May 24, 2008 Dansk tekst til venstre English text on the right Dagens baghave: Backyard of the Day: Garnet Ghost Town, Granite County, Montana The Garnet Ghost Town is located in the Garnet Mountain Range east of Missoula, Missouri. The town is reachable from Highway 200. ***Due to road conditions we would NOT recommend going on any of the roads that connect the Garnet Ghost Town with Interstate 90.*** From Highway 200 the road to Garnet is initially paved, then it becomes a very decent, hard packed dirt road that goes about 12 miles down to the ghost town parking area.   Vi kørte fra Idaho i strålende solskin, men nåede ind i regnvejret igen, inden vi kom til Montana. Vi trodsede vejret og tog op i bjergene for at besøge Garnet spøgelsesby, Montanas mest velbevarede. We drove from Idaho in brilliant sunshine, but made it into another rain system before getting to Montana. We braved the elements and went into the mountains to visit the Garnet Ghost Town, the most well preserved in Montana.       Garnet, som oprindelig hed Mitchell, er en gammel guldgraverby, der sprang op omkring Armistead Mitchells stampemølle i 1895. Efter et stort guldfund i Nancy Hanks Mine kort efter strømmede omkring tusind beboere til byen, som efterhånden fik blandt andet en skole, seks-syv forretninger, fire hoteller og tretten saloons. Garnet, which was originally named Mitchell, is an old goldmining town, which grew up around Armistead Mitchell's stamp mill in 1895. After a rich gold strike in Nancy Hanks Mine shortly thereafter, about a thousand people rushed to Garnet, which eventually had among its buildings a school, six or seven stores, four hotels, and thirteen saloons.

Samuel og Jennie Adams byggede dette hus mellem 1896 og 1900. De boede her i to rum med deres datter Mary Jane og deres lille sorte kat. Dette hus var et af de finere huse i Garnet, og familien boede her indtil 1927. Samuel and Jennie Adams built this house between 1896 and 1900. They lived here in two rooms with their daughter Mary Jane and her little black cat. The house was one of the nicer homes in Garnet, and the family lived here until 1927.         I takt med at udvindingen af guld aftog, blev byen mindre, og omkring 1905 var der kun 150 indbyggere tilbage. Efter en del af byens forretninger brændte i 1912, blev byen så godt som lagt øde. Garnet blev genoplivet i 1934, da guldpriserne steg, og man genoptog minedriften, men det var kortvarigt, og i 1942 lukkede posthuset i Garnet for sidste gang. As the extraction of gold decreased, so did the size of the town, and about 1905 only 150 residents remained. After many of the town's commercial buildings burned in 1912, the town was practically abandoned. Garnet was revived in 1934 when gold prices rose and mining resumed. However, this revival was shortlived, and in 1942 the Garnet post office closed for the last time.

Det lille hus... ~ Outhouse

Frank A. Daveys forretning, bygget omkring 1898, hvor de solgte alt fra isenkram til sko til mel og kød. Frank A. Davey's forretning, built about 1898, where they sold everything from hardware to shoes to flour and meat.         Hugh Hanifens hus, bygget omkring 1900, var endnu et af de finere huse i byen. I baggrunden ligger byens smedje. Hugh Hanifen's house, built about 1900, was yet another of the nicer houses in town. In the background is the blacksmith shop.

We begik den store fejl at følge markvejen til motorvej 90 fra Garnet spøgelsesby. Der er to ruter, begge grusveje, og en af dem skilter med, at man ikke bør køre på den med noget så stort som en campingvogn. Så vi tog den anden. Den eneste advarsel ved vejens begyndelse var "smal vej, begrænset vigeplads." Vi fulgte den 6-8 km gennem hårnålesving, stejle bakker, snedynger og pytter store nok til at drukne i, og det blev så ufarbart, at jeg kunne se, vi umuligt ville komme igennem, ikke engang med firhjulstræk. Det blev så mudret, at vi dårligt kunne holde os på vejen, så vi bestemte os til at vende. Og da vi gjorde, kom vi til at sidde fast. Med regnen silende, mørket på vej, og ingen anden udvej, bestemte vi os til at putte os, sige en bøn, håbe på det bedste, og lægge os til at sove. We made the grave mistake of following the dirt road to I-90 from Garnet Ghost Town. There are two routes, both dirt roads, one of which is marked unsuitable for motorhomes. So we took the other one. The only warning at the entry to the road was "narrow road, limited turnout space." We followed it four or five miles through hairpin turns, steep grades, snow drifts, and puddles big enough to drown in, and it finally got so bad I figured we'd never make it to I-90, even with four-wheel drive. It got so muddy, there was no way to stay on the road, so we decided to turn around. Which is when we got stuck. With the rain pouring down, darkness falling, and no way to move on, we decided to get cozy, say a prayer, hope for the best, and go to sleep.

Camping/Boondocking Information We rather involuntarily boondocked at an altitude of 6250 feet somewhere in the Garnet Mountain Range.   Click here for more Ghost Towns More Montana Travel Information Here YESTERDAY TOMORROW