Still exploring Montana took us down the road to Butte. We found out that it is considered the richest hill in the world. Butte is historically known as the mining capital of the world. The main hill in Butte is rich in copper. About 1/3 of the world's copper comes from Butte. It provided 70% of the metals for the munitions during WWII. This town is steeped in mining history.
Guess what we did while there? Of course we took an underground mine tour! :D I had to admit I was a bit anxious about the tour but I gave it a try and so glad I did. It wasn't claustrophobic or dark at all. I would whole heartedly recommend it. You do learn a lot and you are humbled and so thankful for miners when you are done with the tour. We also went to the Berkley Pit. It's a Super Fund site. Yikes! But, you can pay $3 to go out to the viewing platform to see this gigantic pit that used to be a mine but is now full of water. It doesn't sound that interesting but between the reading plaques and just being there, it's well worth a visit. After that we drove out to Anaconda which is home to the largest brick structure in North America. It is a 585 foot smelter stack and another Super Fund site. (Gary only takes me to the nicest places) They have a cool monument dedicated to all the people involved with the smelter and the whole mining industry.
I was excited to learn that Big Sky was fairly close to Butte so we drove 2 hours up the road to visit. I am so glad we did! The views of the mountains and the ski hill itself were breath taking. What's amazing is the ski hill is set up with a lot of fun activities during the summer time. The main activity is set up for mountain biking though. They have most of their chairs operating, they have automated gates for loading and they even have reports of trail conditions for the bikers to consult before heading up. Quite a thing to see. After having a light lunch at the bottom of the ski hill while taking in the views, we went back into town to explore, Upon leaving the town we have decided a trip back to Big Sky is in our future. After all, it is a mountain and mountains are what we love the best! :)
More adventures down the road!
Looks like an interesting tour.Hard hats with lights looks familiar, since I wore those for 5 summers in the nickel mines of Sudbury.That’s how I payed for my university education. Mining was a great education program for me…I learned that I needed to stay in school and get an education.
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