When my work season was over in the fall of 2018 I decided to take a long awaited trip to north-central Montana. I had planned the trip the previous winter and was really looking forward to a few days on the road and seeing the the sights.
Zortman, Montana is a small community in the heart of the Little Rocky Mountains. In the 1860's it was a place for prospector's to lay a claim and is now a destination for hunters and back roads tourists. The Little Rockies look much like the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan but are almost twice the size in area and the highest peak is over 5700 feet.
The above photo was taken along the main road into town.
One of the buttes close-up...lots of rocky outcroppings and evergreen trees. There have been a number of forest fires in the Little Rockies over the years.
There were hay bales all along the prairie between the hills and the road...
...lots of bales.
The Zortman Jail...I'll bet many a drunken prospector spent the night here.
There's still a hitchin' rail to tie up the horses too.
Beyond the jail is Saint Joseph's Catholic Church where I'm sure many a confession was made...but that'll have to wait until "Zortman-Part 2" in the next post.
Photographed on October 19, 2018.
Judging from your post title, I was worried you'd been nabbed trying to steal hay bales. Phew! Glad you're still on the right side of the law.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't want to get caught rustling anything in this part of the world. It's still the wild west there.
DeleteI guess that jail wouldn't be quite solitary confinement because it looks as though it would hold two, but I'm sure it must have felt like it with those little tiny windows.
ReplyDeleteThere are two individual cells divided by a solid wooden wall...cold in the winter, hot in the summer.
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