Butte, Montana

On Wednesday, the day before the 4th, we left Jardine (and Yellowstone) and drove to a KOA in Butte, Montana, where we got the last available full hook-up site with 50 amp service -- something we needed with expected temperatures in the low 90's.

Our site at the KOA was an end site which meant we had a front-row seat for Butte's fireworks' display occuring tonight (instead of July 4th).  After we had been set up for a couple of hours, the electricity went off and then back on again several times. 

When we checked our Progressive Industries surge protector, line 2 was reading as low as 103 to 104 volts.  An error message was not coming up on the surge protector but we knew that the surge protector was shutting off the electricity to the motorhome when the voltage would drop below 104 volts for an extended period of time.  We let the office know about the problem and they came and checked it out.  They said they had experienced similar problems at another site previously and had contacted the electric company.  They thought it was due to everyone using their air conditioners.  They asked us to turn off one of the air conditioners for a little while to see if that would help the problem and that they would continue to come by and check it.  Fortunately, we didn't have any other problems the rest of our stay and we were able to use both air conditioners.

Another camper in the park recommended the Pekin Noodle Parlor if we wanted some good Chinese food.  He said that the same family that opened it over 100 years ago is who still runs it.  We had not had Chinese food in a very long time so we decided to try it out.

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of a very old building.  Most of the tables are in enclosed booths which was unusual.

I had read online that the restaurant used to be a brothel of which these booths were a part of but I later read on a historical sign that this was an incorrect rumor and that it was just their way of providing a more private way of dining to their customers.

Unfortunately, the food was not to our "Chinese" taste.  In fact, it tasted like they had opened a can of LaChoy or ChunKing and put it on our plates.  Maybe this is what "authentic" Chinese food tastes like but was not near as good as the "southern" Chinese food we enjoyed back home.  We walked back down the stairs and knew we would not be back.

Since we were still several hours from the fireworks show, we drove around Butte.

Butte, Montana, known as the "richest hill on earth" was once a huge mining operation with mines of gold, copper, and silver dating as far back as 1864.  Dotted across the hillside are 12 headframes from which different mining operations were once run.

As technology changed, the mining changed to the open-pit operations, one of which are still in operation today.

 

Unfortunately, the open-pit type of mining destroys the landscape.  I also read that Butte has been the largest recipient of the Superfund in efforts to try to purify the water and streams poisoned with arsenic and other residuals from mining.

As you might expect, mining was also a very dangerous occupation.  Between 1870 and 1983, 2,500 men lost their lives from mine-related incidents, with the worst occurring in 1917 when 168 men died in a mining accident.

Butte was one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi for years peaking at a population of 60,000 around 1920.  Then the population began to decline and has stayed around 34,000 since the 1990's.

On the eastern side of Butte way up on top of a mountain is a statue of Mary.

Fireworks (from individuals) started going off around 7:00 pm and continued right up until the "official" fireworks show when it finally gets dark out here around 10:30 pm. 

Several of the old mining headframes were also lit up at night.

Around 10:30, the "official" fireworks show started and continued for about 30 minutes.

After the official fireworks, we decided to call it a night.  On the 4th of July, we rode our bikes on a nearby bike trail. 

We rode for about a mile or so and were stopped because the 4th of July parade was about to start and we didn't want to get stuck on the other side of the street while the parade went by.  So we turned around and went the other direction and we were stopped by the parade on the other end of the trail.

Chuck really dislikes parades (just ask our daughters).  But hey, it's the 4th of July, we live in a country where we are able to travel and see so much of God's creation and meet so many nice people.

 

After we finished our bike ride, we decided to have a burger for lunch to celebrate the 4th of July and went to Royce's Hamburgers & More.  The restaurant was crowded because the parade had just finished up; but the hamburgers were delicious!  Chuck's hamburger reminded him of the old Shoney's Big Boy sandwich including that yummy Shoney sauce.  Unlike Pekin's, Royce's Hamburgers & More was great!

After lunch, we went to Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries and everything else.  We had not been to Wal-mart in almost 2 weeks and I was starting to have "Wal-Mart withdrawals."  :)  This Wal-mart was well-stocked and I found everything we needed and the personnel very friendly.  When we were ready to check out, we lucked up and got Shirley's lane.  Shirley was friendly, fast, and efficient!  Our fastest checkout ever!

When we got back home, I spent the rest of the day trying to get our blog updated again.  We have been so busy between the FMCA Rally and all the day trips around Yellowstone that I had gotten behind again.  I have found that we almost need to stay at an almost "boring" place in order for me to have a few days to get caught up.  Butte was certainly not boring but it was what I needed to get started on the blog again.