Bingham Canyon Mine

If you are going to pay to see a big hole in the ground, then the Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine is a good place to start. It is the world's largest man-made excavation (can be seen from space). Since open-pit mining began in 1903, enough material has been removed to create a pit that is more than three quarters of a mile deep and two-and-a-half miles wide. Still in operation, this massive mine has yielded more than 19 million tons of copper as well as vast quantities of gold, silver and molybdenum. Click on photos to enlarge.

I was going to put a set of these on my UTV until I saw they were $25,000 per tire...

Payette National Forest Ride

We did not make it to Black Lake due to...

So we rode the forestry roads to various mountain tops...

Click on photo to enlarge

Owyhee Mountains Ride

Another great ride in the Owyhee mountains southwest of Boise.

Elevation ~8,400 feet (click on photo to enlarge)

Bonnie & Clyde's car?

Old Idaho Penitentiary

The Old Idaho Penitentiary was operational from 1870-1973 and is one of only four Territorial Prisons still open. If today's inmates think they have it rough, they should consider serving time here in late 1800s when you were housed in a two man cell about the size of a walk-in closet and with only a bucket as your indoor plumbing.

There is also a surprisingly good weapons exhibit.

Gatling gun

Silver City Ride

Last month at the Hells Canyon Rally, I met several riders from the Boise area, who invited me to join the Boise ATV Trail Riders and ride with them. This morning I joined Jay, Derrill and Dennis for breakfast in Murphy and then rode to Silver City via a route that included numerous creek crossings, narrow mountain trails, and pine scented forests.

Derrill, Jay, Lucy (dog), Dennis

Silver City subdivision (note half bath out back)

Experimental Breeder Reactor-I Atomic Museum

EBR-I generated the first usable electricity from atomic energy in December 1951. The tour showcases four nuclear reactors (including two aircraft nuclear propulsion prototypes), a reactor control room, remote handling devices for radioactive materials, radiation detection equipment, and much more. The facility is located 18 miles southeast of Arco, Idaho. Click on photos to enlarge.

Control room

Nuclear reactor

Here are the two nuclear aircraft engine prototypes...

Lead shielded locomotive developed to move the nuclear powered aircraft

Lastly, I photographed this encrypted code written on the mountain outside of Arco...

Craters Of The Moon

This National Monument is the result of a series of volcanic eruptions over 15,000 years (the last one occurred ~2,000 years ago). Early pioneers, who encountered this area, referred to it as "the Devil's Vomit".

There is an extensive cave system here which is open to the public but you will want to be careful as getting in and out of them is not easy.

Trivia Question

What was the first city in the world to be lit by atomic power?

My RV is starting to glow in the dark

Bannack State Park

Bannack is one of the best preserved of all of Montana's ghost towns. Over 50 buildings remain today... from tumble-down, one-room bachelor cabins to the once-stately Hotel Meade.

The infamous sheriff of Bannack, Henry Plummer, was secretly the leader of a gang of thieves, murderers and robbers called "The Innocents". This gang is said to have murdered over 102 men and robbed countless others. A group of Vigilantes hanged Henry Plummer and many of his gang on the very gallows that he built to hang horse thieves. Click on photos to enlarge.

Ohrmann Museum & Gallery

Bill Ohrmann and my father served together in the Pacific during WWII. Today, I had the honor of meeting Mr. Ohrmann and seeing some of his impressive artwork. I was also able to learn a little more about what Dad went through in the war. Tom Brokaw definitely got it right when he called them "The Greatest Generation".

Bill Ohrmann

On the way back to the RV park, this doe posed for me...

West Glacier National Park

From West Glacier the Going-to-the-Sun Road winds along Lake McDonald and then up river through a forest of old growth, moss covered trees. There are lots of hiking and bike trails that will take you off the beaten path. Today, the road was closed to motor vehicles at the Avalanche campground.

East Glacier National Park

Glacier is one of those parks where you need to pack extra socks because it's going to knock the ones you are wearing right off. A "must do" is the Going-to-the-Sun Road (I rode it on a motorcycle in 2001). This engineering marvel spans 50 miles through the park's wild interior, winding around mountainsides and treating visitors to some of the best sights in northwest Montana. Unfortunately, it is not yet completely open (click here to get the current road status) so I took U.S. 2 to East Glacier to see the Glacier Park Lodge, Two Medicine, Many Glacier, and the eastern portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Glacier Park Lodge & Red Bus

Lodge interior - those logs are huge

As soon as the weather permits, I will tour West Glacier.

Accommodations Tax

Just as I was getting use to not paying tax on my purchases here in Montana, I move to an area (Kalispell) that has a 7% "accommodations tax"... or as I like to refer to it - the "screw-the-tourist tax".

National Bison Range

That unfamiliar, yellow ball reappeared in the sky so I headed up to the National Bison Range. This federal wildlife refuge is home to 350-500 bison and numerous other critters. The Red Sleep Mountain Drive is a 19-mile, one-way, gravel road which gains 2,000 feet. There are many switchbacks and 10% grades along the drive. No trailers or vehicles over 32 feet are allowed.

One benefit of the recent rain is that it turned to snow at the higher elevations which made today's drive very scenic...

Montana - No Sales Tax

You would think the first thing I would write about Montana would be the "big sky" vistas. But no, the first thing I noticed was the fact there is no sales tax. Having spent the winter and spring in Arizona and California where state, county, city, and lodging/resort taxes added 10-15% to my bill, it is a delight to pay only the sticker price. Makes me wonder why the other states cannot do the same.

Coeur d'Alene

Is a pretty town located on the shore of Coeur d'Alene Lake in northwest Idaho. It has an active downtown with lots of specialty stores, restaurants and outdoor sculptures that makes strolling main street a delight. Unfortunately, the cool, rainy weather has hampered my exploration and photography.