Riding the Westbound Empire Builder through Idaho

On August 1, 1999, I was riding Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Vancouver, Washington. The Empire Builder usually passes through Idaho around midnight, but this particular train was running very late, I got to see Idaho in the light of the morning sun.

The Empire Builder parallels the Kootenay River from just east of Libby, Montana, west to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. I'm not sure if these pictures of the Kootenai River are from Montana or Idaho. The Kootenay River starts in Canada, runs south to Libby, then turns north through Idaho and back into Canada where it flows into the Columbia River.

The Empire Builder does not stop in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and after passing through the town the tracks turn south as the Kootenay River continues north. This view shows some the farmland just west of Bonners Ferry.

This picturesque farm is located south of Bonners Ferry along a road called Deep Creek Loop. Deep Creek, a tributary of the Kootenay River, flows through the trees behind it. The Empire Builder's next stop would be Sandpoint, Idaho, followed by Spokane, Washington. This particular train was running so late that by the time it reached Spokane, it didn't have enough time to reach Seattle and Portland before it would have had to already been headed back east again, so in Spokane, all the passengers were taken off the train and taken to their destinations by bus.