Greer Road. Duly noted!
BUT…WAIT.
There’s more to this Woodland story….Once our blood pressure was in check as we wandered the rolling hills and sights on the plateau, we put “Kamiah” in the GPS to start down the hill. Funny thing is, I noticed our location on the GPS was out in the middle of nowhere – not on the highlighted path.
When I put “Kamiah” in the GPS, I failed to click START. We were NOT on the zig-zaggy route. This road was quite pleasant; the speed limit was 35 mph and there were switchbacks (of course) it was a piece of cake.
Lesson learned: don’t trust GPS for the most direct route because it failed us miserably in Central Idaho. I looked at Google Maps later (when we were back “home” in Kamiah) to find the road we misguided flatlanders took. On it, we were at an elevation of up to 3,200′ above the Tommy Taha Creek (at 1,600′). Near Caribel, if you want to look for yourself. Chart the course from Kamiah to Caribel just for fun. What a crazy Monday morning drive that was.
The Woodland Friends Church is a pleasant country church in a beautiful setting among wheatfields and pine trees. It was great to worship with this congregation of fellow believers that next Sunday morning.
We took the good road up and I was sure to let the pastor know we weren’t the wimpy flatlanders he thought we were; we were just misguided on our first trip up the mountain.
Once he knew what road we’d taken, he understood. His kids call that the “fun” road. That’s not exactly what I would call it.
By the way, Kevin (the pastor) has a sister who lives an hour from us in Kansas AND, Kristi (the pastor’s wife) is a long-time Woodlander and we’re related. We didn’t take the time to get it all traced but we have shared ancestors. How cool is that?
There is not much left of the bustling 1913 community of Woodland, but the one-time store where Grandma shopped still stands (it’s now a residence). If you compare this picture (left) to the one of the store pictured in my book, you’ll recognize that distinctive front.
The Woodland schoolhouse is also still standing down the road from the store. It’s for sale, if you’re interested, and there are living quarters for the teacher attached on the other side of the building. Want to buy an old school?
I loved seeing the wheat fields in the Woodland area, though I wondered HOW the farmers EVER got combines up there. They weren’t the ginormous ones seen in Kansas, but even the smaller ones. I have no idea how they got them up the hill.
When Jerry was giving us the grand tour, he mentioned that some of the combines had levelers to be able to maneuver the mountainsides. I guess the header would have to hug the ground level to harvest the grain while the leveler would keep the combine upright. Interesting concept. I wish we’d see that in person. We only saw the tracks in the already-harvested fields.
Notice the fire across the valley on the other side? There were several we saw. Some were controlled burns (wheat fields on the other plateau (which was over by Nez Perce). But, there had been (and still were) some uncontrolled fires in the area, too.
On our way to Lewiston and back, we saw several areas that had been badly devastated by fire. We also saw the value of huge plowed grassland that prevented wildfires from spreading. Perfectly plowed out on hillsides – black ground on one side, lush grasslands on the other. Blackened trucks of pines on one side, beautiful pines on the other. Firefighters in these areas certainly are heroes. 
(They are everywhere, but to see such devastation is mind-blowing.)
We saw a cool intersection up on the Woodland plateau…the Moon House Road. I wondered which Moon family lived there. Which Moon family that road was named for. I’m sure there’s a piece of history in knowing that.
The picture to the right is on the ‘good’ road from Kamiah to Woodland – I think! But I am not totally sure.
The one below, I know, is a picture capturing the Clearwater River (way in the distance toward the right side of the picture) from the Woodland area. I still just shake my head in wonder even when I revisit these photographs. Such a diverse and beautiful land we visited.
Below you’ll see an old structure that was probably there when Grandma visited. I can’t remember exactly what Jerry said it was, but it was unique and cool (see it in the distance in that first picture?). I wish you could see (perhaps if you zoom in) the dovetail construction of the corners of this building. I was impressed. Tightly held together to withstand the winds and rains and snowfall. If only these walls could talk. They’d have stories to tell, no doubt.
In Grandma’s book, I told of a road that – after a day of rain – was a muddy mess, and it took Uncle Tilly hours and hours to make it back up the road with horses and a wagon. I saw some pictures in the museum of these roads when they were barely carved out of the mountainside. Early on, they were only graded. Then gravel was added later. At some point – but much later – some roads were paved.
In one book I read that in 1915, in Nez Perce County (the county next to Idaho County) there were only 500 cars being operated. Grandma doesn’t mention cars until she goes further west – once she’s in Oregon, cars are mentioned in her journal. I wonder when the Moons and Ratcliffs in the Woodland area first had cars? I don’t know.
The last two pictures for today will show more of the (current) one-lane gravel roads in the Woodland area. In the second picture, notice the road BELOW the one we’re on (you can see it to the right of the nearest tree trunk, then after another switchback, it angles off to the right and continues down the steep grade. We had so much fun maneuvering these grades. This one wasn’t so bad, because it actually had trees on the downward slope (unlike that first hair-raising drive we took).
I believe these pictures might have been taken near beginning of the Pardee Road, but I’m not totally sure. What I am sure of is hundreds of miles in this area are similar. I would have loved to have explored more of them because every single one led to breathtaking sights. Again, I’m so very grateful to have taken this trip.
All for now!
Elaine McAllister (c) 2024
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