WANTED: Bannack, Montana

No trip out West is complete without a visit to a good old fashioned Ghost Town. Not just some tourist trap with a guided tour and a sarsaparilla shop, but a real Saloon brawl, Tar and feathering, card up the sleeve, Snake Oil selling, High Noon shootout, WANTED poster, John Marston, gold panning kind of ghost town. Lucky for us we just happened to be passing by one such town on our way back to Salt Lake City.
Bannack, Montana was the first territorial capital of Montana and was founded in 1862 after a large amount of gold was discovered in the area. At it's peak it held a population of around 10,000 people, but by 1970 the town's last residents had moved out. If movies have taught me anything about the Wild West it's that you're probably going to die within five days of moving out there by means of anything from Dysentery to Outlaws, and Bannack was no exception. The town was plagued by shootouts, outlaws, and hangings. Even the Sheriff and his Deputies were hung for running a band of road agents.
The town is currently preserved with a majority of the buildings still in good condition and open to the pubic to explore. And besides one half awkward, man/woman playing show tunes, there wasn't much in the way of staff or regulations telling you where we could or couldn't go. A half hour side trip turned into a 3 hour exploration of old hotels, general stores and barbershops. If, for whatever reason, you find yourself in Montana on I-15 headed to Salt Lake City, take the 30 min side trip out to Bannack and run down the streets with finger guns yelling "We've been had!"

In other news, I leave for Denver this Friday for five days of Beers, Baseball and Rocky Mountain National Park hikes! Many, many miles and updates to come! Thanks for reading.

Mileage: 1 Mile

Jovial.

Barber Shop.

Wild West.

Fixin' to be taught.

Seen better days.

Ghosts in the hall.

First car ever.

Old fashion whoopee cushion?

Time to renovate.