The weather in Montana is dynamic. Growing up on the shores of Lake Erie, I’m used to rapid swings in weather, but Montana operates at a different level. Today was supposed to be nice, but this morning the forecast predicted thunderstorms this afternoon with Sunday beautiful and Monday dreadful. No thunderstorms so far, although it has been raining off and on and windy enough to rock the trailer while making noise.
A short hike of no consequence, 3 miles maybe, I timed it right. The rain started falling as I turned. Even though I was wearing a wool hiking short, the wind was chilling. Then as suddenly as it started it stopped. The wind kept blowing and in a little while, I was dry. The rain started again when I reached the truck.
Onto Peppermint Patty’s for a Pork Chop Sandwich, a fried breaded pork chop on a toasted hamburger bun with condiments of your choice. I went with the onions, yellow mustard, and pickles. It was as delicious as I had hear, the best non-BBQ sandwich I can remember in ages. The breading stuck to the pork chop, instead of flaking off. Pork Chop John’s family runs a restaurant in Butte, and provides Peppermint Patty with the pork chops ready to fry.
The pictures are from the historic walk around the Upper Works, about .9 miles one way. The box like structures with slots are the remains of the lower portion of the smelter, the long sandstone flume is actually the remains of a flue carrying the exhaust up to a smokestack atop a hill, the bricks look to be too small to be masonry blocks for the smokestack, and there is a picture of the town to the southwest. There are pieces of brick here and there during the walk, but look closer and see discarded metal, and one half buried large pipe along the way.
Living in a Tunnel 