When we left you last month we had left Michigan and were headed west. After a wild and crazy drive around Chicago we were pointed towards the northern route headed for Libby Montana. After crossing parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and all of North Dakota we ran smack dab into Montana. No, we were not almost there; Libby is way over on the other side in the northwest corner. We are about 30 miles from Idaho and 54 miles from Canada. We traveled all the way thru Montana on U.S. 2 away from the hustle and bustle of normal every day driving.
We thought that since we were driving right by Glacier National Park that we might as well spend a couple of nights and rest up before we arrived at Libby. Of course as things go, shortly after we arrived it started to rain, and it rained until we were ready to leave. It did give us a chance for some nice pictures in the park. As you can tell, the boat on the calm lake and the majestic mountains in the background are beautiful.
Due to the rain and snow melt in the mountains the streams and rivers were filled to capacity and roaring down the mountains headed for the lakes.
Even with the rain we were out sight seeing and had a great time. The Going to the Sun Road was not open yet due to the snow pack so we went as far as we could and just enjoyed the drive. We were lucky enough to see a mountain goat standing on this rocky slope surveying his domain. It has been great doing all this traveling and seeing mother nature at her finest.
We awoke on the 3rd of June to no rain and sunny skies, packed up, folded up and headed to Libby Dam for our next great adventure. After a short 4 hour drive we had our first glimpse of Libby Dam. Libby Dam is 3,055 ft across, 54 ft. wide at the top and 310 ft. wide at the base. and 370 ft. high above the stream bed. It is a straight axis concrete gravity dam. That means it's not curved but runs straight across the river and holds back the water because of it's size and weight. It has 7.6 million tons of concrete and that is enough to build a two lane highway from Libby to Washington D.C. or 2,290 miles.
After stopping at the visitor center and meeting Tana we were given directions to where we would be spending our summer. We met up with our co-hosts Paul and Kristina. They are from North Carolina and very nice. Paul helped me get backed into our site and we proceeded to get set up and make ourselves at home. It's a lovely site and there are just the four of us staying here once the gate is closed at 9 p.m. It's very peaceful and quiet. The only camping is below the dam and we are in the day use area. Holly helps in the visitor center and I pick up around the park and sweep out the rest rooms and stock paper products.
The town of Libby is 17 miles away and that is where we need to go to get cell service. We have wifi at the visitor center so that helps. They do provide us with a phone at our site for incoming calls and emergency outgoing calls but it is one of those really old kind that has a cord on it. Libby is the city of Eagles. There are several sculptures around town of eagles and we see eagles all the time below the dam, teaching their young how to fish.
The dam was built across the Kootenai River for flood control and provide additional hydroelectric power. The lake that was formed behind the dam extends about 40 miles into Canada. The total length of the lake is 90 miles. The lake was named in a contest.... It's called Koocanusa. That is Koo for the river Kootenai, can for Canada and usa for the USA. So it is Koo-ca-nu-sa. The water falls on the left are just west of Libby they are the Kootenia Falls. A little bit of a hike to get to them but well worth it.
A little further down stream they have a swinging bridge. That is Holly standing in the middle of it. I would of gone, but someone had to hold the dogs!
We took a trip to Ross Creek Cedars to see the giant cedar trees. These things were really big. Some were almost as big as the Ponderosa trees we have seen in other places. It was a nice shady walk on a nice trail. The dogs enjoyed it and Ruby even walked out in the mountain stream to get a drink of cool water.
On Tybee Island we had to deal with sharks... now we deal with bears. We've seen one bear when we were leaving the cedar trees. It crossed the road right in front of us. By the time I had the camera out it had run into the trees. I tried to get Holly to take the camera and go get a picture but she wouldn't. I would have, but someone had to stay with the dogs. We've also seen big horn sheep just down from the day use park and of course, deer.
Holly has put out three humming bird feeders and we have been overrun by them. All day long we have from two to eight or more at a time. it's hard to tell how many for sure, the little buggers don't hold still long enough to get an accurate count.
That's all for now. Be sure and stop by again next month and see what we've been up to. Until then we will just go along exploring N.W. Montana and humming a merry tune (can't believe I said that). Bye.
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