Libby Dam and Thompson Lakes

Enjoyed a scenic drive on Monday afternoon along Lake Pend Oreille on our way out of Idaho and into Montana.  Checked a couple sources before departing Idaho about possible camping spots along our path towards Glacier Park.  Decided on a free spot near the Libby Dam.  The Army Corps of Engineers runs the dam and maintains a few recreation areas on the lake and river.  Picked out a nice spot along the river and took it easy the rest of the night.  Back in Mountain timezone now, so sunset isn’t til around 10pm and isn’t fully dark until 11 or so.

She has found a new spot for napping, wedged in between the wall and mattress.

Libby is the town of eagles, but we only saw these monstrous roadside specimens.

Swooping down to pick up a car I suppose

Hard to find free riverside sites like this

Woke up on Tuesday and decided on a late morning run up to see the dam. They host a free tour a few times a day, and we had plenty of time to make the noon tour.  Well.. I should have checked the road map a bit better, cause we thought about a 2 mile run one-way to the visitor center, but the windy roads would have been more like 3.5 miles.  So, by the time we climbed the first portion of the road and reached the dam, we saw that it would be another mile climb or so and we wouldn’t make it before the tour started. Decided to take a different road back to the campsite, which made the trip quite a bit longer, figure about 6 miles or so.   Cindy loves it when i take us on a “2 mile trip just up the road”, which then turns into a quarter or half marathon.

Quick pit-stop for a picture on the run back home

Really warm out after our run, so 64 degree river water is perfect!

Prepping for a dunk, but water is chillier than expected..

1,2,3… Go!

Core body temp has been reduced very quickly!

Enjoyed some lunch, a cold beer and an afternoon movie to relax a bit. Drove back up to the dam for the 4pm tour. A nice tour hosted by a couple students working for the summer at the dam. Just the two of us on the tour as well. Another impressive example of human invention. Cool to see the architecture from this era of the mid 60s.

A straight line dam design, as compared to other more famous dams with curved designs. Enough concrete in the dam to pour a 2-lane highway from here to Washington DC.

Got back around 6pm from the tour and quick drive along the lake. Decision whether to stay another night at the same spot or move on closer to Glacier. We decided to pick and move further east, since we still had about 4 hours of daylight. From earlier research, I had a spot marked near the Thompson Lakes area. Pulled into the state park and got some info and a map from the friendly campground host. He pointed us towards some primitive lakeside spots for only $12/night.

Another fantastic waterfront sunset with a campfire

Up early on Wednesday morning since we had to fuel up, stock up on groceries and do laundry. Hit up a Walmart and gas station in Kallispell, then kept on towards Glacier to lock in a campsite before doing laundry.

Planning on spending 3-4 nights here at Glacier!