Saturday, July 7
On Saturday we set out for Deer Lodge, our final stopping point. Our first tangent led to Quake Lake, home of the infamous 1959 temblor. The boulder pictured slid from the side of one mountain to another. It now marks a memorial to the 26 vacationers who died, either in the slide or the flooding that came after as a new lake was born.
Another memorial, this to vigilante justice at Virginia City's Boot Hill.
I actually prefer nearby Nevada City; its delightful Music Hall is a national treasure. (Click here to experience a taste of its oddities.)
Deer Lodge, Montana. Worth a stop, as long as you stay the night elsewhere. The must-see former Montana State Prison is a treat, not just because it provides access to a rich and colorful history, but it also comes attached to a world-class collection of classic cars. Just $9 gets you both, plus a couple other museums we didn't have time to see.
1959 was a bad year for Montana. The disgracefully decrepit prison was home to a horrific riot (described in a book I really want to track down now; more details here). The bazooka above took a chunk out of one of the red brick towers.
Mmm, dentistry.
One of the hundreds of cozy cells.
Theater on the outside.
Theater of the Absurd on the inside.
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