Mon/Tues. July 21-22, 2008 - Libby, Montana

Once again we broke camp and headed west to the town of Libby, Montana. The town was small and felt as though it had seen better days. The community was situated along the Kootenai River which was quite large and wide. It’s path had cut in between thickly forested hills and the Cabinet Mountains which separate Montana and Idaho.

In 1968 the US Army Corp of Engineers completed building the large Kootenai River Dam and hydroelectric power plant. A few years back a large lumber mill closed its operation leaving the town desperate for survival. Many people had relocated to this beautiful area and chose to stay and make a new living. Some struggled and were forced to leave. Many buildings stand empty as silent reminders of better times. We were told that some mining operations for gold and silver had started up with hopes that new technologies wound uncover precious metals that were overlooked in past attempts.


 

Bruce's second cousin and his wife (Bill and Cathy Silva) live in a lovely mobile home on 5 acres above the river. We were able to go out to their place and visit two evenings after their work. Bruce had not seen Bill for over 30 years so they were able to swop childhood memories and go through old pictures albums…adding more
information for the family tree!