Safe Return Doubtful

47 miles (76 km) – Total so far: 558 miles (898 km)

Cass, the site officer, had to rush home last night to put her dog inside when it started to thunder. We had been talking and my tent was near the office so she asked me to keep new arrivals waiting 10 minutes. There were two. I told them both that it was a new rule to turn your engines off while waiting. Hopefully the do it all trip. The storm lasted about 40 minutes and was just heavy rain and thunder. It cleared the air considerably. Ribs with a couple Going to the Sun IPAs for dinner and all was good.

Just as it got dark Jodie arrived in the cabin next to my tent with 3 small boys. She was driving to see her husband for a holiday from Virginia to Seattle. Some distance, I expect she may be have fear of flying.

This morning Jodie left about the same time as me, but I headed for breakfast before riding out of town.

I managed to stay off I-90 all the way to Butte. The first 25 miles were on the ‘frontage road’ running along side it. Flat, little wind, and the road to myself. I then went out of my way a few miles. Always good to go to a town with an interesting name. I took the opportunity to ride through ‘Opportunity’. It was as sleepy as they come, but good for a cool drink. From there the secondary road moves away from I-90 as it climbs, and gets parallel and close again just before Butte.

I was hoping for more from Butte, but it does seem a Montana town similar to those in the Smith Henderson novel I am reading, Fourth of July Creek. That is not a compliment at all. I am waiting for the storm to pass over then will wander into town and hopefully find it to have more to offer. I am at the KOA again, it’s the only thing in town. When quoted $30 I complained and said I only had a small tent, and have been awarded a military discount, though no idea why.

Distance 47 miles Riding time 3 hrs 46 minutes Average speed 12.7 mph High speed 22.2 mph Departed 9:20 am, arrived 2:10 pm Altitude 1690 metres

Breakfast at a cafe just across from the Jail

The ‘frontage’ road – good for 25 miles, no vehicles at all

The town of Racetrack seems to have fallen on hard times

It has a population of 7 and I guess, at one time had more, and a racetrack

An outhouse with TV – sensible idea

An old wooden trestle bridge on the Great Northwestern Railroad. The modern track, considerably dissipated is behind me.

Just after the railroad opened in the late 1800’s these bridges were held up with wooden trestles. They were so dodgy that no people ever rode over them. The driver and guardsmen would hop off just before the bridge, and a new set hop on just after. This last snippet from Johnson’s Train Dreams. I have mentioned it before, a must read.

The Fire Department in the sleepy town of Opportunity

Opportunity for a break in Opportunity

As well as being near the setting for A River Runs Through It,not his is also old copper mining territory. Not only were the open cast mines left as they were when the copper was taken, but the rivers were poisoned. The name the town was given in the early copper days has turned to be rather ironic.

A review of Brad Tyler’s famous book “Opportunity, Montana” –
Montana is a beautiful state, full of soaring peaks, deep valleys, and scenic rivers. But beneath that beauty lies environmental damage largely invisible to the visitors who, drawn from other states by stunning advertising campaigns, float and fish its rivers. Copper mining in Butte, once home to the “richest hill on earth,” left a legacy of poisoned aquifers and waterways running a hundred miles downstream. Environmental activists in Missoula scored a major coup in forcing ARCO to remove a dam and restore the river, but toxic sediment dredged from behind the dam still had to go somewhere—the dinky, already dumped-on community of Opportunity.

Many people live in trailer homes. They came temporarily, probably for the copper work or cattle, and stayed, and never were able to afford to upgrade

After 10 days on the road it’s washday – and typically, there’s a storm coming

Decent meal from supermarket and sat outside watching the lightning with some Kettle Head IPAs