Day 4: Butte to Coram

An Automobile & Prison Museum, Some new Glass Flowers, and 3 Bison

A Bison in the National Bison Reserve

We began our day heading out of Butte, on our way to Coram, MT (near Glacier National Park). The route had me fondly remembering my childhood in Teaneck where I80 and I95 were the same road, even though one went East-West and the other North-South.  Here in Butte, I15 and I90 are also the same road, heading all directions at once.

I15 & I90 are the same road in Butte, MT

Our first stop of the day was the Old Montana Prison and Auto Museum.

Lisa standing in front of the Old Montana Prison & Auto Museum

We spend some time wandering around the prison, and Bob even found some Hokie orange chairs in the Montana Law Enforcement Museum section of the Prison exhibit.

Bob finds Hokie Orange Chairs

Some of his favorite car highlights are shown below:

Old Cars at the Museum

1914 Detroit Electric Car

1929 Hudson

1960s Mustangs

We also found a train, painted Hokie orange and maroon, which Bob visited while eating his afternoon snack.

Bob Eats Ice Cream Next to a Hokie Train

After the museum, we headed over to Missoula, MT for some gallery hopping and some lunch. However, we only got to one gallery--as we found these lovely glass flowers which we packaged up and took over to FedEx to ship home.  (The very first glass purchase of the trip-- more to come I'm sure.)

First Glass Pieces Shipped Home

After leaving Missoula we decided that a side trip to the National Bison Reserve would be fun. They were supposed to have the largest herd around-- thousands of Bison and other animals just waiting to be gawked at by tourists.

Here's what the parking lot looked like when we got there:

M All Alone in the National Bison Reserve Parking Lot

We decided against the 2 hour (one way) loop and opted for the shorter route where the person at the visitor station told us we were sure to see the herd.

When we saw three bison-- 3!-- on the almost one-hour trip we were glad we hadn't wasted two.

Here's one of the guys next to the road (the same one as in the main picture)-- we figured he was taking one for the team so that his friends could graze in peace away from all the cameras.

A Bison Takes One For the Team

We saw this antelope too-- he seemed hot, and also taking one for his team by sitting at the side of the road in the sun.

An Antelope Takes One for His Team Too

Back on track towards Coram, we began to see the lakes for which the Glacier Park area is so well know.  Here are a couple of views.

Lake View on the way to Coram

Another Lake View on the way to Coram

We finally pulled into our cabin in Coram a bit after 8, and though it is small and comfy with a nice kitchen, it has useless Internet.  So for our stint here, even though we have some great GoPro footage, all you'll get is still pictures.

Tomorrow we head out criminally early to catch our boat trip-- which we did not realize was a 2 and a half hour ride away for a 9AM start.  So, major mistake #1 on my part-- but hopefully it will be worth waking up early for it.

Stay tuned and find out tomorrow....

--Lisa