Photo link for August 10th
Today was an exciting day of extremes. I went to the top of a mountain, crossed the Contintental Divide twelve times, and took a tour of caverns.
Drive to Butte, MT
From Helena, I drove to Butte, MT. There was some beautiful scenery along I-15. At this point, the mountains started to resemble Vermont. There was a thick blanket of evergreen trees along the mountains. There were many scenic points where people could just pull over, though they were intended for trucks to chain up their loads. Many people seemed to park there and hike through the forest. In one case, some people pulled their car off the road and seemed to be searching for gold. They were running rocks through the water in a stream.
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Montana has a lot of cities whose names start with "B." At several points along the way, there were signs announcing the mileage to Basin, Boulder, and Butte. Other "B" cities include Billings, Bozeman, Belgrade, etc.
Our Lady of the Rockies Statue
My plan for Butte, MT was to see the statue of Our Lady of the Rockies. This is a 90 foot statue at the top of the East Ridge Mountain. The statue can be seen in the distance from a shopping mall but in order to actually go to the top of the mountain, a ticket must be purchased. The roads are owned by private landowners and permission is required to drive on them.
The foundation that owns the land and statue has an office in the Butte shopping mall. Tickets and souvenirs can be purchased there. A shuttle runs twice a day (morning and afternoon) taking pilgrims to the top of the mountain. This is a 45 minute trip each way. Eventually, a tram will be built which will allow a ten minute ride. The statue is only eight miles from the mall but the roads up the mountain make it a long trip.
Riding in a school bus
The shuttle is an old school bus. I haven't been in one of those since my final exam day in high school.
The ride to the top of the mountain
During the trip, we had great views of the mountains. I took a number of photos. The driver gave a lot of details about the area, the statue, the process of building the statue, etc. We crossed the Continental Divide six times going up and would cross the other six times going back down. The roads are very narrow dirt roads. If a driver is not paying attention....it's a long way down. If a tree or rock doesn't break the fall, then you can land on I-15 after tumbling quite a few times.
The trip to the top of the mountain is generally only available from June through September. They had a late start this year because it snowed until mid-June. They cannot risk going up there in the snow.
Although there are no tresspassing signs everywhere by the landowners who own the land containing the roadways, some people do park at the bottom (before the signs) and attempt to hike up eight miles.
Background on the statue project
The statue project was envisioned by a man whose wife survived cancer. He prayed and said that if she survived, he would put a statue of the Blessed Mother on the top of a mountain. People expected it would be a nine foot statue. He decided he wanted a ninety foot statue instead. People thought he was crazy. But, a nine foot statue could not be seen unless people were on the mountain.
The Pine Beetle
The driver explained that the pine trees were being destroyed by pine beetles. Many of the trees are dead and it's a forest fire waiting to happen. The only way to kill the pine beetle is to have several days in a row of extremely cold (way below zero) temperatures. They haven't had that situation yet.
Dupont had to create a special type of paint for the statue. I believe it requires 250 gallons of paint which costs around $100 to $150 per gallon.
Inside the statue
When we finally arrived at the top of the mountain, we were able to go inside the statue. There are prayer plaques and prayer petitions throughout the inside.
Viewing the statue from up close
When viewing the statue from up close in the sun, it's hard to see the distinguishing features of the face. There are photos taken of the statue likely from a helicopter which are better than what can be done right in front of the statue.
The views of the surrounding area are beautiful. There is a free telescope as well.
Chapel
Near the statue is a non-denominational chapel. There are plaques on the walls from donors.
After getting back to the mall, I visited a store selling gifts made out of copper. It was nice to see some products still made in the United States.
The next destination
My next destination was the Lewis and Clark Caverns near Whitehall, MT. I like seeing caves, and considering the amount of exploring I do, something named after Louis and Clark was definitely appropriate. However, they never actually went to the caverns. They passed through the area and thus their name was applied to the caverns.
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Avoiding a near heart attack
The numerous stop off points along I-90 are helpful. They're great when you have a near heart attack thinking you lost your cell phone. I was halfway to the exit for the Lewis and Clark when I realized my cell phone was not with me. I expected I would need to get off at the next exit and head back to Butte. I figured I'd be in for a long time of looking in the copper store and the mall to see if I dropped it and was equally lucky enough that someone didn't pick it up. Finally, I found it had fallen behind the driver's seat. Obviously, that gave me quite a bit of relief.
Beautiful scenery
The road getting to the park had beautiful mountains. There are numerous stopping points. I took lots of photos. There is also a river that runs parallel to the road. People often go there to swim or row.
The park has some gorgeous mountain views. Guided tours of the caverns are available. Only water is permitted to be brought in. No other food or drinks are allowed in order to avoid contaminating the caves. They asked people not to use flashes in the first four rooms because of the bats.
The Cave Tour
It's a half mile walk to the cavern entrance. It was very hot that day so the walk was difficult for a lot of people. Once we got to the cave entrance, the cooler temperature was refreshing.
In going through the cave, I had to learn to adjust the camera settings. The tour went very fast so I didn't have a lot of time to properly compose pictures. With the right settings, beautiful photos can be produced. Also, it was difficult to focus within the cave because of the dark.
The Cave Slide
I didn't pay a lot of attention to the guide. I was busy taking pictures. I typically was one of the last people to move to the next place and the guide would frequently have to check if anyone else was still lagging behind. I missed his comment about a slide area. When I came up to it, I found it was literally a slide. It was the only way to get to the next part. It was VERY narrow and the exit of the slide was also quite narrow. I wasn't sure if it was wet and I wasn't looking forward to my clothes becoming filthy. Thankfully, it was dry. Elderly people got through the slide and narrow passages ahead of me, so it definitely was doable for me.
Almost tripped
In another room, I was taking pictures and stepped on a very smooth area. I almost tripped up and hit the ground (and I'd have probably destroyed the camera in the process). A couple of people grabbed me to prevent me from falling.
Lighting the cave before electricity
In the past, obviously, the cave did not have electricity. The cave had to be explored in the 1930s with lanterns. For people to try to get through some of these narrow passages with lanterns is frightening. The guide also told the story of a worker decades ago who wanted to take pieces of the stalagmites and stalactites to sell. His lantern went out and he had to spend the entire weekend deep in the cave (beyond the slide). Of course, once he got caught, he was never allowed to work in the cave again.
On the half mile hike back to the parking lot, I talked with a woman from Vancouver, British Columbia, who was visiting family here. We had a nice chat. She explained that once the summer was over, Montana is completely deserted. I thought MT already had too few people during my time here...
Destination for the night
The next destination was Missoula, MT. This was about two hours from Whitehall. The scenery, even in the dark, was beautiful. The moon provided beautiful silhouettes of the mountains.
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Statue lighted at night
The statue of Our Lady of the Rockies is lighted up at night and visible from I-15 and I-90. I had to pass through Butte on the way to Missoula. I could see the statue for miles in my rearview mirror.
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