My road trip didn’t give me as much time in Montana as I would’ve liked, so I had to make the most of even the driving days. As I made my way from Yellowstone to Missoula, I wanted to fit in a little bit of art, nature, and history along the way.

My first stop was a roadside attraction. Set along highway 287 in Three Forks, Montana are artist Jim Dolan’s Bleu Horses. From afar these 39 eight foot tall metal horses look like a real herd of wild horses; their posture, social interactions, and flowing manes illustrate Dolan’s understanding of horses. While they were visible from the street, I made my way up to the top of the hill to see the unique features of each horse close up. 

Butte, Montana’s was once the largest city west of the Mississippi river. While the mining industry (over 500 mines at one point) that made this town the “Richest Hill on Earth” has shut down, the downtown area still honors this history.  With over 4,000 historic buildings throughout the city, Butte has one of the nation’s largest National Historic Landmark Districts. During my stop, I enjoyed walking around and seeing the ghost signs on the sides of buildings, examining the relics of the mining machines at Old Lexington Stamp Mill Gardens, eating surrounded by the history of the banking industry at Metals Sports Bar and Grill, and taking in the impact mining has on the environment with a stop at the Berkeley Pit. 

The Berkeley Pit produced more than 290 million tons of copper before shutting down in the early 1980s. Visitors walk through a long white tunnel before the space opens up to a viewing platform.  At 7,000 feet long, 5,600 feet wide, and 1,600 feet deep, the pit takes up the whole panorama.  The contrast between the confines of the long white tunnel and vast blue green waters of the pit provide a surprise contrast. Today, PitWatch monitors the water levels and toxic impact of the pit to ensure that the contaminated water doesn’t impact the environment or people in the area. 

My last stop was supposed to be a visit to a secret swimming hole that my friend who lives in Missoula told me about, but after a little searching the area, I decided that this one should remain a secret. Instead I decided to check out the small town of Phillipsburg. Downtown Philipsburg runs for about three blocks along Broadway street. I enjoyed examining the historic facades of the buildings, taking in the grand interior of the Victorian themed Sweet Palace, perusing some tourist wares, and grabbing a sweet treat at Sherry’s Homestyle Bakery. 

Philipsburg was built around the diamond and sapphire mining industry.  Since sapphires are my birthstone, I decided that this would be the place I would finally try my hand at gem mining at Montana Gems. While it’s a little kitschy – even more so if you buy the bag with the guaranteed gems – it was still fun to get my hands dirty, laugh at myself for thinking that everything could be something special, and feel accomplished when I did find some gems (though they were tiny).