Back to Libby & back in time

So, now going all the way back to Sept. 29th again:  we left Canada, going back into Montana and back to Libby.  We needed to get our stuff out of storage there.

 Coming to the border crossing.  Not too busy here...!

 Hmm...can you see me NOW?!!!  OK, just how many cameras does one need to look into a vehicle?!!!!!!!!!   

 The windy and up and down road along long and narrow Lake Kookanusa.  Very pretty but almost nowhere to stop an RV along this route!

Most of Libby is old world.  It's a logging and mining town that seems struggling to survive - literally.  One of the big mining ventures, for nearly a century, was for vermiculite.  Unfortunately, it was asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in this case.  Libby's population (both the miners and others, since the asbestos was ultimately all over the place, even in air samples!) has been hit hard over the decades, with many losing their lives or sick with lung problems.  Lots of federal monies have gone to help clean up, and medically assist the folks in, Libby.

 The old train depot.  Looks to still be functional, although just barely.  Much like the town it lives in.

 Too bad Libby didn't stick to its original industry - logging.  It would probably have fared better over the years, with a healthier population!

 But a job is a job is a job, at least right now, when times are tough all over.  (But this has to be for mining a different element, I'm sure!  After all the lawsuits and federal assistance, they CAN'T be mining that asbestos-tainted stuff anymore!!!)

And for all you tree-huggers out there, let it go!  I used to be one too, so I can talk!  But one thing that our RV travels have shown me is just how much timber our country has - LOTS!!!!!  And this IS a renewable resource!  And we all use it!!!  So, yes, let's give 'em a break, shall we?  And get off that end of the pendulum swing!  We have GOT to understand that we need to both preserve AND use our resources!  It can't just be one or the other!

 An old movie theater.

And a couple of old dogs.  Not native Libby-ians but happy to be there nonetheless!  We enjoyed lovely warm weather while in Libby those few days, which was a great change from the transition to winter that seemed to be taking place in Canada!  And from the weather and temperatures we were to soon face in the Pacific NW...!!