April 3, 2011
Today, we have snow again greeting us in the morning. It is now 2:38 PM and the sun is trying hard to come out. It is about 3 degrees Centigrade. Andreas try to take advantage of the snow and went skiing early this morning. He has been going a lot these days. The skiing season is supposed to end at the end of this month.
Last weekend, we were heading to go to Kalispell MT because we had an appointment with our accountant for our tax returns. We were almost close to the Continental Divide when Ivano noticed that the car was boiling. It has been snowing since we left Bozeman. In fact we were just driving 40 miles an hour because of poor visibility. We saw that there is a truck stop about 2 miles away and so we headed this way. Ivano parked and opened the car hood and the coolant was really boiling. we cannot proceed any further. So we decided to call road assistance and a towing truck was supposed to come from Butte. After waiting for sometime, the towing truck came. He said we are his 4th client that morning. He loaded the Blazer in the truck and the three of us squeezed in the front. We told him to proceed to the Chrysler garage in Butte. Being a Sunday, the garage was closed, so we just left the car in the parking with a note. Then we ask the driver if it is possible to drop us in a place to spend the night. It looks like they are already familiar with this kind of situation. So he took us to Comfort Inn in Butte with our suitcase and ice box for the trip that we took from the car. The car was loaded because we were planning to bring some stuff in the Bigfork garage.It was still snowing when we arrived Butte. After checking in, we left and look for the Chinese restaurant that the desk pointed to us. Of course, Neither Ivano nor myself was able to sleep because we are not used to the soft bed.
Next morning, Ivano left and had early breakfast before proceeding to the garage. It was so good that the inn had a courtesy vehicle for the clients to use. I stayed an extra hour in bed before going down for breakfast. Ivano arrived before 11 and we decided to bring our stuff in the desk. Then we requested if we can be brought to the mineral museum located at the Technology College to spend our time while waiting for the car to be fixed. The Montana Tech campus overlooks the 100 year old Butte Mining District known as the Richest Hill on Earth which include 10,000 miles of mine workings that reach over a mile deep.
Ivano had a nice talk with the museum curator who talked about a place Crystal MT where he used to go looking for minerals. The museum have a nice collection including minerals coming from other countries. The collection came mostly from private donations from private individuals. Actually, the museum started this way. It exhibits over 1,300 minerals from Montana and around the world. Prize specimen includes a 27.5 troy ounce of Gold nuggets recovered south of Butte in 1989 and a 400 pounds smoky quartz crystal referred to as “ Big Daddy” unearthed just east of Butte. Montana is famous for its brilliant blue sapphires from Yogo Gulch and beautiful polished agates. The museum also has seismographs machine which record seismic activity from Montana and around the world. There is also a Museum gift shop selling mineral specimens and books relating to minerals and geology.
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