Now we are at Finley Point, on the South end of Flathead Lake, near Polson, Montana. We are taking a little downtime from our hectic pace of over 6,500 miles in only 6 weeks. We are staying in a very nice tree-top apartment over a ceramic studio with some very nice people named Mimi and Vic who have two Shih Tzu puppies that I can play with.
Max and Sofia are my new friends and they have a great big fenced-in yard we can all play in.
On Friday, July 19th we drove 30 miles up a very remote, steep and bumpy dirt road to a ghost town called Garnet, Montana. Garnet was a boomtown that was established in 1862 when gold was discovered at Bear Creek on the mountain, which brought an onslaught of prospectors. Placer mining was the preferred method in those days since it only required a gold pan or a sluice box, items that could easily be hauled into a remote area such as this. At one time during its heyday, the town it had over 1,000 residents. There were four stores, four hotels, three livery stables, two barbershops, a butcher shop, a candy shop, a doctor's office, an assay office, numerous miner's cabins, and 13 saloons (of course).
It is estimated that $950,000 in gold was extracted from some 20 mines. A devastating fire broke out in 1912 destroying most of the business district and many homes, The gold petered out soon after and many people drifted away with the ill wind. Today there is very little left except the ghostly remnants of a once-thriving community. The last full-time resident finally left in 1992.
This is the last remaining bar in the last remaining saloon in the town.
On Saturday, July 20th, we stopped at St. Ignatius Church, in St. Ignatius, Montana on the Flathead Indian Reservation. It is the oldest town in South-Central Montana, founded by Jesuit missionaries in 1854. These murals were painted by a brother who was the cook for the brotherhood. Unfortunately, most of them could not be photographed because they are in the process of being restored. Note the scaffolding on the right side of the bottom picture, which is the backside of the church. The entire front of the church was blocked by scaffolding, so we didn't get any pictures of that part.
On Sunday, July 21st, we drove back to the National Bison Range near Moiese, Montana, a network of land set aside for wildlife and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We liked it so much the first time we visited, that we decided to return. There we saw many Bison some with calves, a trio of Mule Deer, and a pronghorn Antelope.
On Monday, July 22nd, Dad had to drive 60 miles to Missoula, Montana to get 30,000 miles maintenance done on our Subaru Forester. While he waited for the service department to perform the maintenance he had their suttle service take him to old Fort Missoula so he could explore that. Fort Missoula was established in 1877 by President Grant for the protection of miners and other settlers after gold was discovered nearby, from conflict with the western Montana Indian tribes. The fort never had walls; like most other forts in the West, it required troops stationed there to actively patrol the area to which they were assigned.
The fort had barely begun construction when the garrison was ordered to round-up a group of Nez-Perce Indians led by the now famous, Chief Joseph. The troops set up log barricades in the Lolo Canyon area to stop, disarm and arrest the band but were thwarted by the Indians simply going around the canyon. Later an armed conflict erupted between the two groups at the Battle of Big Hole, ending in the eventual surrender of the Nez-Perce, where Chief George famously said “I will fight no more...Forever”.
Later on, in 1888, a regiment of black soldiers with white officers occupied the fort. The 25th Infantry Corps tested the use of bicycles for military operations, with the conclusion that bicycles offered limited potential, and that horses were still more practical in warfare. During this time a sawmill was started at the fort and a rail line established to haul ties and lumber to other places. Later when war broke out with Spain (Spanish-American War) the 25th was one of the first units to fight in that conflict, distinguishing themselves in battles fought in Cuba and the Philippines.
During World War I the fort was used as a training center, later it was used by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a training center for CCC workers in the 1930s.
In 1941 the fort was converted yet again, using chain-link fences and guard towers, into an internment camp for detainees from Italy, holding 1,200 Italian non-military men. After Pearl Harbor and the US declared war on Japan, it also held 1,000 Japanese detainees, until the end of the war in 1945.
In 1947, the fort was officially decommissioned, some buildings were demolished, some re-purposed for other government agencies to use, and in the former depot building the historical Museum was established. The US Army Reserve and the Montana National Guard still use some of the facilities today for training.
When Dad got back home we took a drive about 20mins from our apartment on Findley Point, Montana to The Kerr Dam in a nearby town, to see the reservoir.
Tomorrow we are heading West toward Idaho, stopping overnight in Thompson Falls, Montana😉.
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