LIBBY, MT - DAY ONE

July 5, 2015 

Our stay at St. Regis was short-lived. We were scheduled to stay two nights at The Nugget RV Park, which is a really nice campground, but unfortunately their electrical grid was unable to meet the demands of a very busy Fourth of July weekend crowd. Our power went off twice and each time we had to revert to generator energy. When we initially plugged into their 50 AMP service, Thom noticed it was running low. We decided, after the second power failure, to call Woodlands RV in Libby, where we had an existing reservation, to see if we could arrive a day early, and yes we could and yes we did. When Thom went to inform the campground we wouldn’t be staying, there was another fellow there discussing the same issues we were having. The campground was more than accommodating and understanding. We will most definitely return here at some point because it was a really nice campground in a very lovely area.  

Unfortunately, because of the power situation, we did not venture into town to check out the Fourth of July festivities because we didn’t want the cats to be stuck in a hot tin box should the generator not automatically turn on. With that being said, the fireworks weren’t scheduled to start until 10:30 p.m. (when it gets dark here) and with the “no fireworks” and “high fire risk” I don’t know how they did it but they did. Again, we did not venture out. I did worry about the animals left inside the RVs without air conditioning with the power-a/c blinking out!  

Nugget RV Park, St. Regis, MT - Lot 26

When we made our reservations here in Libby, Thom and I both said “this is probably a place we are going to wish we had more time”. Upon arriving here, we can honestly say that is the case! We are actually so fortunate that the power situation in St. Regis was an issue because this area, Libby, is absolutely relaxing. Our site (#13) is situated creekside and the sound of the running water is so soothing. So much in fact, Thom sat back in his recliner and took a nice nap! I, on the other hand, took a walk in the creek and found the best rocks to bring home! 

 

"Our" creek (for the next 3 days at least)!

Before we settled in for the rest of the day, we took a drive to Libby Dam. What a beautiful drive along the Kootenai River that was and is. We were not permitted to walk or drive across the dam due to the regulations since 9-11. There is, however, a bridge that we could cross and drive along the river on the other side; again, a really beautiful drive.

Kootenai River

 

Libby Dam

I have to share an “experience” we had on our way here. We decided, since we were going to be driving on 2-lane roads, that we would come upon a country diner to have breakfast. As we passed each small town, all the restaurants, as few as there were, were all closed. We saw that there was a “resort” in Thompson Falls that had a restaurant and an RV park, so we knew we could fit the RV in. Let me tell you this … that is the worst managed resort EVER!

When we arrived, the gal at the front desk was answering the phones, taking motel/RV reservations, checking people out, and taking names for the restaurant. As it was just the two of us, we thought it wouldn’t be long for a table, especially since we could see empty ones. There was a group of 15 waiting to be seated, who came in before us. We stood there for about 5 minutes watching this gal go back and forth. We asked her when we would be seated and she told us she had a party of 15 to seat first! What? I am laughing out loud actually as I type this! Okay. She’s going to seat the 15 first and there’s no place to put them, but there are tables empty and it’s just the two of us. Okay. We waited another five or so minutes and we asked again, explaining we could see the empty tables. Her reply, “well go take one then”, which we did. Why? Don’t ask. Anyway, long story short, we waited over an hour and had numerous refills on our cups of coffee, being filled by customers nonetheless (yes customers; a retired waitress), and we were watching the scene around us. Folks, who had been sitting there for God knows how long, were getting their orders one by one and not in a group!  A young lady came by and she identified herself as a waitress who had the day off, saw the crowd, and came in! Turns out the staff scheduled to work today didn’t show up (I guess they had too much partying from the Fourth). The gal at the front desk was also cooking meals and washing dishes. We decided it was time for us to get back on the road. We were not charged our coffee and our order was cancelled. 

 

If we came back next year, I wonder if this lodge would still be open! 

Now, about why this happened, is how we always look at life. God had a roadblock for us. We were not supposed to be on the highway for that good hour plus. We were supposed to be patient and just sit, taking it all in. Why? We’ll never know but we made it safe and sound to Libby and had a great drive with no problems. The traffic was not heavy and the views spectacular! We know we’re getting closer to Glacier every minute! Oh, we did see a turkey and had a good laugh that that is why we had the roadblock! 

Just think, if we hadn't stopped at the Rimrock Lodge, we wouldn't have seen this turkey!

Tomorrow or the next day, we will be headed to Yaak, British Columbia. When we were returning to the states from Alaska, we found this really neat diner on the side of the road, just before the border. We needed to get rid of our Canadian money so we made one last stop. Well, we are about 50 miles from there and we decided to take the Jeep to the border and not the motorhome. We hope the diner is still there. If not, the gal at the Libby Dam gave us a name of another restaurant in that area. We are to let her know if it is still there and the name of the place, as she travels that direction quite a bit. 

There are a lot of scenic drives in this area, one with a 25% grade! I don’t know if we drove a 25% grade when we were in Anaconda driving up and down the mountains, we could have, but we’re not sure if we’ll make that trip just yet. This campground, with its’ creekside scenery, is just so relaxing that we may just take it easy and slow down a bit!

 

 

Until next blog …