RV Road trip Day 10: Ghost Town

Today we are at Bannack State Park in Montana which is about 21 miles into what feels like the middle of nowhere off of Route 15. Bannack was a mining town and an early short-lived capital of Montana. Apparently some people did live here until the 1970’s but the town was most active at the end of the 19th century. Now empty of residents except for a few park staff and more than a few mosquitos, it’s been preserved as a “ghost town” with structures open to walk into. In some cases there are old appliances or furniture, though most of the buildings are just empty. It took us about 2 hours to walk through, using the $2 guide book to learn about what we were looking at.

Old stove in one of the “ghost” houses

Old mining equipment on display from when Bannack was a mining town

Now we’re at the nice little campground with no electric hookup but after a perfectly timed rainstorm, we don’t have to hide indoors with the AC cranked on because there’s a cool cross-breeze.