KOOTENAI SPIRITS

In 1972 Libby dam was completed forming a body of water that is today known as Lake Koocanusa. Before the dam there was the once beautiful Kootenai River Valley. In days gone by the Kootenai Indians spent summers camped along the river’s shores fishing, hunting and gathering what would be needed for the harsh winter ahead. It must have been an extremely lovely valley in those times.

The reservoir runs some ninety miles from the dam in Montana to the Canadian Border and into British Columbia. In order to maintain travel Highway 37 was blasted out of the shear granite mountainsides high above the reservoir leaving literal walls of stone. Over the years nature has wielded Her paintbrush on this great wound of stone creating, at least to my mind, works of art.

I freely admit I am a romantic when it comes to remembering days gone by and I further admit I have a very active imagination. What I see painted here are the spirits of the Kootenai Indians who once roamed and lived upon this land. Maybe some of the stains are from the spirits tears? Things change. Life is hard. That is just the way it is.

I wish for you to see what I see but even if you can’t it doesn't matter. I think you must agree this is truly a work of Nature’s art.

You might want to push back from your screen to get a better view.

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©Kinsey Barnard

BIG CREEK-2

You can either click on the above image or follow this link to the gallery view which is quite a bit nicer.

In Montana we have four distinct seasons. Three of the four seasons are magical to me. The exception is summer. I'm not a very big fan of summer. It's too bloody hot. Most of my friends love it. I run for cover. Summer is also the time when the greatest number of people come to revel in the many treasures of Montana which works out just great for me.

Spring is my second most favorite season, fall is the first. After the short, dark days of winter most of us are ready to get out and about. In spring Nature starts to shed Her winter mantle and new life abounds everywhere you look. The mountains begin to relax their tight hold on the winter snow and the creeks and rivers swell.

The above image was taken of Big Creek during spring melt. The water was racing down the mountain at an incredible speed and the roar that it let out gave me goose bumps. After dumping into Lake Koocanusa and passing through Libby Dam this water would rejoin the Kootenai River and ultimately end up in the mighty Columbia River. If you stop and ponder on it, it is an amazing thing.

"Big Creek-2".  Not a very imaginative name but I gave a different filter treatment to 3 images I took that day and numbering them was the best I could come up with. Number two just happens to be the one I like the best.

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©Kinsey Barnard