Day 22 Basin MT to Butte MT

Breakfast at the Silver Saddle & used their wifi to upload yesterday’s blog. The 2 movies I included made for a lengthy process. I finally said goodbye to Randy & picked up the gravel road at the edge of town, south along Basin Creek to check out some gold claims.

Today’s ride was tough. The 2400 climb up to the Continental Divide crossing should have been relatively easy but a strong headwind made even the downhills hard work. Also yesterday’s sunny 25C was, today, replaced with cold & sometimes rainy.

Still working on taking a good picture of my bike

Sadly When the Gold Digging Stops – The Mess Remains

Today, I passed many rivers that had been mined & left in this sorry state. Not quite sure why – maybe considered of national importance or nobody cares enough?

Finally I got to Butte, but too late in the day to go further.

Butte has more people that Helena 34,000 & at 5,538 ft is about 2,000 ft high & therefore colder! Like many parts of the Montana, Its existence is through mining. In its hay day it was known as the richest hill on earth & was the largest city west of the Mississippi. Today it’s paying the price. The grand old houses & town buildings show a wealthy past. Some are kept well maintained, many are not. Also they are greatly outnumbered by far more modest houses & prefabs. The city is encircled by large working mines, mineral processing plants and polluted lake. For me it’s a place to pass through without exploring further.

Also, since Banff, Dividers have warned of Butte’s reputation for cycle thefts. Separating myself from my bike, locked or not, was too higher risk. Instead, I headed for the intersection of I-90 & I-15 & found myself budget hotel & kept my bike in my room – on 3rd floor!