Tuesday, October 4, 2011

1200 miles in three days

I love weird town names.

I took pictures of horses. Yes I did.

This is Berkeley Pit, in Butte, MT. It is a Superfund site, meaning a site so toxic and dangerous, the Federal Government has it on a list as requiring extra money to clean up. Apparently, this 1800 foot deep pit was mined for copper from the 1950s-1970s. They had a pump that kept the water out, but after they stopped mining, they didn't want to pay to run the pump any more so "let the water fill in the mine to preserve it for future mining." Meanwhile, the water continues to rise and will soon be at the level of the water table (2020), at which time, everyone in town will be poisoned. The educational recording at the site assured us that those facts I read on the Federal Superfund website are false, and it is perfectly safe.

Here is a pretty waterfall. This trip was filled with my attempt to photograph cliché things I
would never normally photograph. There is a knack to it I just don't have, but I gave it a try.

Close up of the water.

From the American Museum... essentially, two certifiable hoarders collected everything from mousetraps to military aircraft and crammed it onto an acre lot. For five dollars, you can look at their massive collection, which includes such strange and interesting curatorial decisions as, mousetraps in comparison to excessive taxation and what makes the country great. Or something. For $5, an amazing freak show of interesting antiques.

When traveling, you will see many beautiful things. Often, there will also be signs letting you know there is a "scenic" thing in the next pull-out. We found the scenic pullout usually was an obstructed view of the pretty thing. But We took the pictures anyway. This is Flathead Lake, made from two photos.

We pulled into Libby, MT right at sunset. There was no time to scout a location, then this giant eagle appeared.
Seemed like fate! Also, if you click on the enlarged view, you can see a Cadillac on a Stick in the background.

We stayed in Thompson Falls on Saturday night. Thompson Falls was named
for the waterfall, Thompson Falls, which they damned over 100 years ago.

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