It followed us

 Part of the reason to take summer trips is to escape the heat. Well right now that is not working out so well. If the local folks find out we are to blame...

 Of course their version of excessive heat is our merely warm...

Best laid plans

 Well, whatcha gonna do...

 In planning for this trip we had to pack for all temperatures. We like to have froze on the coast of Oregon, but resisting getting into the basement for heavier coats. Statistically the Yellowstone area can be quite cool, even in August. While west Yellowstone has been dipping down to near freezing, other parts are near record heat. This weekend in Jackson highs are supposed to be in the 90's. Add in that the allure of Grand Teton is the vistas that will probably be obscured by smoke. Look on weather.gov for the area. Special weather advisory about smoke. If you were hoping for great photos you may be disappointed.

 We are enjoying our stay here at Juniper campground on Ririe reservoir. Certainly a place that we could easily stay the 14 day limit.

 Smoke, no smoke, heat or no we continue on this little journey. Questions have been raised about 2019 trip as I generally start about this time. My focus is on this trip and will deal with next year later on.

 Pretty sun rise here in the wheat fields...


seize the day

Fire and Smoke

 No, not the John Conley song, the west in general. Last several years seems to be the same old story about wildfires. While we have been hampered at least we saw Yosemite before it was closed. The haze impairs the view but does not seem to hamper breathing.

 We are outside Ririe Idaho at a wonderful county park. Full hook ups, paved streets $25 per night. Wondering where the hell Ririe is, well I will show you. First you need to know that the part of Idaho we drove thru reminded me of Abilene Texas

we are in B18

 We are 100 miles from our next stop, Grand Teton National Park


We are at 5240ft elevation here. Pretty nice but warming up


gathering mile high rosebuds

Butte

 A city well past it's prime is a nice way to put it. It was a rip roaring town and a lot of money was made by a few. Now very limited mining taking place. The downtown area is mostly boarded up with limited shops. The do have some new development south of town so it is not dead completely

Berkley pit, super fund site. water 1700 feet deep. very toxic

abandoned mine shaft head frame next to abandoned pit 

Don't drink, or touch, the water!

another head frame across the street. Sort of like idle well drillers

 That is a wrap on Butte. On to Idaho tomorrow. Temps forecast to be in 90's next few days, guess we have finally found summer.


gathering rosebuds...

Richest hill on Earth

 So they said then. Now a giant super fund site.

 Butte is a mining town, or was one. Anaconda copper mined here for years underground.

 There were many mines here and 14 of their head frames still stand today.

 These mines went several thousand feet deep in some cases and with many levels and tunnels off of each. So many it is a wonder the hill has not collapsed in onto itself. In the final years they had turned to open pit mining. That old pit collects water that is loaded with toxic metals. Thus the super fund designation

 The mining museum was interesting to visit. A lot of memorabilia form the areas past.

old armored car that carried payroll

assorted drills used in mining the copper

 The historic downtown area certainly needs some sprucing up. Not sure what industry keeps the place afloat today. I probably should mention that my brother worked in a copper mine north of Tucson for many years, enough to retire when they closed the mine.

 Tomorrow a tour of everything from the Copper King mansion to an historic brothel (that stayed in business into this century)


carpe diem

Big Sky Country

 Montana's state motto and it lives up to it. The prairies that were in Alberta continued on southward, along with mountains and everything in between.

 Some stories tell of buffalo herds taking days to pass by. That maybe a bit of an exaggeration but numbers in the 10's of millions is realistic. Driving along I could not help but day dream about the great northern herd migrating across the same ground I was on.

TRAVEL MAP


 We are in Butte Montana for a few days. Historic places and museums await us



carpe diem

Glacier NP

 As luck would have it we were cursed by haze and smoke. The crystal clear view of distant mountains is a fleeting thing.

 Beautiful vistas worthy of a National Park. However it has the same problem many of them have, their popularity is choking them. Very limited parking is available and the few lots fill up by early morning. When I say early I mean by 8am or so. They do have a shuttle but you have to find a spot to park to catch it.. We drove over and back east to west on the Going to the Sun road. Quite an experience. We then were able to park and catch the shuttle back to Logan pass.

 All and all a nice day.

Johnson glacier

local resident

"...gather ye rosebuds while ye may..."