"Believe in Butte"

 

The day began early and with great promise. We awoke at Mallard's Rest, a sportsmen's access on the Yellowstone River just south of Livingston Montana. We had planned to go into Livingston for coffee, but the scenery was so spectacular we made coffee at the campsite and watched the sunrise over the mountains. The sun didn't disappoint.

  
We drove into Livingston and had breakfast at a café that is part of the Northern Pacific complex of buildings in Livingston. Apparently the train crews ate in the kitchen and the passengers ate in the dining room. We got to eat in the dining room, a treat for a train-lover like me!

We left Livingston and drove to Bozeman Montana, the home of Montana State University. Bozeman has been discovered by the "smart set". Property values have soared and the downtown is very trendy. Not at all in a bad way, but I doubt I could afford a house there.

 

 
We then drove to Butte. Butte, Montana had many nicknames. The most polite is " the Richest Hill on Earth". Butte is famous for its copper mines.

   

                                                              

Initially these mines were underground, but eventually the copper was mined in an open pit operation. The mining activity has slowed here and Butte has suffered. In the windows of some of the businesses are signs reading "Believe in Butte". I certainly hope it's true as we have experienced car trouble here in Butte. Apparently, our front axle has gone bad and is leaking fluid. Repair is not terribly expensive, (We Hope!) But there are no parts in Butte. We've been told that the parts will be here at 8:30 in the morning and that the repair will only take a couple of hours. With luck we should be back on the road and on our way to Missoula by noon time. (Where's Johnny when I need him? SEE: Entry 15 -  June4, 2017 Side Tracked!).

Butte also had a number of less complementary nicknames such as "The Armpit of the World" but I have many friends from Butte and I've always enjoyed their company. Evel Knievel hails from Butte. He seems to be fairly well thought of in town. One of my fraternity brothers was the golf pro at the Butte Country Club. He had his picture taken with Evel and with Mickey Rooney. My friend's name is Chuck and he was roughly the same stature and appearance as Mickey Rooney. He would take this photo to bars and impress girls by saying that his name was Chuck Rooney, the son of Mickey Rooney. People from Butte can be great storytellers.

I had another fraternity brother Tim who was the object of a vicious practical joke played by one of the fraternity brothers. The fraternity would allow members to stay in the fraternity over the summer if they would agree to pay the utilities, mow the lawn, and forward any mail to fraternity brothers who were elsewhere during the summer break. Tim was raised in a good Catholic family in Butte. A fraternity brother forwarded his mail, to Butte, but in care of the Dumas Hotel. The Dumas was the town's brothel! One afternoon Tim's mother got a call from Jean, the madam at the Dumas saying that they had some mail for Tim. Tim's mother was aghast. Jean was notorious enough in Butte that her name was known all over town. She only had to speak her name and Tim's mother knew something was amiss. Tim or his mother went down and retrieve the mail and the fraternity had a good laugh for several years to come.

Dumas Hotel 

The Butte Chamber of Commerce in the 60's or 70's adopted the motto: "Butte Montana, a Mile High, a Mile Deep and Everyone Is on the Level". Butte was a strong union town, so it was also a good place for Democrats. Harry Truman, during a low point in the 1948 election, came to Butte and felt rejuvenated. He recommended this visit for all Democrats who were unsure of their chances. Harry went on to win the '48 election. 

Butte has fallen on hard times and there are number of businesses with signs in their windows which say: "Believe in Butte".

We will be believing in Butte tonight and tomorrow morning and hopefully we will be back on the road. In the meantime enjoy these vintage and current pictures of Butte, "The Richest Hill on Earth".

Geezers Amongst the Geysers

 We arrived in West Yellowstone Tuesday evening and stayed at a KOA along the side of the highway. I am generally not a fan of KOA's, but I have to say this was the best one I have ever stayed in. This is in contrast to the KOA in West Winnemucca Nevada which was probably the worst place I have ever camped. The KOA in West Yellowstone was generally quiet and quite scenic. However, it appeared that only about two thirds of the spaces were full. Had the others been full, my impression may not have been quite so good. What was amazing is that we could not get a reservation to camp in the park. So we knew the drives through the park would be crowded!

  
This morning we awakened to 25° temperatures. At this point, I was happy we were in a KOA, because the site came with an electrical hookup. We have brought along a small electric heater which we ran before we went to bed and I started again after I got up. Had the heater not been running, we might've been more like the water that I poured into the coffee pot to make coffee. It was slush. Coffee took longer than usual to make. We love our little tent trailer, but there are times that it does not seem well suited to 65-year-old campers!

After breaking camp in the morning we drove to the West entrance of Yellowstone National Park. We took the obligatory photo at the entrance sign in the same place where we had taken many family photos over the years with our first ever photo in 1976. 

This was the first time that Linda and I had visited Yellowstone together. The sign has weathered the years better than I have. But I have to say, Linda and I still look pretty good. The Park still delights us!

   

                          

Today the park was even more crowded. 

Instead of Europeans and Asians we were treated to Californians and Oregonians as well as a smattering Washingtonians. It always strikes me as odd that the coastal states which often lecture Idaho, Wyoming and Montana about responsibility, then come to Idaho, Wyoming and Montana to enjoy themselves and to get a break from the current strict rules and laws of those states. There is something wrong here!

The Northern Pacific Railroad advertised the Park as a "Wonderland". It certainly is! This is not our last trip to Yellowstone National Park!

                                                   Leaving the Park via the Roosevelt Arch 

As we left Gardiner, Montana and drove North towards Livingston, we once again began to see remnants of the old Yellowstone Trail across the river. The first photo shows the Old Yellowstone Trail before it enters Yankee Jim Canyon. The second photo shows the Trail descending a grade. I understand that this is a very rough and poorly maintained road. Better suited to an old jeep than Linda's pretty blue Explorer.

As we progress through Montana, this blog may get a bit more personal. That is because Linda and I met while we were attending college at the University of Montana in 1975.. While I will not claim to be a Montanan, I do feel a special tie to this state. You might say this is where I came of age and where some of the formative events of my life took place. I will not tell all the old tales, that could prove too boring, perhaps too revealing, and I'm not sure if the statute of limitations has run on all the indiscretions of my youth. Suffice it to say that Linda has been the great civilizing influence of my life, I also don't want to incriminate any of my friends or fraternity brothers. When I tell a story, I will omit last names, but they will know who they are!

Still, any trip to Yellowstone National Park is a good trip. And our many memories of this grand Park make this trip even better.

                                                             Geezers and Geysers!