Bert spied a sign on Highway 2 between Libby and Troy, Montana, saying Kootenai Falls and asked if I wanted to go.  Why not? I said.  We don’t exactly have an agenda today.  And that brief decision revealed one of the prettiest spots along the way.

Kootenai Falls Park leads you through tall timber and a natural area marked with fallen trees, mossy patches, naturally decaying woods and leaves and plants.  A real forest in its almost-natural state (except for the pathways for which we were grateful.)

The falls themselves did not disappoint.  Rushing waters tumbling over rough gray stone, bubbling and gushing with the sounds you would expect.  And yet there was a peacefulness that comes from being the solitary visitors in one of America’s prettiest spots in the Inland Northwest.

Later, we read that the Kootenai Indians held this place sacred since they communed with the spirits here.

The falls are accessible via footpaths, and the Libby Lions Club has added a picnic area.  A swinging bridge is nearby for an even better view of the falls, but we didn’t take the time to explore in that direction.  We were content to enjoy the forest and the quiet right where we were.

On our way back to the car, the distant sound of a train “comin’ ’round the mountain” stopped us. So we waited. And got the camera ready.  And shot.  Like a child seeing a train for the first time, we were excited.  After all, it’s not every day that we’re front and center for what is an ordinary occurrence in Kootenai Falls Park, but something rare for us.

Isn’t it fun to leave the highway and find unexpected memory-maker places?

Kootenai Falls Park

http://www.libbymt.com/areaattractions/kootenaifalls.htm

Mapquest Map: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Kootenai%20Falls&state=MT

For more pictures and posts on our trip through the Inland Northwest, click on the Page at the top of this post.