Another sight seeing day off in Wisdom.

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This was another great day off.

I slept in to 7am. Then I moseyed over to the Crossing Restaurant and settled in with seven other riders going every which way.

Maurice and Fran were going west.

Lloyd and David were headed west as well.

Ed and Mike going east and Paul and his dog were going east.

I felt bad that I was going to cool my heels today, although I guess I could have gotten up with Pat and done his 50 mile fun ride at dawn. Really, he did.

Nope R & R for me.

About noon, I jumped in the back seat of Jane and Pat’s Surbaban and we drove a beautiful 120 mile loop on Hwy 43 around the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

It was absolutely beautiful.

Once again during the drive we found another ghost town in the Beaverhead National Forest.

Silver mining first began there in 1872, by my great great great uncle Preston Sheldon, and his claim and many more became quite profitable.

However, in 1892 the price of Silver crashed and most miners moved on.

In 1911, a Montana politician named William R. Allen began buying claims. In 1913 he reopened the Elkhorn Mine, and the town of Coolidge was born, named after William Allen’s friend, Calvin Coolidge.

The settlement quickly thrived with modern amenities, including telephone services and electricity.

By 1922 the Silver Mill was thriving and the population of Coolege was over 350 people including a two boarding houses, restaurant and Post Office.

The Mill was producing 750 tons of ore per day with a recovery rate of 90-92%.

However, by 1922 the Silver prices crashed and the mill went into receivership.

The town never recovered and today it is slowly returning to nature.

We walked among the ruins and found very few intact buildings.

Fascinating to see what a once thriving community looks like almost 100 years later.

I took lots of pictures.

Once returning to the campsite, Pat cooked some steak and we had a great dinner.

I am a lucky guy!

I am finishing this blog tucked in my sleeping bag getting ready for lights out.

Tomorrow is another day off as we go to Missoula to pick up Pat and Jane’s daughter Becky as she will be riding with Pat for four days.

Then Sunday we are off for Darby.

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