We took a roadtrip on the Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway. The byway follows the Kootenai River and Lake Koocanusa via State Highway 37. The 67-mile route connects Libby and Eureka.
Rexford is located along the Kootenai River and 7 miles south of the Canadian Border. It is popular for camping, hiking, hunting, snowmobiling, boating and rock climbing. But, for us today, it was a great picnic spot!
Continuing on the Scenic Byway, we stopped at the LIbby Dam, 17 miles from the town of Libby. The dam was completed in 1974 and created Lake Kookanusa, extending 90 miles north into British Columbia.
Libby is a small town (pop. 2750) in northwestern Montana located on the Kootenai River. Libby is often referred to as “the city of eagles”. The name partially refers to the bald eagles that live in the area, as well as the steel eagle art contributed to the city by a local artist. As we drove around Libby, we couldn’t miss the large Eagle sculptures. But, we didn’t see any live bald eagles!
Front Porch Bar and Grill
I did some online searching for the best place to eat in Eureka and I decided on the Front Porch Bar and Grill… Home of the Famous Eureka Burger as seen on TV in 2009 LIVE! Regis & Kelly. Their Specialties include Nationally Acclaimed Burgers, Fish & Chips, Salad Options, & Soft Serve Ice Cream.
Two varieties of their burgers were served in Washington, D.C. for the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Reception in 2017.
The menu had several differnet types of burgers, but, Ken chose the Famous Eureka Burger. I never saw a burger like it before! The burger came topped with jumbo shrimp, Cajun sausage, cheddar cheese, and chipotle sauce and served with hand-cut fries. I decided on the fish and chips. When it was served, I had two very long pieces of fish, coleslaw, and hand-cut fries. Both meals were very tasty!
After lunch we went for a mountain drive and saw several deer along the roadway!
We returned to the RV and enjoyed a beautiful, sunny, lazy afternoon. Ken wasn’t lazy…he washed the Jeep and the RV! Later in the evenig we grilled outside and enjoyed eating our dinner on our patio. It was only the 2nd time we have grilled out since we have been traveling. Until today, It was either too cold, rainy, windy, or buggy. Today it was perfect!
We took an off road trip looking for wildlife and huckleberries…We only found deer and cows! The road was blacktop and then became gravel as we made up way up the mountain. I could tell that the road was not well traveled by the grass growing up in the middle of the road and we did not meet any cars on the road. However, several places along the way had been cleared of trees and the wood was stacked. I was happy to make it back on the blacktop highway!
It only rained 2 days during our stay in Eureka. The remainder of the time, the weather was sunny and warm. It was nice to be able to sit outside in the fresh air and sunshine and catch up on our reading.
We discovered that the Choke Cherry Tree is green in the spring/summer and turns purple in the late summer/fall. When we were here in June, the trees were all green. Now, we could see mostly purple with green tips.
Next Stop on our adventure…Glacier National Park
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