Bighorn Sheep, Eagles, and More of the Wondrous Kootenai River

Our 2 weeks in Libby would have been incomplete without spending time taking in the incredible beauty of the Kootenai River. The turquoise water of the river rushing over the fractured sandstone is breathtaking in itself but the canyon, sitting between the Cabinet and Purcell Mountains, is equally divine. Also amazing are the number of wildlife that call this place home: our first day walking the Kootenai River Trail provided sightings of numerous big horn sheep, deer, and 2 eagles. The previous night fellow Care-a-vanner Celia and I even had to stop for a bighorn hanging out in the road! We spent at least a minute gawking and snapping pictures through the windshield before he moved off.

We also spent an evening walking around Kootenai Falls. We hadn’t timed our visit in June quite right with regards to lighting and so a return trip was in order. This time we walked through the forest both downriver to the Swinging Bridge and upriver to the falls. In search of a drink, Abby found a very pretty spot to wade in below a small falls and later, she and I got our picture taken above the upper cascades.

I cajole Abby into joining me on the ledge for a picture:

A pretty successful photo of Abbs and I:

Finally, we managed to take the somewhat-obligatory drive upriver past the dam to Lake Koocanusa. Though tours through the dam are available, we three settled for a brief stroll along the shore and some views of the 442-foot concrete barrier which holds back over 90 miles of water, half of which extend into Canada.