Libby Dam, Amish Auction, Kootenai Falls

Saturday I decided to take a little field trip. There was to be an Amish auction in Libby so I thought I would take the opportunity to check out several things.

I have already written about Record Lows at Lake Koocanusa but I hadn't been all the way down to Libby Dam to see how things looked. Things looked pretty amazing. I stopped at the dam and took these pictures. Quite extraordinary.

Libby Dam, Montana

Lake Koocanusa, Montana - So low it's other worldly.

From the dam it was off to the Amish auction. Koty had a good time greeting lots of people but I didn't see anything I wanted to hang around and bid on. I did, however, find this little collapsible step stool that I thought was quite the value U$D 15.00.

Collapsible Step Stool

Stool in the open postion

After we left the auction our next destination was Kootenai Falls. I thought they might be interesting to see with the water running so high. On the way to the falls I saw this pretty view of the Cabinet Mountains and couldn't resist  taking a photo.

Cabinet Mountains

Well, the Kootenai Falls were interesting. They practically didn't exist. The river is flowing so full the fall drops are practically eliminated. Never seen anything quite like it. You'd need to see them at normal pool to get how extraordinary these photos are.

Kootenai Falls with the falls nearly flattened.

Kootenai Falls but without the falls!

 After the falls we headed over to a trail on the north side of the river that always seems to offer lovely wildlife sightings. We were not disappointed. Actually, before we went over to the river trail I stopped in at the Libby Cafe and had a "Montana Burger" and fries. Needed to get my strength up for the hike. :) It was pretty good and certainly way more food than I should have consumed. I still have an appetite like a truck driver. No offense truck drivers. That was just an expression I heard when I was a kid and it stuck.

Big Horn Sheep Ewes high in the cliffs overlooking the trail.

Nesting pair of Canada Geese

Big Horn Ewe flying through the bush.

This last picture is of the Kootenai River flowing bank to bank.

Kootenai River, Montana May 21, 2011

Living in Montana is a privilege.

©Kinsey Barnard

WEST KOOTENAI-AMISH COUNTRY

Things were pretty tranquil around the ranch this week. The usual visits by the whitetail. I have seen a couple of mule deer and that is a sure sign that fall is in the air.

WHITETAIL BUCK


WHITETAIL BUCK

SUNSET

The Tobacco Valley is divided by Lake Koocanusa. On the west side is what is called the West Kootenai. It's mostly Kootenai National Forest but there is an Amish settlement there. We decided to take a drive over in that direction to see what we might find.

SULLIVAN CREEK

On the way we stopped at Sullivan Creek which is still running good despite the lateness of the season.

AMISH BARN


AMISH BARN

The area is quite picturesque sporting bucolic and pastoral (that's redundant) scenes. Unfortunately, this day was pretty much cloudless and uninteresting from a photographic pint of view. I really am not a fan of summer when it comes to photography. Photography is all about light and summertime offers the least interesting light in my opinion. Although, I'm sure plenty would argue that point.


MONTANA WOODWORKS


MONTANA WOODWORKS

For quite some time I have been wanting to replace the stool I use in my mudroom to put my boots on. The one I have been using is over forty years old and about to collapse. I have looked everywhere for a replacement but all I could find were bar stools.

I figured since I was in the neighborhood I would stop in at Montana Woodworks and have them just make me one. It's quite handy to have them close by. They make really lovely log furniture and you may have seen it at Costco. They ship all over the country.

FUNGI


FUNGI

After leaving the village we took a hike up the Lower Sullivan Creek Trail. I was hoping it would take us along the creek but it took us straight up the mountain. There was very little to shoot. There were lots of signs of Fall though. Won't be long now.

KOTY BEAR

©KINSEY BARNARD PHOTOGRAPHY