We originally planned to do Glacier NP but the fire closed the only road that traverses the park. The papers say there is record tourist activity in the Park with road delays of 2 - 3 hours. Not4us, so we gave up on Glacier.
The guidebook says the far northwest corner of Montana is scenic & isolated but the secondary roads are paved. So we decided to do a day trip there.
Off we go, stopping on the way in Eureka, MT to share a peanut butter milkshake, yummm!
A shot of beautiful downtown Eureka, built on a hill, must be the dickens in winter.
We hit the road again. And what to our wondering eyes should appear, but a gravel road that shouts "Turn here!".
So we did.
And just down the road a bit was a deer; not a very willing subject. We saw about a half dozen on the trip, some were doe/fawn pairs.
Somehow still photos don't convey the beauty and serenity of the place. A video helps, but somehow, you just gotta be there to experience it.
Here's the vid, also...listen at :39 - :42, there is a Loon call. Murphy's Lake is a Loon sanctuary and nesting area.
That bright light is a fishing boat catching the sun as the boat slowly turns.
The Kootenai River comes down from British Columbia, flows through NW Montana for a while then makes a right turn into Idaho. Our stretch of the river is very wide and becomes Lake Koocanusa thanks to a dam further downstream that's not on our route.
Traffic is near nil. We stopped on the bridge to take some pics. A lone biker came up from behind & parked ahead of us.
A river/lake shot.
Among the pics Susanne was shooting:
It was here that we first encountered this sign, taken at another site. The one here was shot to pieces.
On a clear, dry, day the driving situation is concerning. At any other time/condition (night, rain, snow) the experience would be harrowing. The speed limit was 45mph which is a joke. With 15mph hairpin turns, our speed typically varied from 25-40mph. It was 30 miles of wilderness, an hour to do it, three oncoming vehicles the whole time, no cell phone service. Our trusty Enterprise Chrysler didn't let us down.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep..." I was looking for the sign "Robert Frost was here."
It's odd but now understandable. We didn't take any photos along the most densely wooded part of the road. No safe place to stop. It was kinda dark even in daylight. Between watching for and navigating the next curve and being aware of any game on the road or ahead, it took the efforts of all four eyes available in the vehicle.
Anyhow, we did get through it but still had 10 miles b4 the next village. Everything seemed to loosen up...the mood, the forest, the sun, even the road.
The village is Yaak, farthest northwest community in Montana. A bar/grocery and a saloon across the street plus some other buildings. The world is not beating a path to these doors. That's a dirty shame and probably how the town saloon got its name.
Through miles of beautiful forests and at times rushing streams along side the road, we arrive at Yaak Falls.
When it comes to height & impressiveness, Yaak Falls is a tiny fraction of Niagara. But out here in Nowheresville, it's something. Here's the top.
Mid falls.
Downstream as the rushing waters toddle off into the wilderness.
Shhhhhhh...arteest at work.
I shot a video which shows much more but the upload speed at this hotel is glacial (took nearly an hour to upload these five. A vid would take a week). So I will include it in a future post after we get to our apartment on Friday.
So....that's it for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment