Sunday, July 27, 2008
We have spent a relaxing few days on the south border of Glacier National Park. Tim has been with us but we put him on a train to Chicago this morning. After a little more than 2000 miles in a dusty minivan it was nice to settle into one spot. Tomorrow we drive into Canada to pick up my youngest brother Cooper and then onto Golden, British Columbia, on the other side of Banff National Park.
I wanted to get a few pictures out before we took to the road again. There is no promise of an Internet connection at our next stop. I apologize for the brevity of this email, but I promise, I am working on a good one to send out soon.
The accompanying pictures, taken on Friday, are of a deserted village called Castle Town, notable for once hosting a restaurant run by Calamity Jane. The town was depopulated after the Silver Bust of 1873 (whatever that was) and now stands as a quiet and empty reminder of this area’s past. Castle Town is up 7 miles of unimproved road (read very bumpy and pothole filled), but is picturesque in the broken down way that so many of these abandoned remnants seem to be. We were alone on the mountainside, nothing but heather and wild flowers. A mule deer startled out of one of the leaned over houses and we all agreed that the substantial detour had been well worth the time. We had lunch in a nearly abandoned town called Martinsville. The Jawbone Railroad once served it and their old station hunches in a scrub-choked field, without rail lines or rolling stock. Its configuration and hanging sign are the only hints of Martinsville’s former agricultural bustle. There is also a picture of an enormous, espresso serving teepee and a photo of a moose.
I hope you are all well. We are enjoying ourselves and will all sleep well after a long drive along the Going to the Sun Road and hike to Virginia Falls in the park today. I can report that it lives up to its name, there are, in fact, glaciers here and espresso and tired flat-landers. Until next time.
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