Howdy Mr. Dillon...

Got up this morning, said good-bye to Bill & Margaret, and headed into town to do some errands. With our chores done it was time to drive up State Rte 287 to two famous ghost towns Nevada City and Virginia City.

In the spring of 1863 Nevada City was a main center of commerce during the Placer Gold Rush. By 1864 nearly 10,000 people flooded the surrounding hillsides. Today Nevada City consists of buildings from the 1800’s that have been found in places all over Montana by the Bovy family to save their history. We walked through buildings like the Music Hall, Nevada City Hotel, George Ives Jail, Elkhorn Barber Shop, and Gallows Barn (circa 1895) site of a triple legal hanging by the State of Montana. The town and history was interesting.

The more well known Virginia City (Matt Dillon & company) was just up the road, so we saddled up the HHR and headed into town. This was just like being in a TV western. Stagecoaches rumbling through town and cowboys tying their horses up at the hitching post. This lively community of 150 is the site of one of the best preserved Western territorial townsites in the nation. We wandered up the boardwalk that desperate Vigilantes once patrolled. We had a great lunch sitting in a sidewalk patio watching people and listening to a cowboy sing western songs. He was very good. Finishing our stroll around town we drove back to camp. The road goes through the Madison Mountains and the views across the valleys and ranches are tremendous. Imagine waking up to this every morning.

Back to the Long Branch for dinner. Wow it’s Taco Tuesday so of course we had tacos! We beat last nights bill… $11.80 for 4 tacos d 2 beers. It was great.

Sounds awful but the altitude is affecting us and we are really tired after our travels. It’s really hot (high 90’s) so we used the AC, and tried to get some shut eye.