Libby, Montana

The Problem with Brakes:  As we  closed our Little Diamond blog, we were looking forward to being towed into Newport to have the RV brakes fixed.  Well, things didn't work out as anticipated.  We gave our Good Sam Emergency Road Service at least four days notice of our problem.  They immediately scheduled a 10 AM Monday appointment at the brake shop and assured us that a tow truck would pick us up that morning.  So, confident that all arrangements had been made, we carefully maneuvered the RV into towing position and waited . . . and waited some more, as the day was heating up to 95 degrees.  Finally, we got a call.  The tow truck would be two hours late.  We couldn't do much about it, so we mopped our brows and settled back for a couple more hours.  Finally, the tow guy called to ask what kind of rig we had.  Apparently, Good Sam forgot to tell him.  In any case, he decided he couldn't tow us with his tow truck and would have to call around to see if he could find a larger truck.  Then the nice lady at Good Sam called to say the tow guy was having trouble finding a truck and it would be another three hours or so.  Not good news!

During our wait, we struck up a conversation with another camper.  He had been a race car driver and seemed to know something about brakes.  He said it was possible that the brake fluid came to a boil in the Spokane traffic and lost its ability to function, causing the brakes to fail.  However, if the fluid cooled, it could return to its "normal" liquid state and the brakes would return - like magic.  We drove around the campground, tested the brakes and, sure enough, they worked.  We immediately called Good Sam, cancelled the tow truck, drove the RV over to the brake place in Newport without incident, and looked forward to a chat with Ed.

Ed, the owner of E&L Auto Service, was a very nice guy but seemed to know nothing about our automotive issues.  He had no idea why the brakes did what they did.  So, we asked him if he could look at the auxiliary generator to see why it wouldn't keep running.  He didn't know anything about generators.  Then we asked him why our transmission was having trouble shifting in certain situations (hot weather) and he couldn't answer that one either.  He finally suggested that we drive south to the Coeur d'Alene area and have an RV service place check things out for us.  We thanked him and headed north toward Bonners Ferry and into Montana.  End of story . . . for now.

Libby:  We pulled into the small town of Libby, Montana (pop. 2,600) late Monday afternoon and checked into the Two-Bit Outfit RV Park at the edge of town.  It's a very nice little park with lots of trees, grass, full hook-ups, spotless rest rooms and free cable TV.  It was a welcome change from our previous dusty campgrounds.  We liked the place so much we were ready to sign up for a week.  Unfortunately, the local car club is holding its annual car show next weekend and all local campgrounds are booked solid.  We could stay only until Thursday.  Good enough!

Kootenai Falls:   Libby is on the beautiful Kootenai River at the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.  Folks who love the outdoors find plenty of things to do here.  We decided to visit Kootenai Falls.  We had driven past it many times on Highway 2, but never stopped.  This time, we would take the two mile hike and check it out.

The hike began where the river had cut a narrow gap through the Cabinet Mountains.  For many years, the railroad had carried people and cars through this gap until a road was constructed.  It took a year to punch the road through the final five miles of solid rock.  The first road was completed in 1915 and has been widened since then.

We hiked down the shady trail through the forest, crossed a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks, and arrived on the rocks overlooking the Kootenai River and the falls.  What a beautiful place!

A little farther downstream, a swinging bridge provided access to the other side of the river.  We crossed the shakey windy bridge and explored the other side.

That's Bonnie crossing the bridge.

Swinging Bridge over the Kootenai River

Not far from the swinging bridge was a very small isolated beach.  We climbed over rocks and waded through a stream to get there, but it was worth the effort.

One brave soul was actually swimming in the river . . . and admitted it was ice cold.  He didn't stay in the water very long.

Taking Care of Business:  We had one more day in Libby and wanted to make the most of it.  Ron replaced a dead headlight on the Honda and found a self-service car wash to remove the accumulation of dust and dirt.  The Honda was also due for an oil change so we stopped at Libby Quick Lube.  There was only one employee in the office and the place didn't look busy, but he told us he was booked solid until next week.  Things tend to move slower in this area than we would like, so we have to remind ourselves that this is Montana, not Seattle.  It'll get done . . . eventually.

Heritage Museum:   We wanted a little "down time" to relax and take it easy.  But first, we decided to make a quick visit to the local Heritage Museum.  It's housed in a large 12-sided log structure, 130 ft. in diameter.  The museum had an impressive presentation of local history, with emphasis on the Kootenai Indians, miners, lumbermen, fur traders and other pioneers of the area.

One section of the museum featured area wildlife of all kinds, including these mountain lions.

The museum included a yard full of heavy equipment, mining tools and other interesting displays.  Several smaller buildings, including a furnished old miner's cabin were also available to look at.

An old shay locomotive sits in a dilapidated barn awaiting restoration.  It needs a lot of work but only volunteer labor is available until some money is raised.

Last but not least, Libby must be famous for something . . . and here it is.  The World's Largest Frying Pan!  This pan was created in Libby and used for special events for years before finally being donated to the museum.  It's 11 ft. across and 18" deep.  Very impressive indeed!

We concluded our stay in Libby with a nice dinner of barbecued sirloin steak, with peas and corn on the cob.  We'd like to stay longer but maybe next time.  Gotta move on . . .