8/31/04—Day 13, Farther Down the Road to Phillipsburg

We left rainy Glacier behind and headed the red roads south on Hwy. 83 through some pretty country of large hay ranches and fir covered mountains. Soon after connecting with Hwy. 200 headed west again, we started looking for a place to stay. The fishing access we came across on the Clearwater River was $12/night for nothing but the view of the river—no water, no garbage dump. We passed. Shortly after Condon Marc spied a segment of the abandoned highway, conveniently right at river’s edge; in this case the Blackfoot River.  

We shared this spot with fisherman coming and going but it proved to be fairly quiet at night and the view couldn’t be beat. We did some chores in the morning and got a late start, headed towards Phillipsburg off state Hwy. 1 or what’s called the Pintler Scenic Route.

This truly is one of the prettiest drives we’ve been on; again with many large ranches and hay fields. The mountains in this section are gentler, the timber more widely spaced so it makes for some great vistas. The plum on this section is arriving at the old mining town of Phillipsburg, much of which is listed on the National Historic roster. We did a walk through around town and the only thing that managed to snag our tourist dollars was the beautifully restored Sweet Shop, complete with old oak display and tin ceilings. If you get here be sure and make it a stop. Six ninety-five a pound will buy you about a hundred different flavors of taffy or another hundred kinds of candies; for $12.95 a pound you can buy any of the hand made chocolates.

Phillipsburg’s claim to fame is silver; discovered by a lone miner in 1864. By 1866, the rich Hope Mine, Montana’s first silver mine, was established and thus brought in about 700 hardy souls to populate the area. The Northern Pacific built a spur line in 1887 and you can still see it amidst the weeds following the highway. Phillipsburg never really changed much after the 20^th century turned and the old town remains intact, replete with neat old bars and saloons and even a high school and hospital. Well, it’s the high school now but was originally the grade school built in 1894 and is the oldest in the state continuously in use. So, here’s a look at Phillipsburg.

Traveling from Phillipsburg we passed Georgetown Lake, now a summer home haven but originally built for water supply for the Bimetallic Mining Company’s silver mill. Just beyond is a smaller reservoir called Silver Lake and that’s where we came upon our present boondocking area, all neatly mown of its grass for some strange reason. Ours is not to question, but to enjoy! Now you’re caught up on our web pages to where we currently sit.