Back from Butte

Just got back from a spur of the moment week in Butte, where I trained to be a wildland fire information officer. Butte is a fascinating town, full of history and interesting relics. Apparently, Butte boasts the largest St Patrick's Day celebration in the country, and at one point had more Irish people than any other city in the union. I personally find it pretty unsightly, but you can't help and wonder in awe at the open pit mines surrounding the town, the crater 1800 feet deep and over a mile across filled with acid, and large white statue of a religious icon looking down at it from a nearby mountain.

Got back to Missoula today and went climbing after work with my friend Sean, and was surprised at being in fairly reasonable shape given how little I've been getting out lately... On my way to meet Sean I came across a critical mass bicycle ride with over a hundred kids rallying to the cause of cyclist rights. It definitely makes car drivers mad. The cyclists say they are not getting reasonable accomodation on the streets and cyclists get killed often here. Whether or not they are right, there's no question that our society is more represented by overweight people driving huge cars much more than is necessary, and cities like Missoula do hardly anything to promote safe bicycle infrastructure.