Garnet is a great town that has actually been restored to a degree by the Bureau of Land Management and many of the buildings are safe to enter. You can actually take guided tours and a lot of artifacts found during the reconstruction are on display.
The road to Garnet is pretty well maintained and you're very likely to see wildlife along the way. Historic markers let you know when you're approaching points of interest, such as this cemetery.
Some of the really great details in these old ghosts have to do with the contrasts between wood and metal. Weathering does some really gorgeous things to both, and when they're together they have a character that really is unmatched. Couple that with the fact that those wooden walls sheltered people, and those metal tools were wielded by the calloused hands of our forebears and that natural beauty increases exponentially.
The say that Garnet was built to last....well at least some of it was! This old cabin is clearly succumbing to its many years, while the school in the background is in much better shape. I'm not sure how the BLM decided which buildings deserved preservation and which would be left to their fate, but the difference can clearly be seen here!
The kids are so used to having their pictures taken it just doesn't phaze them very much anymore! Here our day of hiking is catching up with Jackson just a little, I think. He and his sister were having a rest in "The Honeymoon Cabin", a structure which newly married couples occupied while they waited to finish building their own dwelling.
Upstairs in the Wells Hotel I took some time laps pictures in an attempt to manufacture 'ghostly' images of the children. This was Jackson, who leaned against the wall then walked toward the steps. If you look carefully, you can see his progress.
Using some of the great light coming in the attic window at the Wells Hotel. This is Jackson again.
Liam walked down the stairs of the Wells Hotel for me. It isn't quite the image I was looking for, but it still has a vaguely ghostly quality!
Jack and Moira outside the front doors of the Wells Hotel. This is one of my favorite pictures of these two!
Some of the artifacts found during the town's reconstruction are on display, including this stocked kitchen in the Wells Hotel.
This room in the Wells was reconstructed to try to give visitors an idea of how the hotel may have been appointed. That armoire in the corner is absolutely beautiful!
Try to imagine that one of these cabins is home. There are pretty good descriptions of how good the shelter was during the severe winters this town suffers, being so close to the top of the mountain. The cold must have been incredible with the wind blowing through the chinks between the logs. I've seen pictures of Garnet in winter, with three feet of snow on the roofs of the cabins and only the rooflines visible above the drifts.
Evidence of Garnet's mining history is all over the area, and this ore cart made a great fort for the kids to rest in.
One of my favorite pictures of Liam was taken in Garnet. It often makes me wonder if another blonde-haired boy stood in this same spot during the 1860s!
Garnet has its own official website, so I'm enclosing the link so anyone interested can have a look. There's a lot of great information on the area, and really gives one some degree of insight into early Montana history and the importance of mining to the region.
Happy Hunting!
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