Anaconda, MT - July 11-17, 2006

This time we’ve landed in an RV park between Butte and Anaconda, MT – both towns with a long history with mining. Butte was once a wealthy mining center; the scaffolds of old head frames still tower above the town and the hills beneath are honeycombed with over 10,000 miles of tunnels. Anaconda is a small, neat community dominated by an old smelter stack and miles of coal black slag piles. In either town you’ll have to look hard to find anything built after World War II.

The big money was in Butte. We toured the mansion built by William Clark, one of the so-called “Copper Kings.” Down the street is the replica of a French chateau he built later as a wedding gift for his son. There are lots of other stately old homes as well. The historic downtown section stretches for blocks. The office buildings are well preserved – it looks like a movie set – but they’re primarily occupied by coffee shops, print shops, and other small businesses, not major employers.

Anaconda is a working class town that has also seen better days but is trying to capitalize on its former glory. They have a first class Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course (The Old Works) that uses the fine black tailings from the old slag piles in the traps instead of the usual sand. The course is built on the site of an old smelter operation, hence the name. It’s a beautifully maintained course with lots of character that’s a real challenge to play. We had dinner at a steak house that looked like someplace I might have gone with my folks back in the 50’s – shrimp cocktail appetizers, dim lighting, and black leather banquettes. Like most restaurants in this part of the country, your best bet is to order the steak – anything else is a risky choice – trust me!

On Sunday, we visited the local craft fair in Anaconda. One of the fund raising events was a duck race. I got a photo of all of the kids who were "helping" to capture and tally the winning ducks.

One of our day trips took us to Deer Lodge, site of the old Montana prison. This place will remind you of the prison featured in “The Shawshank Redemption” – only not as luxurious. Some cells had no plumbing – just two buckets – one for water and one for waste. It almost makes Alcatraz look like a resort. We spent well over an hour in the vintage car museum located adjacent to the prison featuring some vehicles from the earliest days of motoring through the fifties. I liked the “motor home” from the 1930’s where the kitchen was located in the same space as the bathroom?!?

Also in Deer Lodge is a perfectly preserved cattle ranch, basically untouched from the early 20’s. It was a treat to see the old bunkhouse, the vintage wagons and farm equipment, and the elegant farmhouse where several generations of this well-to-do family lived. We also got to meet several draft horses and some longhorn cattle whose horns spanned at least four feet!

Our other excursion was to Phillipsburg, another western town that saw its heyday during the mining boom. Again, many of the buildings here are restored or perfectly preserved. (The picture at the beginning of this post is in Phillipsburg.)
Our favorite stop was a candy factory where they make dozens of flavors of old-fashioned taffy as well as a mind-boggling assortment of chocolates and fudge. You would have been truly amazed at our restraint given the level of temptation.

Another authentic feature of these old towns is the number and variety of bars, saloons, and taverns. Some of them have a certain charm, others are still as sleazy as they probably were “back in the day.”
Note the smaller sign on the bar in Phillipsburg!

Next we will make our way to Glacier National Park, making a stop in Missoula along the way. Stay tuned. .