Bannack State Park now a historical ghost town was originally founded in 1862 when John White discovered gold on Grasshopper and many prospectors and businessmen rushed to Bannack to “strike it rich!” From the late 1860's to the 1930's, Bannack continued as a mining town with a fluctuating population, but, by the 1950's, gold workings had dwindled and most folks had moved on. At that point the State of Montana declared Bannack a State Park. Over sixty structures remain standing, most of which can be explored, and, during the season, you will be welcomed by reenactors fully in character.

After a week of adventures with friends in Kalispell, I headed out to drive to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. And, being a photographer, of course I made a few stops along the way. Here are a couple of photos. Many, many more landscapes were photographed!

The Flathead National Forest named after the Flathead Native Americans is a short drive from Kalispell. We accessed it through the Hungry Horse Dam entrance. The Forest is immense and much of it is designated wilderness with roads on which to drive and trails for hiking. A delight for naturalists and photographers the trails offer a variety of birds and butterflies; shaded groves filled with flowers, and quiet pools and streams. Although big-game species can be found in the area, we did not encounter any, but, did see evidence of bear.

Referred to as the Crown of the Continent, Glacier National Park encompasses more than one million acres of glacial-carved mountain peaks and valleys, cascading waterfalls and the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road, which runs through the heart of the park and crests the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. I explored the park with three photographer friends the last weekend of the season before the Going-to-the-Sun-Road was closed. Needless to say, the Park offers the photographer incredible landscapes; cloud filled blue skies and waterfalls; glacial lakes surrounded by mountains, and a variety of wildlife.

Located in Flathead National Forest, the Hungry Horse Dam at 564 feet is one of the largest concrete arch dams in the United States. Its reservoir and the four generators in its power plant provide flood control and electricity to the surrounding area. We stopped at the information station and we were welcomed by a very knowledgeable volunteer and extremely well done historical display of the dam’s construction - including how the dam got its name!

Before visiting the World Museum of Mining, I drove to the an overlook on which the commemorative Granite Mountain Memorial pays tribute both to the 168 men lost in a fire defined as the greatest disaster in hard rock mining and the 2,500 men lost to mining related causes between 1879 and 1983. Having done so gave incredible meaning as I drove through The World Museum of Mining welcome arch. Founded in 1963, the Museum honors Butte’s century of hard rock mining and its earned the reputation of being home to one of the world’s most productive copper mines of all times. The museum is located on the actual yard of the “Orphan Girl Mine” yard - the “Girl” being a 100-foot high steel headframe. I toured the massive steel headframe and ventured 100-feet into the Orphan Girl Mine - an experience that makes the life of a miner a reality.

Nevada City was a frontier-mining, ghost town until restored as an outdoor, living historical museum with one of the largest collections of “Old West” artifacts outside of the Smithsonian. It boasts of 100 log buildings dating between 1863 and early 1900s, some of which were original city buildings and others acquired from around the state. To me the highlight of the day was when I entered the site through the Music Hall. It contained an outstanding collection of old-time organs, player pianos, calliopes and music boxes, along with several, very unique music machines.

Polebridge is an unincorporated, community less than a mile from the northwest entrance of Glacier National Park, centered by the Polebridge Mercantile that has been serving the community for over 100 years. The “Merc” serves as a general store, bakery, base camp and vacation getaway. We spent a delightful couple of hours there chatting with the residents and wandering around the store. I have to attest to the bake goods and the best home made granola I have ever tasted! We stocked up!

The highly acclaimed Triple “D” Ranch is a family operated business headed by Jay Deist. Jay learned about animal behavior and how to care for and train wild animals at the knee of his father, Lorney Deist, who was a Game Warden for the State of Montana. In 1975 a movie company contacted the Triple “D” to provide animal models for a movie on wolverine. This led to more than 25 years of serving professional and amateur photographers and movie companies wishing to photograph some of the most endangered species in the wild kingdom. The Triple “D” prides itself on the care and health of our animals, as well as preserving endangered species, so that they may enjoyed by future generations.

It was raining when I visited Virginia City, a city that was once a colorful pioneer mining camp and dramatic tales of the early days in this vicinity are legion. Now, it is a remarkably well preserved as an old west Victorian gold mining town. Historically, when the gold ran out, there was still enough left so that homes and businesses were occupied, but there was not enough wealth to remodel the buildings. So it froze, and now represents the whole Victorian era.