K is for Kamiah and Kooskia (and Lowell too)

Little towns. Lost and getting loster as the saying goes. All three towns in today's entry are in remotest Idaho, way down the hill from Lolo Pass on Highway 12, on the banks of the Lochsa and Middle Fork of the Clearwater Rivers. The drive down Highway 12, which is part of the ?Lewis and Clark route is a treat, if you like mountain roads hidden away in the midst of flyover country.

Kooskia is one of them. With history as each of them likely have. Kooskia is a Nez Perce word and the town itself is within the Nez Perce Reservation or it was at one time, before white settlers violated their own agreement with the Nez Perce and settled on reservation lands. Mention is made of the Internment Camp, which was about 30 miles upstream from Kooskia.

Kamiah is another town, downstream from Kooskia, that is heavy with New Perce history. The name means rope net and has to do with the ropes and nets that the Nez Perce made for Salmon fishing. Likely more significant, the Appaloosa is claimed in New Perce history to have been bred in this area by the Nez Perce.

Lowell is the third tiny burg made mention of in today's entry. Population 30, it is just barely there any more. It occupies the wide spot between the confluence of the Lochsa and the Selway. You access it across a bridge from Highway 12. The Selway and Lochsa merge to form the Middle Fork of the Clearwater.