Day 2 - 6/22

The next morning we set off for Bannack State Park in Montanta. On the way we passed by Silverwood Theme Park. I just went there on a band trip, so seeing it brought back great memories of riding on Aftershock and other rides. There's a very good reason why Montana is called Big Sky Country. The forested Rocky Mountains go on forever. The hills here seem like they are mounds of dirt covered with a grass blankets. The clouds also look like they were brushed across the sky with a paintbrush. When we stopped at a rest area to eat lunch, a large truck drove in. It was carrying a windmill blade. It was much larger that what I expected it to be.

After getting back on the road, about twelve Porches past us. At first we thought it might be one or two in the group. But it was fun to see for the next ten minutes porche after porche passing us. They were from Washington too. After about another four hours of travel we arrived at Bannack State Park. Bannack, Montana was an old mining town and is now a ghost town where people can pan for gold and take a tour of the mill where gold was extracted. For sleeping, we got to sleep in a Tipi. It was about 18 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Julia had a fun time in the tipi, rolling the duct tape down a mattress pad. Blake, Lydia, Rachel, Emily and I went hiking up a nearby mountain. The view was amazing. One could see the entire campground and rolling mountains for miles. There was also lots of catcus' (and lots of foot injuries). Of course, sage brush was everywhere. But in a place like Montana, what else could grow there? Unlike the camp ground we stayed at in Farragut, Idaho, Bannack has lots of mosquitos and bugs. It was much hotter than Seattle too. I guess our white skin will turn darker...or redder.