Dillon, Arco, then Boise, then....

We wanted to stop in Dillon, MT for a couple nights so we could revisit Bannack, MT, a very well preserved ghost town.  Many years ago we made a quick visit and remembered it was nicely restored.  We went over a little later in the morning as our wake up temps were a balmy 23 degrees!  So by 10am it was up to a respectable 48 and off we went.

Sure enough our memory was correct, it is one of the nicest restored ghost towns that we have seen.  The park service took over the town, restored many of the buildings and now opens it to the public to see what the town used to look like back in its heyday.  It was founded back in 1862 with a gold strike as many of the towns were at that time and some folks continued to live there as recently as 1970.  It was a rough and tumble town, gunfights and brawls were common and you had to be careful even walking down the streets especially at night.  It also has the distinction of having hanged its sheriff who was reputably the leader of a ruthless gang responsible for hundreds of murders who met his end by a group of folks appropriately named the Vigilantes.  Most of the buildings are open so you can walk in and absorb the history.

One of the old hotels

An overview of the town from cemetery hill

These are representative of the miner's cabins

The one and only church

The Methodist Church

There are over 60 building in various states of repair, so it was very interesting to wander around town for awhile.  After a picnic we decided to drive farther west to go north on the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway.  At the turnoff we got looking at a sign and it described another ghost town accessible along the way, Coolidge.  So about 5 miles back a gravel road, we found the poorly marked parking area and started walking out the path supposedly to Coolidge, it was supposed to be a short 1/2 mile walk, and nowadays with GPS and the ability to measure everywhere you go, when we had gone 1/2 mile into the woods, nothing was in sight.  We wondered if we were even on the right path.  We decided to go another 1/2 mile, and sure enough we stumbled on what remains of Coolidge.  This was a true falling down deteriorating town that was home to as many as 350 people in its prime, working the nearby silver mine.  It is hard to imagine when you walk around the fallen buildings that this represented dreams and goals for many.  There are hundred of these places that used to be bustling communities that are now nothing more than ruins.

This was the best looking building, the park service
must have put some effort in preserving it

After a quick night in Arco right down the road from Craters of the Moon National Monument, we are heading over to Boise this morning.  We made a quick run down to Craters, walked around a bit, came back, had a delightful evening sitting outside in our shorts!  The first time we have had shorts on in over 2 months!

We will be in the Boise area for several weeks, I should say the motorhome and Bert will be in the Boise area for several weeks being watched over by Kris and Sandy and Abbie.  Thank you guys so much!  We are going to be doing something I swore I would never do, and totally out of character for us.  We are flying to Hawaii and going on a cruise!  Oh wow?!?