We had a fun morning starting with a trip to Dillon (6 miles) for breakfast at the Sweetwater Cafe (ham/cheese sandwich for Mark and a cranberry/white chocolate scone for me) - both were very good and of course, our coffee. Neat old building with tables spread far apart and only a few customers.
Then off to get some diesel for Flo and a much-needed truck wash for Big Red. Just yesterday I mentioned how dry it is here and been eons since we've seen rain.....well, of course, shortly after getting our wheels shiny clean, it started sprinkling and then a little heavier. Nothing much but....arghhh! There are so many dusty roads, so....unfortunately these folks need LOTS more rain and we're not going to begrudge them any,, but soon the sun was shining and warming up to the upper 80's.
Mark had read reviews from our Countryside RV Park that a "must see" in the area is Bannack State Park about 20 miles away. It is now a ghost town and everyone raved about it. So, off we went and what an enjoyable time.....a few other families were also checking it out but strolling up and down the Main Street of town was no problem keeping our distance.
Bannack got its start over 140 years ago in July 1862 when gold was discovered at Grasshopper Creek and the news traveled fast. 400 residents came that fall and by spring, there were over 3000. Hard to believe that 3000 people lived in that small area where today, many of the original homes and buildings are all there (in disrepair, but we were able to wander thru most of them).
Some highlights were the Hotel Meade, Skinner's Saloon, Methodist Church, schoolhouse, doctor's office, general store, and many more. There was a hefty climb up the mountain to where the gallows were and across the hill, the old cemetery. We did not venture to see these. Although there was a jail, when the gold rush was at its peak, it was seldom used as offenders were either warned, banished or hanged.
Sidney Edgerton, his wife and 4 children arrived in 1863 from Ohio (2500 mile journey) and became the first territorial governor of Monta.
The post office closed in 1938; the school in the 1950's and when there was no doctor or grocery store, mining declined and the residents moved on to other places.
Here's Davis all settled in his new dorm room at NC State - Raleigh (and mask close by)
And while Michael and Brooke were helping Davis settle in, this little Miss got to spend the night with Gram and GrandBob.
Blair and her pal, "Hello Kitty"
Happy Birthday to my Aunt Dee who is 92 years young today!!!
I'm not sure what is going on with the blog (they've changed some things) but I'm not happy and making it much more challenging to get the pics (much larger now) and narrative together. Arghhhhh
This afternoon, we had a threat of rain with the sky getting darker, but that passed and later the wind picked up and whoaaa...crazy, like a dust storm out there. Got the windows shut quickly....no rain!
Mark had a good chat with a fellow Airstream guy who came into the park this afternoon. Lo and behold, he and his wife are retired farmers from Carbondale, IL They are vacationing for 3 weeks in Montana.
Zoom with Claire and Kathy and then spaghetti, salad, French bread and wine!.
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