We managed to cram a lot of museum sightseeing into the day, starting with the Old Montana Prison and Montana Auto Museum in Deer Lodge, MT. The Old Montana Prison was interesting but probably what you would expect from a prison museum – definitely a good reminder to follow the law, be a decent human being, and appreciate our freedoms. The Montana Auto Museum was an amazingly extensive collection of old cars starting from the early 1900s.
We headed from there to the World Museum of Mining where we took the 60 foot underground tour of an old mine. It was interesting to see how mingling practices have evolved and, fortunately, have become much safer than in the old pioneer days. We also learned about the wealth of metals and minerals being mined (and still remaining in the hills) of Butte, MT (“richest hill on Earth”), but it’s also unfortunately an EPA Superfund site (see “Berkeley pit”).
We headed down to Big Hole National Battlefield, where we learned more about a sad part of American history with the massacre of Nez Perce Indians. It’s important to remember the past – even the most disturbing aspects – so that the lessons learned are not lost to the future generations.
The rest of the day was driving – primarily through the Salmon River Scenic Byway in Idaho, which I highly recommend. It follows the Salmon River, winding in and out of valleys, and it is *beautiful*. We arrived safely at Sunny Gulch Campground this evening.
