Scheppkes Take the Vapors

We now have two days to get to Wallowa Lake in the NE corner of Oregon, so we knew we had to get an early start. Everyone got going around 7 am and we were saying goodbye to Yellowstone by about 9 and heading north into Montana.

But before we got out of the park, we had a couple more wildlife encounters, including this bison, just walking down the center line of the road.

We followed the Madison River right out of the park and up the Madison River valley. The road passes through a number of picturesque old towns. We stopped at one of the them, Ennis, for breakfast at the Ennis Cafe, which seems to be where the locals go.

Then it was on to Virginia City, the first town settled in Montana and the first territorial capital. It's a gold rush town and a lot of the old 19th century buildings have been preserved. We made a stop at the Thompson-Hickman Museum which roadsideamerica.com recommends as the place to view Clubfoot George's club foot. Sure enough, there it was, in a glass container that looked like a large snow dome. The young woman in attendance was very helpful. Clubfoot George was a "road agent," apparently the local 19th century term for a bandit and all-around nogoodnik. George was hung along with several of his compadres and the grave markers are in the museum.

Leaving Virginia City we passed a few other small mining towns. For miles along the road, next to the creek where gold was found, there were mounds of tailings from the mining activity. A pretty ugly thing to do to the land, and apparently it doesn't heal itself very easily.

Our next stop was Butte, which we found fascinating with mines all about, right in the town, and blocks and blocks of old commercial buildings that now seem more or less abandoned. Parts of Butte resemble a ghost town, but an urban one (I learned later that the population today is 1/3 of what it was in 1917). We did see evidence of Butte's favorite son, Evel Knievel, including a banner for Evel Knievel Days, which we missed.

Between Butte and Helena we came to the highlight of the day, one of four "health mines" in the area. What is a "health mine," you ask? It is an abandoned mine that has been repurposed as a health spa of sorts. The mines in these parts emit a low level of radon gas, which some people believe is good for what ails you. We drove up a short gravel road and came upon the Sunshine Health Mine, run by a friendly older couple who offered us a free look at the mine. It is a rock shaft that goes into the side of a mountain about 50 yards or so. It was a gold mine and then a uranium mine. Today there are comfortable chairs and card tables with half-finished jig saw puzzles. To take the cure you sit in the mine for two hours and then come out for one. Apparently, some people do this for days on end. It was fun to see, and we thanked the proprietors for allowing us to have a look.

Then it was on to the state capital of Helena, a very pleasant town. I applied to be the Montana State Librarian in the late 80's. I believe I came in 2nd in the competition. It's interesting to imagine how things would have been different had the kids grown up in Helena.

Our final stop was Missoula, a scenic drive from Helena over a big mountain pass and along the Clark's Fork river. Missoula is a college town (U of Montana) and it shows. Jane commented that it seemed not unlike Berkeley. We had to search a bit to find a motel room but managed to get one at a little motel close to downtown. After a good meal at a very popular Thai place downtown, we took in the carousel that was the model for Salem's carousel. Then back to the motel and off to sleep to dream radon dreams.