Day 2 - Missoula, MT - Billings, MT

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We started off today with overcast skies, rain and colder temperatures. This was not a good sign since we were planning to do a little off roading later in the morning. We headed east on I-90 towards Butte and took Hwy 1 to Phillipsburg. Phillipsburg is a small mining town from the 1800’s. It is very quaint. The buildings are old and the people are very friendly. Unfortunately, there are no signs off of the highway directing you to the ghost town we were in search off. I knew from the Montana State Parks, that the road was rough, winding and not maintained, but nowhere did it give directions. I called the parks department and asked how to get up there. Guess what???? They didn’t know! Yes, that is correct, the people who run the park had never been up there and didn’t know how to get to it...imagine that! We ended up asking some local people and they directed us. Once we headed in the right direction, we started to see a few signs...sheesh! So, off we go and we immediately start heading up. There is a sign that advises us to use extreme caution as the roads are not maintained. Of course I am assuming the worse, but after about a mile I realize that this road is considered maintained in Oregon! It was actually a nice road. I have taken worse roads up to the Bohemia Saddle in a 2WD car. Once at the town, we park and start walking around. It was amazing! It was worth the time and drive up there to see it. The masonry work was spectacular! Theo was in heaven. As we were wandering around I noticed some very ominous clouds rolling in. Now with that said, we are on a dirt road with no turnouts and a steep grade. We waited as long as possible, got some really great photos and decided to leave due to the rain that started coming down. I could easily have spent all day up there! We headed south on the Hwy 1 and it ended up looping back around to the I-90 through a town called Anaconda...made me think of the big butts song. Anyway, the car was super dirty and we both agreed that it needed to be washed. That was our first priority when we get to Billings. The drive to Billings was nothing short of beautiful and at 75mph we made great time, especially when I took over the driving! We both agreed that I am going to drive most of the way tomorrow! There has been a lot of construction, but it hasn’t been too bad yet. I expect it will get worse at some point (it always does). We have an 8.5 hour drive tomorrow and we get to see the kids! We are missing them horribly especially since we cannot talk to them except through Facebook. Since they are in Canada, my cell charges are crazy so we agreed no calling or texting. We are excited to see them and cannot wait for what else we are going to see and do. Tomorrow after we hit Bismarck, ND, it is all new territory for us until we reach eastern Wisconsin (and some parts of Minnesota). So far we have been in 3 states not counting Oregon and driven over 1,000 miles. We are enjoying every minute of it! We are headed to dinner now and turning in early so we can be up and out of here early. Theo doesn’t realize how early though...hee hee.



Here is the link to the Granite Ghost Town that the Montana Parks Department knows nothing about:



http://stateparks.mt.gov/granite-ghost-town/

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Comments

[Yvonne Wade]

Love it
Loved your adventure to the Granite Ghost Town! and the pict. too, be safe tomorrow on your travels.