Konkolville

The Konkolville Motel is located in Orofino Idaho. Orofino Idaho is located just off of Highway 12 on the Clearwater River in Northern Idaho. Orofino is Spanish for “fine gold” and was originally a trading post set up in the 1890’s. The expedition of Lewis and Clark along the Clearwater is well documented in the book Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Authored by Stephen Ambrose the book is a must read for exploring Idaho. Another resource is Discovering Lewis & Clark. In 1805 Lewis & Clark stayed nearby at what is now called “Canoe Camp” and built five dugout canoes for the trip downstream to the Pacific Ocean. They departed from Canoe Camp on October 7,1805. Selected entries from the Journals of Lewis and Clark Concerning Canoe Camp The original spelling in the journals has been preserved. The text comes from The Gary E. Moulton’s The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, July 28 to November 1, 1805. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. Pages 234-249. October 5th a Cool morning wind from the East, Collected all our horses, & Branded them 38 in No. and delivered them to the men who were to take Charge of them, each of which I gave a Knife & one a wampom Shell gorget . . . . Lanced 2 Canoes to day one proved a little leakey the other a verry good one   “One proved a little leaky”  I wonder where we get the right to call ourselves ‘Adventure Travelers!   A few miles down river from orofino is Dworshak Dam on the North Fork of the Clearwater River. Aerial view of the confluence of the North Fork of the Clearwater and Dworshak Dam with the main Clearwater. Canoe Camp would be on the right near the top of the page.   Orofino Creek runs through the town of Orofino and great lodging is found upstream about 2.5 miles at the Konkolville Motel. Andy and Bernice Konkol built a lumber mill here in in 1946. They soon built a larger mill and over the years a Tavern, Steakhouse, rental houses and eventually the Konkolville Motel. In 2007 Joseph and Sherry Chapman purchased the Motel and have continued to make it a welcome place to guests.   The Motel is clean and well kept offering a very nice heated pool and hot tub. I heard about the Konkolville from Jerry over in Weiser about 10 years ago and I had never stayed there until August of 2016. The Motel is definitely “biker friendly “ by offering towels & a bucket to clean up your bike if needed. What we found  very unique about the  Konkolville was the Grill your own steak dinner, that's right they have a very nice grilling area and eating area for those who want to order dinner when they book their reservation.   The steak dinner included a16 ounce New York Steak that was seasoned to perfection,  baked potato, and a green salad. The amazing part that a room for two and the steak dinner worked out to about $51.00 each! What was really nice was that at the end of the day we did not have to go find a place to eat. We had a great dinner and shared tall tales of the ride  with other riders.