Kootenai Falls

Waking up with sore bodies convinced us that going for a drive today was a good thing! 

Just a short ways north of us and not too far past where we hiked yesterday is the Ross Creek Cedar Grove. Yes, we did hike in a cedar grove but this one has level paved paths with informative signs about the trees, rocks, ferns and flowers. The Giant Red Cedars seemed much bigger as well. It was interesting to see how some grew up like twins and others were so joined together at the bottom that you did not realize it was three or four trees melded together until you looked upward.

A little further up the road we turned to go to Libby and stopped at the Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge. The Kootenai River runs down from the Libby Dam on the Koocanusa Lake then turns north and runs up into Canada. The falls became a spiritual gather place for the various Kootenai Indian Tribes that were divided by this river and lake. The falls are considered to be the largest free flowing waterfall in the northwestern US. We got a fair workout walking to the viewing area for the upper part of the falls and an even better hike to the swinging bridge which spans the river. But it was worth the effort!

Libby is a little tourist town that is mostly closed down on Sundays but we had a nice lunch at the Cabinet Mountain Brewing Company along with a tasting of their eight different beers. RJ - you would have loved this place!

This evening we were fascinated by the actions of two bald eagles high up in the trees across the river. Then some ducks began chasing or herding the fish in the river. It has been a delightful evening!