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Page 5
Carone
(our daughter) received a music scholarship to the University of
Michigan
at Ann Arbor. As she had her own car, we decided to accompany her
on the long drive from the West Coast. We left California on a
Saturday,
and needed to have her there by Monday afternoon for check-in.
Needless
to say, we covered a lot of miles each day. Afterwards, Dave and
took some vacation time and decided to travel back to California via a
northern route, stopping as we saw fit. We drove over 6500 miles
in just under two weeks. Presented here are photos from the
trip--any
image can be seen in more detail simply by clicking on it. |
There's a trail around the base of the tower. Rock
debris which has tumbled off the tower rings the monument.
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Some
climbers were visible just starting up the tower. They gave an
idea of just how large the tower is. Since it is almost vertical,
it must be a scary climb!
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This beautiful thistle was visible on the trail.
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Our
next stop was at Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument in
Montana, after lunch at what may have been the dirtiest restaurant I
have ever seen (in Gillette, WY). The tombstones mark where each
soldier fell. Weather had cleared greatly from earlier in the day.
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Prominently
seen within the fenced area is the site where General Custer fell
("Custer's Last Stand"). People in the fenced area were last to
go.
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The
large obelisk actually marks the mass grave of all but the officers of
the massacre. Their bodies were removed to various military
cemeteries not long after the battle.
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A long view of the battlefield shows that it is still a
lonesome location today. Note the scattered markers indicating
where soldiers at the extremities fell.
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We
drove on to Butte and spent the night. Butte surprised us with
its beautiful, historic buildings. It might be the last decent
example of an original western city. We spent part of the next
morning exploring the town.
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Butte is famous for the copper mines that surround and even
invade the city. Pictured here are some mineworks that are
surrounded by buildings and houses.
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As
we headed out of the city, we saw signs for the old Montana State
Prison museum and decided to stop. The prison closed in
1979. The gates and walls are formidable.
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Here
is the main prison building, which was built by inmates out of
hand-made brick at the turn of the 20th Century.
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Inside
the cellblock were three floors of cells. One could imagine what
is was like when the prison was in use.
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At
one end of the prison yard is an auditorium where movies and other
entertainment were shown, until an inmate torched the place. The
shell remains, and inside that is the original gallows built for
executing condemned inmates. It was last used in the 1920s.
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We
had noticed a huge smokestack miles away and decided to
investigate what it was. It is the only remaining structure from
the huge Anaconda Copper Mine--this was the stack for the
smelter. Over 500 feet high, it is the largest free-standing
brick structure ever built.
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We
also saw a massive pile of what at first appeared to be coal, as it was
so
black. It is actually slag from the smelter. It's so large
we called it Slag Mountain. Apparently parts of the mine are now
some of the largest Superfund sites in the country.
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We
drove to Dillon and stopped for lunch. While walking around the
town, we spied this hotel, which we later learned was built in 1897 for
railroad travelers.
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We
spent the night in Idaho Falls, and the next morning drove to the Idaho National Laboratory, the nation's
nuclear energy testing site. The country is very open--you can
see for miles. This is a picture of a mountain called Middle
Butte on the way in.
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We
stopped at EBR-1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor 1), the very first
nuclear plant for producing electrical power. Next to EBR-1 are
two nuclear jet engine prototypes. The idea was to create
nuclear-powered airplanes with virtually unlimited endurance, but the
project was abandoned as ICBMs came into being.
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EBR-1
is in this small, unassuming building. The reactor was
commissioned in 1949 and shutdown in 1964.
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The
plant is open to visitors. This view shows the small turbine
generator which produced the first ever electricity from nuclear
power. The bright light is from four light bulbs representing the
bulbs used in the original test of December 20, 1951.
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