7/28 to 7/31
We are on Highway 89 which passes through the Lewis and Clark National Forest. We stopped to take pictures of the Sleuse Box Canyon which gets its name from a silver mine down the canyon. A sleuse box was used to get the silver out of the ore. It is a very pretty valley. We later passed through the two small towns where the silver was mined. We could see some of the abandoned mines. They, unlike many mining towns, are surviving and seem to have new residents. It is quite a ways to a city of any size for shopping. We have to wonder what the people living here do and why they would even want to live here. We have seen a couple of ski resorts, one named Showdown Ski Resort. We are staying in White Sulphur Springs for a few days. We will get our mail here. The springs here are located inside a motel!!! We took a side trip on a gravel road which went into the Lewis and Clark National Forest. It was a single lane road most of the way and quite bumpy. Our destination was an old abandoned silver mining town 19 miles away. It was a beautiful and interesting drive. Much of the time the road ran through private property and we were instructed to stay on the road. We did not see any wildlife but lots of wildflowers. It was a fun trip. We had WiFi while at this campground so I was able to almost get caught up on “Our Travels We moved our RV to a spot at a motel for two more days in this little burg. We saw a beautiful Montana Sunset. We went to an old Victorian home that is now open for tours. It was built around the turn of the century by a mine owner. It was quite extravagant in its day. We also took a side trip back to the silver mine area we had passed through on Thursday. We thought there might be some points of interest there but saw very little. We did see the remains of an old mine shaft. Along the way we saw an area where beaver had built several dams and lodges. We have done much reading and resting and ready to hit the road again tomorrow.