Butte, Mt

Welcome to Butte, the richest hill on earth, and I don't doubt it once was a beaut! Copper mining is the claim to fame and the man who made it happen lived here. It is now a bed and breakfast.


His neighbors were doing alright also I would say.


The town is full of old red brick buildings and Victorian homes on the side of the hill right next to the mines.


Lots of smaller Victorian homes seemed to be needing paint and be lived in by ne'er do wells. So many fixer uppers. I wonder when it might happen. The bank seemed to prosper well also.


I wonder if it were coincidence that the building blended with the mining area behind it.


This looks like a trailer park in the middle of town but nope, just the overnight gang at the local Walmart.


I seized the opportunity to look for my first Montana geocache thinking there might be one in the cemetery across the street. Sure enough there was which led me to an interesting spot.


I never really wondered where Evel Knieval was buried but now I know. He was born in Butte.

Deer Lodge, Mt

I had never heard of Deer Lodge but it seems that it has quite a ranching history which has been preserved by the national park service. The red brick portion of the house is an addition to the original.


In 1857 cattle were brought to the area by Johnny Grant who later sold to Conrad Kohrs. He eventually grazed cattle on 10 million acres in four states and two provinces.


The home was sold to the park service by the family in 1972 and then they donated all the furniture, carriages, bedding, dishes and complete cattle records. The park service continues to graze cattle and share all of the for free. This home is furnished as his grandson left it.


We had stopped at a bakery in town for a cup of coffee, a new mid afternoon habit instead of a nap, only to find it closed. So we had campfire coffee in the shade instead.


We learned from the short video how the ranch used so many Belgian horses, evidenced by the wagon and harnesses.




We even know now how a hay stacker works.


I can't imagine working for the park service and standing in front of a hot fire all day but this lady demonstrating the black smith works didn't seem to mind.


A tour of the house was delightful and some nice furniture they did have but we weren't allowed to take photos. I would have built the bunkhouse a little further away. The cow hands had their own shower so they didn't have to go to town and were required to take a bath once a week whether they needed to or not. I can only wonder who checked. Was there a calendar and they put up a gold star?


They closed before we had enough of the tour as there were so many outbuildings with exhibits but it was a stop well worth the visit.


I even learned that there is a bitterroot flower and it is the state flower of Montana. I wonder if they flourish in the Bitterroot Mountains.


The town is full of museums and antiques and one fancy old prison which we did not tour.

Idaho

We dashed out of Spokane to get ahead of the approaching storm but eventually the rain did catch us. In Kellogg, Idaho, after a nice breakfast I started looking for my Idaho geocache. The phone was giving me fits as there was no 3G but one had the word jackass in the title so I explored this cute structure in town... In the rain ... with no luck. Turns out later this was the wrong jackass.


But I liked viewing the sculptures.


No cache in hand we moved on towards Mullan. I thought they might have 3G. The drive was beautiful.


Well the signals were no better there but I would not leave Idaho without a cache. I observed the buildings, much to my liking.


And the vehicles


The town is an old silver mining town and a small one that lies in the valley between the mountains.


The Lucky Silver Mine is still in operation but all was quiet in the town on an early, rainy Saturday morning.


I thought the steps up the hill under the white covering were unique.


I persevered and we were close to a cache when I finally remembered how to cache with my phone when it couldn't find nearby caches .. Or did I ever know .. but success at last. We went eastward to the Lucky Pass through the mountains.


Here we observed the beauty of the mountains and the little snow village before we crossed into Montana.

Whidbey Island

A short ferry ride brought us and our bedroom to Whidbey Island where we were immediately charmed by the small port town where we disembarked.


We wandered along Front Street in Coupevile which looked much as it did in in the early 20th century with 50 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. That, of course, makes me happy. The street is lined with boutiques and antique shops.


Although the island is only thirty miles north of Seattle, the pastoral land is a most welcome calming relief for the urban folks. The island, 45 miles long and ten miles across, is full of the ports that were important centers between the 1850s and 1900, as ships were the primary mode of transportation.


The farmers grew wheat, oats, barley, and raised sheep, and farming is again in fashion. Farm stands here and further north are piled high with seasonal produce. The island is mostly rural with several quaint towns and communities dotting the landscape.


Oak Harbor, with 22,000 residents, is the largest city and was our home for the night at the friendly Walmart that was on the side of a hill. We visited the historic downtown area and the waterfront.


Deception Pass Bridge is on the northern part of the island. Built in 1935, it carries passengers across the tidal rapids that can flow 9.5 miles an hour. We toured the adjacent state park and then had a fun stop on the north side of the bridge. The morning fog kept our view to the west to a minimum. I was so proud that I walked a portion of the way across the bridge.






We drove off the island and thru the Seattle area traffic and turned towards the Cascades. What beautiful scenery.


Snoqalamie Pass, a popular ski area in the winter, deserved a stop.


By day's end we were having a rib dinner at the Spokane Elk's Lodge. It is quite a suitable spot with electricity. Too bad our a/c doesn't work worth a darn. This is the first warm say we have encountered - in the 80s.

Olympic Peninsula, WA

We thought we would be spending time in Sequim, where we read the sun shines and the retirees go, but we kept on going and found the port city of Port Angeles more to our liking. Time was spent wandering the streets and just sitting by the shore watching the activity.


Walmart is very rv friendly so we stayed there two nights. Salt Creek Recreation area includes a nice campground on the strait of Juan de Fuca, one of several run by the county. This is on old Camp Hayden land complete with WWII bunkers.


At the end of the road is a prime place for tide pooling but we were still about an hour early. After taking a look at the rocks I decided I would be prudent and not go scrambling across the jagged, steep, and perhaps slick rocks to see sea urchins, anemone, and starfish at this time.


An abundance of stately fir trees cover the hillsides in this part of Washington. The 1400 square mile park includes so many ecosystems that it is a biosphere reserve. Our best view was from the ferry to Victoria.


18 mile Hurricane Ridge Road, which begins at sea level and climbs to 5,000 feet, was our midday pursuit into the Olympic peaks. The highest peak is Mt. Olympus at 7,965 feet. The fog kept much of the forest a mystery to us but much more was revealed.




Lake Crescent is a deep turquoise blue fjord like lake with a cedar sided lodge built in 1916. There we learned the park is celebrating its 75th birthday in two days. The early morning mist still lingers in the air and with the rain it might all day.




The western slopes of the mountains receive the brunt of the Pacific storms and the mild temperatures with the heavy rains create a temperate rain forest. This area includes the setting for the popular Twilight series of books and movies. I made the mistake of listening to the worker at the lodge and did not go. He thought it resembled the nearby drive which was beautiful.


As we left the peninsula we did stop in Sequim at the Purple Haze Lavender Farm. The cute little farm is gearing up for the Lavender festival which will take place in a few weeks. They need a little more sun for the lavender to be in full bloom. I was surprised at how big the bushes are.



The final town on the peninsula for us is a historic old seaport full of Victorian buildings from the last of the 19th century. Port Townsend was at one time one of the busiest ports in the area but now tourists seem to be the main trade.



All ships that entered Puget Sound had to stop at the customs building here and with a fill of sailors and merchants it was like a scene from the Wild West. Residents built their gingerbread laden Victorians on the bluff above the riff raff.


Here we boarded our ferry for nearby Whidbey Island.