8/21/21 - 8/22/21

Travel days from Glacier NP to Washington State and Grand Coulee Dam. We spent the night in Idaho along the Kootenay River which was nice. Just up from our camp spot was the Kootenay Swinging bridge over the river. Pretty challenging as the bridge swings, the floor moves sideways and bounces all at the same time. 

Kootenay River by our campground

8/22/21 Crossed the border into Washington State on our way to Grand Coulee Dam. Arrived early afternoon picking up an hour with the time change. So of course headed out to see the sights.

But before seeing the dam was an ice cream stop. No surprise.

Coulee Dam is 1 mile long across the face and 550 tall. It generates enough electricity for 2.3 million homes and creates a watershed for 640,000 acres of farming. Concrete used in the dam could pave a sidewalk around the equator of the earth twice. Franklin Roosevelt pushed the construction as part of his efforts to get the country out of the Great Depression as well as many projects across the US. The dam was started in 1933 and finished 1946. Seven individuals lost their lives building the dam. Additional power generation was added in 1980. 

The real surprise for us was this eastern part of Washington is high desert. Just a few miles away we entered a canyon roughly 1,500 below the plateau carved by a wall of water from melting glaciers. Beautiful canyon lakes have been created in this area by the Coulee Dam through canals off the Roosevelt Lake.

Dry Falls, about 30 minute drive from Grand Coulee, is a prehistoric waterfall, which was the largest falls in the world during the Ice Age. It is 3 miles across at at least 1,500 tall. It dwarfs Niagara Falls in comparison.

We headed out for the laser light show tonight at the dam which was pretty good. Beautiful night, clear skies, shooting stars and full moon. The open the gates of the dam provide for the white screen to project the laser show.