A big driving day to get to Sheridan,WY to get closer to spend time, weather permitting, at Mt. Rushmore. I-90 across Montana was 554 miles. Add the Idaho and Wyoming mileage .. yikes .. totaled : 633 !
Still .. a fun day! While driving in the dark I listened to AM radio stations from Regina, Saskatchewan and Edmonton, Alberta and Salt Lake City.
You know I like my signs :
I exited at Butte and decided to go exploring. Went up to historic uptown. Do you know that it's known as "the richest hill on earth"! By 1887 Butte became the world's leading producer of copper, and for the next 30 years produced 50% of all copper in the U.S. Butte was known as the "Melting Pot Mixer" because immigrants of every ethnicity came to the city, and they had to put up "No Smoking" signs in 16 different languages. Here are a few pictures :
Butte is home to Montana Tech University.
On campus is their Mineral Museum and the 'World Mining Museum'.
All day, on my drive, it was foggy and rainy, reminding me of many trips to Medford in the winter to visit sawmills and industrial plants.
A shame it was so foggy. Almost 70% of I-90 and I-94 straddle very famous rivers that would've been fun to see more of : Clark Fork, Jefferson, Gallatin, Madison, headwaters of the Missouri, and the Yellowstone.
I did exit to explore several more towns .. Whitehall and Livingston.
Maybe, on my return trip, to see Christin and Ben in Bozeman, I'll stop and see:
A long and tough day of driving conditions, but had the need-for-speed and distance to get closer to Mt.Rushmore. RA and Jim both warned me about potential snow conditions for tomorrow's travel. Uh-oh.
start odometer : 107406 (Coeur d'Alene)
4/8 odometer : 108039 (Sheridan,WY)
day miles : 633
trip total : 1130
Already over 1000 miles! Butte looks cute. The Montana Tech mining logo looks a lot like Mines. Glad you have your chains along ⛄
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