Philipsburg Montana

We were thrilled to have our best friends visit us last week! They drove 550 miles just to spend time with us! Driving to Philipsburg along the Anaconda Pintler Scenic Route seemed like a good day trip for us. Of course we visited the famous Sweet Palace, a destination for many travelers. They make the best taffy! Long the county seat of Granite, Philipsburg has a rich history of mining and ranching. Officially registered as a town in 1867 and incorporated in 1890, Philipsburg was named after Philip Deidesheimer, a prominent mining engineer who hailed from Nevada. After the Silver Crash in 1893 the town became a ghost town, but over the years has been re-established as a thriving community and fun tourist attraction.

 It was a cold, wintery day, but filled with sunshine. Most of the restaurants in town were closed for the season, but we did find a great one just at the entrance to the town. Here are our friends standing by the iconic silver prospector.

 We passed by a typical "ghost" building just outside of town. There's snow in them thar hills!

 The hills around Philipsburg sported herds of cattle here and there. I wanted a photo of this scene. We noticed a lone cow standing behind a fence, away from the other cattle, but in full view of the road. Ted suddenly exclaimed, "That cow has just given birth!" We stopped to look, and sure enough, there was a tiny calf lying on the ground. Mama cow watched us nervously as we snapped pictures and told her what a good girl she was. She was hidden from the other cows but not from the cars driving by.

 We knew the birth had just happened, as mama cow still had the afterbirth to discharge. What a thrill for us to see this little miracle!

On our way back up the highway we passed by this old, abandoned church in the tiny, historical town of Hall. It looked quite sad. We couldn't have asked for a better day with our friends, sightseeing in this beautiful area! We never tire of seeing the awesomeness of God's creation, the best of which is love and friendship with special people to help us enjoy what we see and do!