Day 11/Butte, prison museum, Rock Creek & Garnet, MT

Today we started in Butte and ended up in Missoula...not a lot of miles, but an eventful day still! We started driving until hunger and curiosity stopped us in Deerlodge at the Deerlodge Bakery, also oddly known as Louie's Montana Beef Pasties. We had a quick breakfast of BFPs (big fat pastries) and then were drawn to visit the Old Montana Prison. It was as creepy as we expected it to be, with its dark passageways, solitary, dark punishment cells and confinement cells (where women could be handcuffed to a sliding rail to keep them from doing themselves harm).

Here's a shot of the tower into which a bazooka was shot during a riot and attempted breakout.

These shoes have cement soles...an interesting solution for troublesome inmates that tended to "travel."

This shot of the theater just happens to contain the gallows as well (which I didn't even notice when I took it).

After the museum, we tried a few more Montana fishing holes. This was Rock Creek--very pretty but no fish on our hooks (though I did see a nice one jump).

Our big event of the day was Garnet, MT, the most intact ghost town in Montana (and I'm willing to bet, in the country). The ride to get there was an event itself: 11 miles up a mountain on a narrow, winding dirt road with sharp switchbacks and huge drop offs. It was a spectacle and a first for us both. The town grew up around a garnet mine, which is why it is situated so high up.

These photos show the hotel, which must have been amazing. It still has wallpaper hanging from the walls and furniture and carpets that has sat there for years. Apparently it boasted chandeliers at one time, too. It was three floors of incredible history.

Here are some shots of the road we followed to get there and back: beautiful and treacherous (and bumpy for my poor little Honda! It was a trooper!).

We arrived in Missoula for dinner. Started at the Kettlehouse Brewery, which had good beer, but no food. They recommended The Old Post, where we sat outside and enjoyed some local color with our dinner. We had to check out the Oxford, a bar that Peter recalled from his rugby days. It hasn't been closed for 30 years...24 hours a day. Just like LL Bean, only totally different, though they did have guns there. We learned how to play Keno and had a game of pool before heading to our campsite for the night, the Missoula KOA. This is one odd KOA. It seems to be set up right in the middle of a trailer park where people actually live year round. But it is a nice grassy spot and we're looking forward to sleeping in our tent. Tomorrow, Idaho!