Montana You Say

 The drive across Idaho into Montana was uneventful, the weather was beautiful, except for the smoke from fires leaking over the passes.

Our first stop was the Bearmouth Chalet Campground. The campground is just off I-90, next Clark Fork River. This campground is not local to anything, the closest town was 16 miles away. the chalet starts at the top of the property and ends three floors down. To get to the bottom it is necessary to drive down that steep driveway (bottom right photo) and around to the office. The sites are nice level sites, fairly wide, some of them have a nice shade cover. For you folks that need to keep in touch with the outside world, forget it, internet almost impossible, no TV reception unless it is satellite. I forgot one thing, train tracks are on the opposite side of the highway... and they are not afraid to come by blowing their horns... I loved it.

After our day of rest we headed for a Deer Lodge MT to visit an old Montana prison, and auto museum. It wasn't a far transit between the two museums, they are located in the old prison site. 

We toured the prison side first. Most of the original prison disappeared as the prison grew. One of the earlier wardens used inmate labor to build prison buildings, some are still standing today. The museum provides the customer with a self-guided handout. The prison was in use from 1871 to 1979, when it was moved five miles down the road. Some of the buildings moved to the new site as well.

One of the first areas the convict labor addressed was the prison walls. The original walls were wood fences, 12 feet high. The new wall is 24 feet high, four and a half feet thick at the base, three feet thick at the top. The earlier warden hired out the convicts to create funding to maintain the prison. By 1916, 50% of the inmates worked and lived outside the prison walls.

The prison has a colored history of violence. In 1908 there was a failed prison escape by two inmates, costing the life the Deputy Warden, and over one hundred stitches for the Warden. Oh, I failed to mention that the inmates died as well. They didn't die during the escape attempt... they were hung on the prison yard. There was a prison riot in 1959 resulting in the death of the Deputy Warden, and two inmates who orchestrated the riot. The area in which the two inmates were directing the riot from was damaged when the National Guard open fired with a bazooka. The inmates did not die from the blast, an investigation determined it was apparently a murder-suicide.

For the inmate that was troublesome, there was always solitary confinement, some was tolerable, some was inhumane. The early days of the inhumane punishment consisted of a dark cell without light, and bread and water for meals. Some of the solitary cells had rails attached to the wall so that a suicidal inmates arm could be 'cuffed to the wall preventing them from hanging themselves.

Only Light to "The Hole" Cell

Inside the "Hole" Cell

Solitary Cell

They were kind to the new inmates beginning their appointed sentences and not accustom to prison life. These new guys were in single inmate cells protected from the other inmates. The life they needed to get accustom to... showering with a bunch of other guys, using the facilities with someone watching, and eating with a whole lot of people they didn't know, or trust.

Dining Facility

Community Showers

Private Room with a Bunk Mate

In 1918 a new guest of the system arrived, his name, Paul Eitner, incarcerated for life for murder. He was a model inmate, and assigned to tending the prison turkeys. He was graciously given the nickname "Turkey Pete". Unfortunately reality started slipping away for Paul as he began living a fantasy world due to Alzheimer. At one point he sold all the prison turkeys to a gentleman (not from the prison) for 25 cents a piece. As he started faded farther into his fantasy world the prison system humored him by allowing him to have checks, which he used to buy various prison buildings, pay staff salaries, and prison expenses.  Internationally he saved Brazil's coffee crop, sold pink alligators, purchase alfalfa seed from Poncho Villa, sold grasshopper legs to Fidel Castro, and sold ships to the Navy.  In 1967 "Turkey Pete" died at age 89. His funeral was the only one ever held within the prison walls. His cell was retired, and turned into a barbershop. The prison yard was named Eitner Field.

As time marched on the prison system began to make more of an effort to encourage the inmates to better themselves. A hobby shop was created, theater for movies was built, a chapel for warship and meetings, and sporting events in the prison yard. The inmates competed against each other, as well as teams from outside the walls.

Ladies please don't feel left out, a piece of the prison was set aside for female criminals. The building for women inmates was used from 1907 to 1959. After 1959 women were, and are housed at the new prison in Billings MT. After the 1959 riot, the women's building was turned in the "maximum security" section. Remember me talking about cells with no lights, and cells with rails attached to the wall, this is where they were. Inmates were held in those "black cells" for anywhere between one and ten days, with only bread and water. Every third day they were given a hot meal. The only things they had in their cells was mattress, a blanket, and a "honey pot". For those unfamiliar with a "honey pot"... they are how an inmate took care of his bathroom needs (you know #1 and #2).

If you are thinking about going to visit, do it at: www.oldprisonmuseum.org.

After we finished our tour of the prison we took a stroll over to the auto museum... located in another wing of the old prison. There isn't much to say about a collection of 165 cars, so I will just show pictures.

This one is Electric

Custom Corvette

More Modern Electric Made in Florida

It was great seeing all those cars and knowing I don't have to care for any of the cars... imagine the insurance. After those two museums it was time for lunch. Deer Lodge must be considered a big town in Montana, 'cause they have an A&W. Can you guess where we went for lunch? Lunch done we went shopping at a store called Safeway, and headed home.

New day, new adventure. We headed to a local ghost town called Garnet. There are two ways to get up to Garnet, one is a gravel two lane road, the other is a steep one lane rutted road that has water running across it. Can you guess which one we traversed? that's right, the steep rutted road. Like many towns of the old west, it became about because of the rally cry "there's gold in them thar hills". While most boom towns in 1865 were full of bars and brothels, Garnet was much different. Garnet was a proud town because they had a school house, doctor, and a candy store, along with 13 saloons. Many of the miners brought their families, that was the reason for a school, being there were 41 children. In it's hay day the town had 1,000 residents. Around 1900 the veins of gold began to dry up. By 1905 many of the residents abandoned the mines, and the population shrunk to 150. The town became an official ghost town in 1972 when the last resident left, and was neglected for many years. During the time of neglect treasure hunters stripped the town clean of many artifacts such as doors and stained glass, including the beautiful oak banister and spindles in Wells Hotel. Bureau of Land Management and the Garnet Preservation Association secured title to the property. Garnet is regarded as Montana's most intact ghost town. You can learn more about this fantastic ghost town at : garnetghosttown.org.

It is a good hike through the town. There are picnic tables in the town so visitors can enjoy lunch, and several trails to walk. One trail starts at the parking lot, the other on the way down to the ghost town.

After traveling the rough road up to the ghost town, we opted for the easier road down the mountain and to lunch. One problem with being in this area, there isn't food. We were not welcome at two places, one because we weren't a registered guest, the other was out of business. The third place closed their doors to us because we too close to their closing hour. We finally found food at Chicken Coop.

Chicken Coop is your standard small town hole in the wall restaurant. Carol and I both had their chicken dinner special. The chicken portion of the dinner was a half chicken nicely fried. The dinner also came with one side, either a healthy selection, or an unhealthy selection. We surprised ourselves by ordering healthy choices, Carol a salad, coleslaw for me. Lunch all done, we go home.

The rest of the stay was devoted to maintenance, and watching more smoke roll in from the fires.