The Last Big Weekend in Montana (and Idaho)

It was just six weeks ago when I spent my weekend off in Virginia City.  I had booked a room at Just An Experience B&B.  When I left that morning after breakfast I told proprietors Carma & John, that it wasn't "good bye" but rather, "see you later."  Later came soon, as I thought their location was perfect for the start of a long weekend after work on Saturday.

Their home was built in 1864 during the local gold rush, and they've done a beautiful job adding space in the main lodge for guests with two bedrooms on the main floor.  Additionally, they have a couple of cabins available for those who want a different experience or perhaps more space.

I consider myself very lucky to have met and become friends with them.  They are a wealth of local information and history, as well as suggestions for wonderful stops on roads less traveled.  It was great to have their input on my trip since I only really "knew" I wanted to visit the Big Hole National Battlefield and perhaps make my way up to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  The wonderful weekend that I had, as largely thanks to them.

Bannack State Park (Montana)
My first side trip was to visit yet another ghost town from Montana's gold mining era.  (See my blog post from 8/19/22 to read more about Virginia City and Nevada City.)  While not particularly well preserved, the town has a lot to offer in terms of a look back into 19th and early 20th century life in Montana.  Many of the buildings are open to visitors, left largely as they were when the town was abandoned in the 1970's.  The state has purchased many of the buildings including businesses and home, so as to provide an opportunity for visitors to experience what it might have been like some hundred years ago.

A couple of personal observations . . . first was that while many of the walls, ceilings and floors were in serious deterioration, it was very interesting to see the ornate wallpaper and floor coverings especially in the homes.  In the businesses and other public buildings, you could feel and breathe the history . . . imagining being in church, going to school or have a beer at the saloon.

Some of the tourists I cross paths with were disappointed in the sad state of some of these historical relics from America's past.  For me, while I thought it might be nice to see some philanthropic money come in to renovate the Town of Bannack, I was mostly happy to not have to experience it like say Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia where it was Rockefeller money that initially restored that sleepy little town and created what is largely a big tourism machine today.

Bannack is totally walkable in about 90 minutes.  I took my time, and enjoyed nearly two hours there on an early Sunday morning.

Note there is a nominal admission fee.  As a non-resident, it was $8 which is assessed by "vehicle" whether one, four or however many people in your car.  For Montana residents, they do something pretty cool with their vehicle registration. Montana residents who pay the $9 state parks fee with their annual vehicle registration have no daily entrance fees to state parks.  SWEET!

Big Hole National Battlefield (a U.S. NPS site - Montana)

This was initially recommended to me by one of my Timeshare Users Group friends.  I'm so glad she has been following along my summer's journey and reached out to me about this remote National Park Service location.

I have to say, the more I learn about the way America's Native Americans have been treated by our government and military, the more I dislike how our country was expanded and settled.  Starting with in the east and the Trail of Tears, to how those of the great plains and west were bargained with, lied to and betrayed . . . it's embarrassing to know just how unjust we were in our dealings.

The story of the Nez Perce is especially gut wrenching as they were continually pushed from their homelands and forced to try to make due with what "the white man" provided (which wasn't much).  The loss of lives in the ambush of the peaceful tribe while most were still asleep was nothing short of barbaric.  Again, these were peaceful people.  Eventually they moved east and north, first to what is now Yellowstone, and later northward to the Canadian border.  More information about their Flight of 1877 may be found here.

Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park (Cataldo, Idaho)
Another suggestion from Carma at the B&B in Virginia City . . . also a wonderful history lesson from the 1800's.  The oldest standing building in Idaho is the Mission of the Sacred Heart, built in the 1850's 

The story of how the Nez Perce & Flathead tribes sought out and worked with the Jesuits to bring Christianity to their settlement in Idaho, is told in a short (about 25 minutes) video shown in the visitor center.

Tribal leaders believed there to be special powers through "the black robes" (priests) and the teachings of the bible, so they went to St. Louis where they met with missionaries who agreed to come and help build the mission.  They worked side by side, learning the native language and contributing to a thriving community.

Today the parish house and mission buildings are open to the public.   Here are few photos that I took during my visit.

Like other state parks, there is an admission fee.  It was $7, which was also for all passengers arriving in the same car.  There was an additional fee for the tribal museum.  With limited time, I took a pass on the museum.