{"id":37361,"date":"2022-02-27T08:10:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-27T15:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=37361"},"modified":"2022-04-03T08:58:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-03T14:58:37","slug":"ross-creek-scenic-area-giant-cedars-lake-koocanusa-8-9-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=37361","title":{"rendered":"Ross Creek Scenic Area Giant Cedars & Lake Koocanusa (8-9-21)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of Day 4 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!<\/em><\/p>\n

Morning, Hwy 56, NW Montana<\/em> –<\/p>\n

Hey, Loop!\u00a0 We’re close to the Ross Creek Scenic Area Giant Cedars<\/span><\/strong><\/a>!\u00a0 Just saw a sign.\u00a0 Want to stop?<\/em><\/p>\n

Weren’t we there with Lanis way back on my first ever Dingo Vacation in 2012?<\/em><\/p>\n

That’s right, we were!\u00a0 Won’t take long to have another look.\u00a0 The loop trail is only about a mile, if memory serves, and almost perfectly flat.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why not, then?\u00a0 Let’s do it, SPHP!<\/em><\/p>\n

Turning W off Hwy 56 at a signed junction, a paved road wound 4 miles through an increasingly impressive forest.\u00a0 Only 7:39 AM.\u00a0 Not a soul was around when Lupe leapt out of the RAV4 at an end of road parking lot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Arriving at the Ross Creek Scenic Area Giant Cedars parking lot. One of two.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Awesome!\u00a0 We’ve got the whole place to ourselves, SPHP!<\/em><\/p>\n

Perfect!\u00a0 Let’s have a look around while we can enjoy the tranquility of the ancient cedars, Looper.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ross Creek Nature Trail No. 405 left the parking lot as a short boardwalk that immediately led to wide dirt path.\u00a0 Already in a cedar forest, Lupe checked for squirrels, but didn’t see any right away.\u00a0 The trees were big, and very tall, but still seemed to be about normal size.\u00a0 The path went by some rocks along the lower bound of the broad Ross Creek valley.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Setting out along Ross Creek Nature Trail No. 405.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Various placards were posted along the trail, some showing their age.\u00a0 SPHP glanced at a few, but mostly just followed Lupe through the forest.\u00a0 The trail soon veered away from the edge of the valley, crossing a couple of boardwalk bridges over small creeks, as it led deeper into the forest.<\/p>\n

The creeks were bone dry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On the boardwalk bridges.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Severe drought every summer out W, SPHP!\u00a0 Can’t be good for the giant cedars, can it?<\/em><\/p>\n

I wouldn’t think so, Looper, but who knows?\u00a0 Maybe their root systems go super deep, and the giant cedars are actually better adapted to drought than one might think?<\/em><\/p>\n

They seem like rain forest trees to me, SPHP.\u00a0 Don’t huge trees need huge quantities of water?\u00a0 After all, they’re growing by what’s supposed to be a stream!\u00a0 That’s no accident, is it?<\/em><\/p>\n

You’re probably right, Loop.\u00a0 I just don’t know.\u00a0 I suppose I ought to read more of these placards.\u00a0 Maybe they say something about that, but while we’ve got the giant cedars to ourselves, seems more fun to simply enjoy wandering among them.\u00a0 Maybe there’s more water underground here than we realize?<\/em><\/p>\n

Continuing on, the American Dingo came to the first of the giant cedars.\u00a0 Sadly, it was dead.\u00a0 Just an enormous rotting stump.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
By the enormous rotting stump.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The giant cedars weren’t all dead, though.\u00a0 Lupe soon started coming to live ones.\u00a0 The base of their trunks looked like tentacles burrowing into the earth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The tentacled trunk of a live giant cedar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Gotta be a giant squirrel somewhere up there!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reaching a grove of giants, Trail No. 405 divided.\u00a0 This was the start of the loop part.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog went R, going counter-clockwise around the loop.\u00a0 Although most of the cedars were relatively young, there were many giants among them.\u00a0 The trail went past some that had died and fallen.\u00a0 Loopster scrambled up on a couple of them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On a fallen giant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Thank heavens we don’t face deadfall like this back at home in the Black Hills!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How old do you suppose these giant cedars are, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, not entirely sure, Loop, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some of them weren’t at least 500 years old.\u00a0 The oldest ones might be close to 1,000!\u00a0 Saplings back in the Dark Ages, if you can imagine that!<\/em><\/p>\n

Wow!\u00a0 Incredible!\u00a0 Just think how wild it would have been here back then, SPHP!\u00a0 The days of saber-toothed Dingoes!<\/em><\/p>\n

Saber-toothed Dingoes?\u00a0 Sounds kind of far-fetched, Loopster.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not at all, SPHP!\u00a0 We Dingoes ruled the earth, you know!\u00a0 Still do!<\/em><\/p>\n

That, I can believe.\u00a0 Feel sort of ruled by one myself much of the time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hey, look, SPHP!\u00a0 There’s a Siamese cedar!<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, c’mon.\u00a0 A feline cedar?<\/em><\/p>\n

It was true!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
By the Siamese giant cedar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oh, OK!\u00a0 Joined at the trunk.\u00a0 I suppose they are Siamese giant cedars.\u00a0 Must not have started out that way, though.<\/em><\/p>\n

They’ve been this way for a long time, SPHP.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing makes a forest feel as ancient as giant trees and<\/em> ferns!\u00a0 Plenty of ferns added to the giant cedars’ prehistoric ambiance.\u00a0 Maybe keeping an eye out for saber-toothed Dingoes wasn’t such a bad idea?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ferns – lots of ’em, for that primeval, prehistoric look.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the far end of the Nature Trail No. 405 loop, Ross Creek Trail No. 142 took off continuing up the valley.\u00a0 No telling how far it went, or where, or how much farther the giant cedars themselves extended.<\/p>\n

Want to explore it, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

So many trails, and so little time, Looper!\u00a0 Yeah, I would love to, but we’ve got a mountain to climb yet today, so I guess we’ll have to pass.\u00a0 Can’t do everything.<\/em><\/p>\n

Aww!\u00a0 We haven’t seen even a single giant squirrel yet!<\/em><\/p>\n

That may be for the best, Loop.\u00a0 Might still be a saber-toothed squirrel or two lurking around here somewhere.\u00a0 We’d be in for it then!<\/em><\/p>\n

Near the end of the loop, Lupe came to a dry riverbed.\u00a0 Ross Creek, or perhaps just a former channel?\u00a0 The riverbed was full of cairns.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the Ross Creek cairns.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oh, I remember this!\u00a0 We saw these cairns 9 years ago when we were here with Lanis, remember, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yeah, that’s right!\u00a0 We did!\u00a0 Always assumed they would get washed away in the spring, though.\u00a0 Surprised to see them again.\u00a0 Maybe rebuilding them is some sort of a tradition for the locals?<\/em><\/p>\n

No one to ask about that.\u00a0 The forest was still quiet.\u00a0 Moving on, Lupe completed the loop, and headed back.\u00a0 Less an hour had gone by when she reached the RAV4 again.\u00a0 Still no one else around.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Returning to the start.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Back at the parking lot, contending with the summer morning throng.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A stream near the parking lot had the only water the Carolina Dog had seen at the giant cedars.\u00a0 Naturally, Loop had to sample some for herself.<\/p>\n

Don’t get carried away, Looper!\u00a0 Leave some for the giant cedars!\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Ross Creek Giant Cedars had been a fun way to start the day, but Lupe still had big plans for this afternoon.\u00a0 Returning to Hwy 56, SPHP drove N to Hwy 2, then E to Libby.\u00a0 Taking Hwy 37 N out of Libby toward Rexford, another highlight worth a stop was soon reached, the Libby Dam on the Kootenai River that forms Lake Koocanusa.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Arriving at the Libby Dam<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The dam itself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
A downstream view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a look at the dam, Loopster checked out Lake Koocanusa.\u00a0 Near the dam, the lake was less than a mile wide, but to the N it stretched away until completely lost from sight.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lake Koocanusa<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How far does Lake Koocanusa go, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

90 miles, Looper!\u00a0 All the way into Canada, like the name implies.<\/em><\/p>\n

Canada!\u00a0 Are we that close to Canada, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yup.<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, I wish we could go up into Canada and Alaska!<\/em><\/p>\n

Me, too, Looper!\u00a0 Actually, the Canadian border opens today for tourism.\u00a0 If they’d opened it a little earlier in the season, we might already be way up into Canada.\u00a0 Too bad they didn’t open a month earlier, or at the very least announce it before the last minute.<\/em><\/p>\n

You mean we could go to Canada today, SPHP?\u00a0 Why don’t we?<\/em><\/p>\n

Technically, yes, but we’re not ready for it, because they gave no clue that they were going to open the border until very recently.\u00a0 There are rules we haven’t complied with yet.\u00a0 Besides, they change everything so often, I don’t trust them not to change the rules again without warning.\u00a0 No sense in getting ourselves stranded up there with no way to get back.<\/em><\/p>\n

This will be the second year in a row we’ve missed out then, SPHP.\u00a0 I’ve probably been deposed as the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood<\/strong><\/span><\/a> by now.\u00a0 Can’t say I’d blame them, either.<\/em><\/p>\n

Be that as it may, that’s the way the cookie crumbles these days, Loop.\u00a0 We aren’t going to get to go into Canada on this Dingo Vacation, but you’ll at least get to see it.<\/em><\/p>\n

I will?\u00a0 When?<\/em><\/p>\n

Today!\u00a0 Somewhere up ahead there’s a bridge to adventure over this lake, and we’re gonna take it!<\/em><\/p>\n

It might have been 30 miles, but before the RAV4 reached Rexford, a bridge over Lake Koocanusa did appear ahead.\u00a0 SPHP parked twice at different spots, so the American Dingo could have a look.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Approaching the bridge to adventure!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Where does the bridge go, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Over to far NW Montana, Looper.\u00a0 On your next adventure we’ll be setting out so close to the Canadian border we could walk across!<\/em><\/p>\n

Will we do that?<\/em><\/p>\n

Uh, no.\u00a0 You’d just want to go clear to the Yukon, and it’s a heck of a trek.<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, wherever we’re going, SPHP, let’s get started!<\/em><\/p>\n

Piling back into the RAV4 again, SPHP turned the key.\u00a0 Moments later, Lupe was cruising in comfort across the bridge to adventure on her way to the next big thing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lake Koocanusa<\/strong> and the bridge to adventure, Montana 8-9-21<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Overlander Falls, Rearguard Falls & Ancient Forest, British Columbia (8-2-17)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose from Lupe’s Summer of 2021<\/span> Dingo Vacations to New Mexico, Wyoming & the West Coast Adventure Inde<\/strong><\/span>x<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/span><\/strong><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of Day 4 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast! Morning, Hwy 56, NW Montana – Hey, Loop!\u00a0 We’re close to the Ross Creek Scenic Area Giant Cedars!\u00a0 Just saw a sign.\u00a0 Want to stop? Weren’t we there with Lanis way back on my first ever Dingo Vacation … Continue reading Ross Creek Scenic Area Giant Cedars & Lake Koocanusa (8-9-21)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1416],"tags":[105,106,26,1498,1499,104,417,1497],"class_list":["post-37361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1416","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lake-koocanusa","tag-libby-dam","tag-lupe","tag-montana","tag-ross-creek-scenic-area-giant-cedars"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IMG_1457-scaled.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37361"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39216,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37361\/revisions\/39216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}