Butte, Montana

Friday 9/2. 37.2 miles from the Merry Widow Health Mine to Butte, Montana. Today was a chilly morning but we were up early and on our bikes by 8 AM. We rode uphill until 1130 am. Yes, half the mileage was Up. The theme of the day seems to be mines. We passed two mines on the ride and Butte has one of the largest open pit mines in the world. It’s more than a mile wide and you can see it from anywhere in town. The photo shows our first view as we saw it riding into town. We arrived early (2 pm?) and are staying at the city KOA campground. We were both very happy they had a cold swimming pool. It’s hot! We had lunch by the stone cabin in the photo and that giant caterpillar was crossing the road on the last climb up to Butte. Fairly uneventful day, my legs are pretty spent. We went out for sushi tonight which was excellent, with lots of fried rice with a bucket of soy sauce. The map photo shows the magenta line that marks the trail we are following. It’s almost 8 PM and we have not set our tents up yet because it’s very hot. We were able to shower and do laundry at the campground which helped to Improve our odor! Here’s hoping we sleep well in the campground next to the freeway!