Next stop: Butte

I am of course looking at Moose, not the St. Bernard Bogey!

Thursday morning started out with what else, rain, but by the time the pack gathered up into the Bread Box it was sunny and of course breezy. So we bade our Great Falls hosts Lee and Nanette (plus son Taylon and 4 legged friends Moose, Bogey, and kitty who's name I cannot recall) good-bye, and then off to the mountains.

In a short time we arrived in Helena, the capital of Montana. What a beautiful town! After a bit of driving around the pack found a good parking spot then proceeded to have yet another excellent Bistro lunch. And they usually don't like to eat out! Later we explored around a bit.

Downtown pedestrian mall

Historic fire tower

After our brief but pleasant visit in Helena we hopped back in and continued up and over the mountains to Butte. At the outskirts of town we checked out some historic info signs as we took in the view. We felt as though we were being watched...

Mary way up on top

Once in town we found the visitor info office, then pondered where to camp. But every time we were outside the strong cold wind hinted that maybe we should get a room...when pellet like snow came down that's what we did. But it was a nice evening with another great meal and micro-brew then movie watching until late. Isn't vacation grand!

Evening in Butte

In the morning, we headed up for a tour of the World Museum of Mining. The cold gusty wind continued and the surface portion of the tour was brisk. The underground part was led by a young fella who has mining experience but now is leading these tours. We learned how copper mining was done in this area historically and now. (I'll post a bunch of photos in the next entry.)


After the tour, we ate at another great little place, the Hummingbird Cafe. Our waitress was so friendly - and she was a Michigan Tech alumnus! You never know when you'll make another friend.