A Counter-Clockwise Loop

When last seen we were heading east from Dubois, Wyoming for a brief second visit to Casper before heading north again.  This time we took the opportunity to pull off the road to admire Crowheart Butte and read the details of how it came to be called such.  Like Devil’s Tower, Crowheart just pops up out of a rather flat and undistinguished landscape and like Devil’s Tower it is considered a spiritual place by Native Americas.  We were fortunate that the smoke from the Wind River fire had abated somewhat and our view of the butte was better than expected.

As we drove on I-90 through Buffalo (Wyoming) I could not resist the impulse to call our friend Roger in Buffalo (New York) to tell him we were passing through Buffalo on I-90.  Had him going there for a minute but I couldn’t keep up the pretense – I could hear him mentally clearing his datebook for our surprise visit.  It did give us an opportunity for a nice phone visit which happens all too infrequently these days.

Our next stopping spot was in Sheridan, Wyoming where we once again stayed at Peter D’s RV Park.  Mrs. D has a wonderful little garden smack in the middle of the campground and is gracious in sharing the bounty with their guests.  We had some yummy lemon cucumbers, which we’d not encountered before. 

In the past we’d done a thorough job of exploring Sheridan and so one day we ran back to Buffalo to meet Russ and Rochelle who are spending the summer in Gillette.  First we toured the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum and then had a late lunch at the historical old Occidental Hotel’s saloon.  The room is “decorated” by a number of dead animal heads and I find it an appetite killer to be stared at by a long-dead elk.  After lunch we all took a stroll down the main street with its plethora of funky shops, poking our noses in when something caught our eyes.

We then went our separate ways until we reunite back in Geezer Gulch in the fall.

The next stop on our itinerary was Billings, Montana where we intended to get two new tires for the coach and new shoes all around for the car and to visit as much as possible with one of my college roomies, Gayle.  For some reason it seemed easier to visit her in Billings during the summer than to traipse across Phoenix to see her during the winter months. 

We also found the time to avail ourselves of the many antique and thrift shops around town.  The week just flew by and we soon found ourselves pulling up stakes during a massive but much-needed downpour.  Driving the Interstate in a drenching rain is no fun at all, speeding semis creating mini-hurricanes as they whiz by so we were very happy to drive out of the storm by the time we reached Laurel.  And there were blue skies and lovely scenery all the way to Helena where it began to cloud up again.

During our visit to the capital city, we were able to reconnect with Mike and Darlene, long-time RVing pals, for lunch and a nice chat before going our separate ways yet again.  Darlene has done a lovely job of decorating their new home with its view of the mountains and we wish them much happiness in their wheel-less abode.

Helena has closed off an area of the historic downtown to vehicular traffic and made it into a pleasant place to stroll, poking into one interesting shop after another.  Many were closed on the day of our visit, it being a Sunday, but at least that kept the budget in balance and gave us an opportunity to admire the many architectural surprises that the old town has to offer.  Today’s Last Chance Gulch does not offer many hints to its heyday as a gold mining town of the wild West.

Our next stop was Deer Lodge which we had toured in depth on a past visit so we made the longish drive to Butte for a day spent trying to imagine its past glories  when it was known as the Richest Hill on Earth.  Now it’s a city of crumbling sidewalks and boarded up buildings, not to mention the noxious hole in the ground known as the Berkley Pit.  Our first stop was the William A. Clark mansion, the first and most modest of the copper king’s palatial homes.  Currently operated as a bed and breakfast, the mansion is open for tours at a fairly spendy admission fee. 

Set halfway up a hill on a corner lot, the mansion offers a glimpse into the life of a mogul able to afford some of the finer things money could buy.  How’d you like to be the cook who had to prepare meals in this early version of a pressure cooker?  It’s scary looking, isn’t it?  Even with all the safety features available on the latest models, I find these kitchen time-savers very intimidating.

And how’s this for an improvement over bathing in a fast-moving stream?  The water comes out from top to bottom so the bather can imagine being bathed in a gentle waterfall.  But was it warm water or icy cold from the well?

 

 

Butte is obviously a cash-strapped city and many of the historic buildings have been neglected.  A splurge has made a recent restoration of the stained glass dome of the Silver Bow County Courthouse with its soft pastel colors – a lovely sight.

 

 

Continuing westward on I-90, we found ourselves back at Jim & Mary’s RV Park just west of Missoula.  It’s always such fun to stop here thanks to masses of flowers planted here, there and everywhere in the camp-ground.  And, on previous visits, we’ve always met up with one set of RVing pals or another, sharing potlucks or overdosing on all things huckleberry.  This time we made the acquaintance of an interesting couple from the Tucson area with whom we shared several happy hours and the chance to re-cap our day’s adventures.

We had two purposes in visiting Missoula – a tour of the Marcus Daly Mansion near Hamilton and a visit with one of my college roommates, Kathy, and her husband Fred.  For the drive south to Hamilton, the mountains were veiled in a smoky haze due to fires near Yellowstone and along the Idaho border but it is still one of my favorite areas of the country.

 

Our GPS, which has been giving me fits this entire trip, took us right past the turn to the Daly Mansion and into town after which she threw in the towel and refused any further information.  Fortunately I’d glimpsed a sign that was more promising than what Nuvi had to offer and we eventually made our way to the Daly Mansion in time for the noon tour.

And what a tour it was!  We were the only two on the tour and were lucky enough to draw an exceptional guide who made the history of the house come alive.  I have only vague recollections of the house, having driven past it several times back in the early ‘60s.  It has such good bones that I had no idea that it was actually boarded up and abandoned back in those days – and remained so for many years.  I only pictured it as a place where the super-rich led idealized lives.

The Daly family tree had a lot of dead branches and so when the remote heirs found themselves in possession of this white elephant, they had a yard sale of the furniture and artwork in an attempt to raise the money to pay the death taxes.  That left the house boarded up and denuded.  Since restoration has begun, many of the original pieces have “come home”, either donated or loaned by the families of those who acquired them at the yard sale.  Bravo to those generous folks—originals of furniture and art are so much more interesting than those “of the period”.  I couldn’t resist including this photo of the dining table set for an elegant breakfast party. 

Another not-to-miss aspect of being in Missoula is to attend the Saturday farmers’ market.  Actually, there are three and on the weekend of our visit throw in a music festival at Caras Park and you can just forget about finding a place to park.  We were so lucky to find a spot within reasonable walking distance of the first farm market under the Higgins Avenue bridge.  The array of fruits and veggies rival those at the various Oregon markets.  No arts or crafts at this market – just edibles including home-made pastries, canned goods, bread.  The crafty items are at an outdoor market on closed-off side streets along Higgins and the grand finale is the farmers market at the old Northern Pacific depot at the north end of Higgins.

We made a stop at the Monte Dolack Studio to purchase a print of “Montana” to replace the one destroyed in the flood last Labor Day.  The copper frame was salvaged but the matting and print were ruined by mold. 

We availed ourselves of two huge heirloom tomatoes and a big bunch of rainbow swiss chard before heading back to the campground for a quick refresh before meeting Fred and Kathy for lunch.  Thank heavens the restaurant wasn’t very busy by the time we finished our lunch so they didn’t make any attempt to throw us out; we occupied the booth for three hours while we caught up on each other’s lives.

It had been a notion to head south on U.S. 93 to the Idaho border, cut across to I-15 and stop for a few days in Dillon.  However, the smokiness of the area grew worse and it seemed prudent to take the Interstate since photo ops along the scenic route promised to be less than perfect.  We made quick stops in Dillon, Pocatello and Brigham City, having visited all three places on previous tours.

Again this year Labor Day proved to be an un-holiday for us.  Last year we had a call from The Posse telling us our house had flooded and this year we got rear-ended while stopped for a light in Logan, Utah.  Thankfully no one was injured and the car is driveable but the trunk is now seriously pleated and will have to repaired as soon as we get back to Geezer Gulch.  Just another snafu we don’t have time to deal with.

We have only a few more stops to make and we’ll soon be back to our winter routine.  There may be updates as we wend our way out of Utah, through Nevada and back into Arizona.