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Day 21 - June 28 - Twin Bridges, MT to West Fork Cabin Camp, MT - 79 miles Click on the thumbnails to view larger pictures.
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| Today's ride took us up the Ruby River to Alder Gulch, the
site of the richest placer gold strike in the Rocky Mountains.
During the first three seasons in the early 1860s, an estimated $30
million (1863 value) worth of gold was removed from the gulch. Today the gold
mining towns of Nevada City and Virginia City still stand as
representations of the American Gold Rush. Many of the original
buildings still stand in these towns and are filled with contents from an
earlier time. Virginia City even has the original Boot Hill Cemetery
from that era. We stopped in Nevada City, an official ghost town, to
take in the sights, but because of the tourists and entry fee decided to
move on. Tourist areas aren't really that appealing.
We'd been gradually climbing all morning, but once we left Virginia City it turned into a serious grade. The next 4 miles were a steep climb that took us over a no name pass. With mountains that tough the least the locals could do is give it a name. After a rest at the top we flew down the other side into Ennis for lunch at Yesterday's Cafe. The lunch consisted of a delicious sandwich and large dish of ice cream. The remainder of the ride followed the Madison River upstream to West Fork Cabin Campground. It is a clean, well kept campsite on the banks of the river. The hot showers felt good after today's long hot ride, and the hamburger dinner at the Grizzly Grill was delicious. We're glad to be finally resting in camp. |
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