Day 20

Woke up to heartbreaking heavy rain on the day we were expecting to continue our ride. It was very apparent early on we are going to stay another day in Butte! So we added rooms for another day, the guys had to move upstairs, I was able to stay in my room.

Dave mentioned the idea of getting a car and doing some exploring, what a great idea! 

I happened to look at attractions nearby, saw the Fairmont Hot Springs resort, as chilly as we have been, it seem like a great option! So after the shenanigans to get the car, we drove to Fairmont resort and had a blast in the outdoor pools, one very warm, one very hot! What a great treat to warm up the bones!

After that, we drove into the town of Anaconda, named after the mine that was there, the largest or among the largest smelter smokestacks in United States ever! It is 30 feet higher than the Washington Monument, not much shorter than the Eiffel Tower. It is a monument to the mine in that took place in the United States some years ago, hard to imagine how much actually occurred here, primarily copper, silver, and gold. I Magent most of that occurs in China and Chile now out of sight of most of the world.

I got a better understanding of the history of Butte, it’s rich and deep culture, now mostly behind, and just out of sync with current economic reality. 

Back in town, we toured Butte town a bit, went to the Berkeley mine viewpoint. Butte was once a hugely rich town back in its mining heyday. It’s amazing how much Montana has been mined!!

I walked through serious hail to Muddy Creek Brewing. A guy playing old classics like Roger Miller’s King of the Road. A great sing along song. At the same time, there’s several small boys playing with 2×4 blocks yelling and having a blast. A very unpretentious brewery!!!! 

Back to the hotel, A classic old town JFK actually visited at least once, Dave and Chris decided to try Asian food tonight, and I will join. 

I hope we get back on the trail tomorrow…