Capri Motel - Butte

Okay, montana is wonderful and all, but i'm sooo ready to go home and get ready for our trip. as of yesterday, both of us finally hold the ticket for our flights, at least the international part (JFK-IST). i'm stoked to see ny on the way. now to tackle the rest of my to-do list!

This has been an adventure getting from Billings to Butte ! We had the Motorhome checked out completely at the Ford in Billings (which I must say was the nicest guest waiting area I have ever seen for a car dealership - or anywhere for that matter ! You felt like you were walking into a log hunting lodge with the river rock fireplace, comfy couch, wooden rockers and homemade chocolate chip cookies ! The country kitchen was equipped with lemonade or hot drinks and as ...

... off with a great omelet for breakfast. We rode through Coeur d' Idaho and it is amazing. We were soooo mesmerized by the view we stupidly forgot to take pictures. The lake is fantastic and the mountains in the area are amazing. <br><br>Montana has great roads and the people are very friendly. We never even stopped for lunch but had an early dinner in Drummond, Montana and if you ever get to stop there, eat at a little hometown cafe called, Wagon Wheel ...

Today we left the vast openness of Montana and climbed into the mountains, through Idaho and into Washington. We crossed the Columbia Plateau in Washington with its huge wheat fields and semi-arid range land for about 100 miles. Besides wheat we passed fields of alfalfa, corn soy beans, peas, as well as vineyards. After crossing the Columbia River at the Gorge we again climbed into the mountains. The day was very hot until we stopped at Cle Elum in the mountains, where it was very pleasant

... on every hand. <br><br>Our host told us of several places he'd recommend for dinner. Mom and I chose to go to the Pekin Noodle House, which is almost 100 years old and in walking distance. He told us to go up the stairs and to the left to find the place, and that not many people who aren't from Butte go there. It was a very unusual place! The food was all American Chinese unless you ask the very sweet Chinese server for advice. Here it ...

... toward culture, like a fat girl on a teeter totter (apologies to "In Bruges"...).<br><br>So off we went to find Joe's Pasty Shop for a traditional Butte meal, driving by more interesting old houses and buildings, including the M&amp;M Bar (over 100 years old) and the Twin Houses. There is a high rate of vacancy in the old downtown core, but the buildings are kept up remarkably well considering the cost of ...

... a few years ago in 2004 and it still had the two way mirror in place for people to give the code word to get in http://www.buttetours.info/rookwood.htm . It seems unbelievable that these places were boarded up and forgotten about but it happens. <br> <br> I actually could have used another day or two in Butte. To go up to the 90 foot "Our lady of the Rockies" statue, the mining museum and do a bit of shopping. Maybe I'll have to make another trip.

... All in all, and considering what we were paying this time last year, we&#8217;re thrilled. I had budgeted $3.00/gal for the lower 48 and $4.00 for Canada and Alaska.<br><br>We returned to KOA and after a bite of lunch, Wendell started removing what remained of the old insulation from around the front screen door. We had noticed that it had deteriorated and that even with the door closed, you could see space all around the frame&#8230;.and even worse ...

... rest van de dag ging het prima. Bozeman aangedaan wat een gezellig stadje is met leuke terrasje en daarna nog eventjes naar Amsterdam geweest en vervolgens zijn we Belgrado gaan verkennen. 2 hoofdsteden in ongeveer 15 minuten, dat kan alleen in de VS en vorige keer waren we in Metropolis dus we hebben wat 'Super'krachten. In Butte een hotelletje uitgezocht en in de avond na een wijntje gaan slapen. Zometeen gaan we naar de pow wow...eens zien wat dat gaat worden.

... foot chimney, all that's left of the smelting operations. Continuing south to Butte, we are just a mile away from "the world's biggest hole," according to Ed. "This is the only city in the country that is digging itself to death." Ed tells us that the open pit carved into the hillside is the site of the old city and it's absolutely huge. We wonder if we should be drinking only bottled water?! Tomorrow we're off to Helena!