Waterfalls and ... MOOSE!

After Coeur d'Alene, Phil and I left the WINs to do the Selkirk Loop, which circles the Selkirk Mountains, and goes a little ways into Canada. Our first stop was Sandpoint, the previous post. We then moved on to Bonners Ferry, ID, where we found this beautiful parking spot next to the fairgrounds and along the Kootenai River.

Our first adventure was to go to Myrtle Creek Falls. Uh-oh.... This doesn't look good.

But right when we were about to turn around, we met a couple who said they had just walked there with no problem. So off we went, breaking the law... We had the trail all to ourselves!

The trail is near the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge. We decided to scope out one of the spots the lady at the visitors center had told us sometimes had moose.

Wow! I couldn't believe it! He was right where he was supposed to be!

I think this is a young male. If you look closely, you can see antlers just a couple inches long.

We saw other wildlife too.

The next day we did a hike to Pyramid Lake. Finally, some great views of the mountains.

I didn't see any wildlife on the hike, other than some gigantic tadpoles in the lake.

But wow, driving back down the mountain, a mama moose and her youngster jumped out in front of us! Cool!

There are lots of waterfalls around. Snow Creek Falls was pretty impressive.

But nothing compared to Kootenai Falls. Wow! That's a lot of water!

It's amazing how many different levels there are.

That Phil will do anything to get a picture!

After seeing the falls, you walk a short distance downstream to this spectacular swinging bridge across the Kootenai River.

Wheeeeee!

The river drops 300 yards in elevation in the area of the falls. You can see more falls downstream from the bridge.

After the short hike, I relaxed at the picnic area with my new friend.