Ghost Town

Today’s highlight was our visit to the town of Bannack, MT. Contrary to what you might believe, a ghost town is not the best place to stock up on groceries. That disppointment aside, we had a fun time exploring the frozen-in-time remnants of Montana’s first territorial capital.  In 1862, gold was discovered here for the first time in Montana, prompting 3,000 people to move here and then quickly leave once gold was discovered the following year in Virginia City. The town hung on for the next century with a dwindling population until the last residents finally died or left in the 1970s.  While in Bannack we also met our first Great Divide thru-rider companions, Deborah and Ralph of Yakima, WA.

We began to see packs of pronghorns today, which should be a frequent occurence as we travel into Wyoming. These animals are incredibly fast, reaching speeds of up to 70 mph.  Although they are commonly referred to as antelope, pronghorn are not related to African antelope nor are there any other surviving species in their family.  

After a failed attempt at lunch in Grant, MT we pressed on toward the Medicine Lodge – Big Sheep Creek Divide.  Aided by a strong tailwind we spun our way up the divide, past Ralph and Deborah (R&D) and over the pass to our resting place several hundred feet below the divide.

On Track

We’ve received a lot of questions from friends and family regarding our progress and whether we’ll finish on schedule.  To calm any fears, we’re still on pace to finish mid-October and currently one day ahead of schedule.