Phillipsburg, Granite Couty, Montana, August 21, 2014

Phillipsburg

Wikipedia
Accessed August 17, 2022

Philipsburg is a town in and the county seat of Granite County, Montana, United States. The population was 841 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the famous mining engineer Philip Deidesheimer, who designed and supervised the construction of the ore smelter around which the town originally formed. He platted the townsite in 1867.

Since the closure of local mines and sawmills in the 1980s the town’s future was uncertain. The surrounding county is home to more than 24 ghost towns of former mining and timber towns. However, the 1990s saw a wave of newcomers purchasing and restoring the numerous buildings in the town’s historic district. These included several retailers who expanded on the popularity of sapphire hunting in gravel from the nearby Sapphire Mountain range. The Sweet Palace candy store opened in 1998 and became a regional tourist destination. In 2003 the historic Broadway Hotel was reopened by filmmaker Jim Jenner and numerous other lodging operations followed. Jenner’s award-winning 2017 film, “Saving the Burg” captured the story of the town’s rebirth and aired on PBS more than a dozen times.

Our Class C Navion IQ and Honda CRV, Butte, Montana, August 21, 2014 (Walmart parking lot)

When we are traveling from one place to the next, we like to stop periodically just to get out, stretch, and loosen up our aching bones. Ideally, a nice rest area or city park would be a nice place for it.  Unfortunately, more often than not, the more readily available stopping place would be a big box store like Walmart, Lowes, or Home Depot, where we use the restroom and take 2 or 3 laps around the outer aisles inside the store.

Sometimes, as in this stop in Butte, we’ll also take the time to eat lunch before heading on down the road.

Bison crossing Yellowstone River at Nez Perce Ford, Yellowstone National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Wyoming, August 7, 2010 (Pentax K10D)

Nez Perce in Yellowstone¹

During the 1877 Nez Perce War, several bands of the Nez Perce tribe refused to give up their Pacific Northwest ancestral lands and be moved to a reservation in Idaho. After the first armed engagement in June, 1877, they undertook an arduous 1,170 mile trek to find sanctuary with other tribes.  Pursued by elements of the U.S. Army, they fought a series of battles and skirmishes along their June to October journey. Passing through Yellowstone National Park, between August 23 and September 6, the Nez Perce had several hostile and deadly encounters with park visitors, killing at least two and wounding several.  To prevent news of their location from reaching the army, after leaving the park across the Absaroka Mountains, the Nez Perce hunted down and killed white prospectors and hunters.

Nez Perce Ford is the location of Chief Joseph’s crossing of the Yellowstone River on August 25, 1877. First named by superintendent Philetus Norris in 1880, the ford has also been known as Chief Joseph’s Crossing and Buffalo Ford (1946).

Reference:

1. Wikipedia (accessed June 2, 2018)

Compact Class C Motorhome RV, Cruise America Rental, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, August 7, 2010

Traveling out west during the tourist season, it seems like just about everywhere you go, you see rental recreational vehicles, mostly motorhomes, and most of them from Cruise America although the company also rents motorhomes in Canada.

RV TRIPS WITH ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

Cruise America
Accessed August 11, 2022

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