Seeing a drive in movie. Things have changed!

Cinderella got underway as the sun set.

There are only about 300 drive in theaters left in America. There were once 5,000. 

I went to one last night in North Hoosick, New York — Hathaway's Drive-in Theatre — which is in the country, right across the state border from Bennington, Vermont. Admission was $9 a person or $20 a carload. For that, you got a triple feature.

Some people sat in cars, others in the backs of pickup trucks. Families sat in front of their cars in lawn chairs. Gail and I watched from the front seats of our rented Toyota Camry.

You no longer hook up a crummy little speaker to your window. Nowadays you listen to the movie FM radio (88.1 at the Hathaway). So the sound is about as good as in a regular theater, maybe better. One nice thing is there are no strangers sitting next to you, and nobody's munching on popcorn in the seat behind.

The first movie was Cinderella, which I would normally not see, followed by a borderline watchable Adam Sandler comedy called Pixels. In the old days it would be called a "B" movie. In this case the "B" stands for "bad." Gail and I left before the last movie, a Mission Impossible sequel, because it didn't end until 1 a.m.

The owner sold popcorn and ran the show with his iPad.

I CAN'T REMEMBER the last time I saw a movie at a drive in, but it was at least 30 years ago. I went last night just to do it, not for the movies. I remember going to drive in movies while in college, usually with a date. It was better if you had a car with a bench seat, so you could easily snuggle up. Best case, you would start off sitting in your regular places but gradually inch closer until you were in a position for some physical interaction. For many guys, at least, very best case was moving to the back seat, which too often led to forced marriages due to a kid arriving in nine months. My car back in the old days had bucket seats, so nothing happened except watching the movie.

Bucket seats, I think, helped doom the drive in theater.

In most drive in theaters, the snack bar is beneath the screen and the projector and projectionist far back behind the cars. But that's not the way it works anymore. At the Hathaway, everything is digital. There is no projectionist. The movie is controlled from elsewhere. Last night, it was from the snack bar, where the theater owner operated the cash register as his iPad controlled the show via WiFi to the projector 50 yards away.

It was a lot of fun going to the drive-in. I hope I get to do it again.

At the Hershey chocolate factory, it's bathtubs to the rescue

In Hershey, Pennsylvania, in the early days of the Hershey chocolate factory, founder Milton Hershey and his crew needed an efficient way to transport materials used in the chocolate making process. After a little creative thinking it was "bathtubs on wheels" to the rescue. It was such a good idea, they are still used today.

VIDEO: Niagara Falls: Beautiful, magnificent. . . and tacky!

Niagara Falls, which straddles the border of New York and Ontario, Canada, is one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

It's breathtaking. Yet just a few minute walk from the falls in Niagara Falls, Canada is a few square blocks of non-stop tacky tourist stuff. Oh, it's fun! But the contrast to the magnificence of the falls is dramatic and I suspect a surprise to a lot of first-time visitors. Here's a quick look at both "Beautiful Niagara Falls" and "Tacky Niagara Falls."

While we were there in August, 2015 Gail and I stayed at Scott's Tent and Trailer Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario (A KOA is just a hundred yards away but costs quite a bit more). An shuttle bus picks you up right in front of the campground for a few dollars and takes you to the heart of the falls area in about 20 minutes and returns you back to your RV when you are done for the day. (I believe it runs every half hour).

Tacky, tacky Niagara Falls!

There are plenty of architectural sight gags in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Just a couple blocks from the magnificent water falls is one of the tackiest few blocks of tourist kitsch anywhere. Per square foot, Las Vegas doesn’t even come close. 

In the top of photo, New York's Empire State Building seems to have tilted. But, nope, it’s just the facade if Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

Below, the Upside Down House is upside down both outside and inside. The outside view is free. But you'll need to pay to go inside, where the upside down-ness is even more dramatic.

Why can't you close one eye and go half asleep?

People always say, "Oh, I was half asleep." I think they mean they were dozing off. But I don't know if that's half asleep.

But speaking of half asleep, I have always wondered why a person can't just close one eye to go half asleep. Sometimes when I am really tired my eyes start to hurt. They feel grainy. If I'm driving, I cannot close both my eyes to rest them. That could result in me falling asleep which could result in an encounter with a telephone pole, which would be terrible, as in "lights out, Charles!"

Why can't I just close one eye as I drive to rest it? Then maybe after 10 minutes close the other eye for ten minutes? Shouldn't I then be able to open both eyes and feel some relief? I mean, if can stop in a rest area for a ten-minute nap and wake up ready to head down the road again without fear of a close encounter with a telephone pole — why couldn't my one-eye-closed-at-a-time system work?

So, my question — and I hope you can help — is why can't I just close one eye and feel rested — both me and my eyes?

See Lincoln's death chair at Henry Ford Museum

This is the actual chair that President Abraham Lincoln sat in when he was assassinated in Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC on April 14, 1865. 

The chair is displayed today at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. As Lincoln watched the play “Our American Cousin" from the Presidential Box, well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth approached from behind and put a bullet through his head with a small deringer pistol.

Interestingly, Lincoln was familiar with Booth, having seen him in numerous plays including one called "Marble Heart" at Ford's Theatre in 1863. Lincoln enjoyed Booth's performance so much that he sent a note backstage inviting him to the White House. But Booth, a rebel sympathizer and Confederate spy, did not respond. Booth later told his friends "I would rather have the applause of a Negro to that of the President!"

According to Wikipedia, shortly before his death, Lincoln dreamed of his assassination. He told the following to his friend and biographer Ward Hill Lamon and others:.

“About ten days ago, I retired very late. I had been up waiting for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary.

“I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds of distress met me as I passed along.

“I saw light in all the rooms; every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What could be the meaning of all this?

“Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There I met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers, 'The President,' was his answer; 'he was killed by an assassin.' Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which woke me from my dream. I slept no more that night; and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since."

Cheesy lights in the campground

It's 9:30 p.m. and dark. A fifth wheel trailer a few campsites from me is glowing various colors. A string of small LED lights hangs below the awning up against the RV. They change colors, one color turning into another. They are blue, then green, then yellow, orange, red and back to blue. 

From my RV, you can't actually see the lights, just the glow. From inside the fifth wheel it must resemble the interior of a cheap motel room with the blinking lights of its sign interrupting the dark.

Why do people do this? I am in a beautiful New York State Park along Lake Ontario. Why does the owner of this RV feel the need to light up his RV in such a cheesy way?

I don't get it. It looks stupid.

It's frustrating to be unable to visit people who invite me

A lot of people invite me to stop by their homes when I am in their area. Some offer me a guest room or an RV hookup in their yards.  Others write to tell me how disappointed they are when they learn I was near them but did not call or visit.

I feel bad about not stopping. I would really like to. It's just that I don't have enough time to see everything as is (trying to go from coast to coast and back in four months). If I visit someone, I feel I really do need to VISIT and not just stop by for an hour and then fly out the door. That would be rude.

Maybe it would be better for me to just pick out one state, tour for a couple of months, and visit everyone there who would like me to stop. That would be a lot more manageable, although being an introvert and needing ample quiet time to "recharge," I would still probably need five or six months.

On this trip, with about four months to work with and about 10,000 miles to cover, there isn't much time to socialize. In between driving and the places I visit, I need to write and attend to business chores. That takes a lot of time.

I know by not visiting the people who invite me that I miss a lot of wonderful experiences and opportunities to make new friends. If only we could somehow extend our days from 24 hours to 34 hours. That would help a lot!

Sunset over Lake Michigan

Here's what it looked like this evening — Friday, August 14, 2015 at about 8:30 — from the shores of Lake Michigan at St. Ignace. I used a strong telephoto lens which made the sun look huge.

Charming Mackinac Island. No, it's not Disneyland!

Downtown. Lots of shops

At first glace of downtown Mackinac Island, Michigan, you might think Walt Disney had a hand in creating it. It looks a whole lot like Main Street, Disneyland.

But, no, this is a real town that came long before Disney.

The ferry takes 15 minutes each way.

Native American's occupied the island from about 1000 BC to 1650 A.D. Europeans appeared in 1670 when Father Claude Dablon established a Christian mission. The British showed up in 1870 to build a fort which was eventually turned over to the Americans. Today, it's a state historic park. Perched above the island's highest hill, it overlooks the picture-postcard main street and its harbor. The fort is open to the public and a busy place on summer days.

About 500 people live year round on Mackinac Island (see location on Google Earth). But on a summer day, tourists swarm the place — thousands a day. If you've ever taken a cruise, you know what a small port looks like when a monster cruise ship shows up. Hold that image because that's Mackinac Island on a typical summer day. High-speed passenger ferries travel to and from the island one after another.

Tour carriage provides a good introduction to the town.

Motor vehicles were banned in 1901. The only ones there today are two fire trucks and an ambulance. The police have one car for emergencies, but primarily ride bicycles.

The main transportation is horse and buggy. Taxis are horse-powered. Tour carriages transport visitors around the town and the surrounding area. Rent your own buggy for $66 an hour.

Five hundred horses live on the island in the summer to pull the hundreds of buggies, carts and freight wagons.  It's wonderful to hear only hoof beats, not engines.

Bikes everywhere and bike racks everywhere.

On any given summer day bicycles outnumber horse and buggies by a long shot— there must have been a thousand (maybe two thousand?) yesterday when I visited. Several companies rent them. Figure $5 to $9 an hour, better deals for longer use.

The Grand Hotel

Michigan State Highway 185 hugs the island's eight-mile shoreline. It's the only Michigan highway that does not allow motor vehicles. It's a great place to bike. Just watch for horses, they have the right of way.

The main drag (see photo at top) is comprised of specialty tourist shops (most selling tee-shirts and souvenir trinkets), restaurants, bars and a dozen "Candy Kitchens" selling fudge. A lot of the stores sell the same stuff.

Horse and cart hauling hay.

The most famous attraction is the Grand Hotel, an easy ten minute walk from downtown. Stay a night if you have money to spare (about $800 a night for two in a lake view room). Or pay $10 and walk around the place and its beautiful grounds. Read what I wrote about the hotel here.

There's a lot more to this island beauty spot. If you should visit, buy a two-day ferry pass. My advice: on the first day, take the carriage tour, then explore the pretty downtown and its shops, visit the Grand Hotel, see the fort, and have lunch or dinner. The next day, bring your bike or rent one and explore the rest of the island.

Don't come here in winter. Most of the businesses close. Only a few restaurants and the grocery store remain open. When the lake freezes over, snowmobiles provide access to and from the mainland.

If you should visit, just remember, how to pronounce the island's name. It's not "Mac-in-ack" but "Mac-in-aw."

Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel is grand in many ways

Aboard the ferry, heading toward Michigan's Mackinac Island, you see it: the magnificent Grand Hotel! It's a sight to behold — so beautiful, so big! The hotel has 390 rooms, no two the same. More than 130,000 guests stay each season. At 660 feet, the hotel's front porch is the world’s largest.

The beautiful lobby.

It takes a half million gallons of water to fill the hotel's swimming pool, named for actress Esther Williams who starred in the 1947 movie This Time for Keeps, shot at the Grand.

The 1980 film Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer, was filmed on location at the hotel. The movie has a huge following, with a fan club that meets at the hotel each October. This year's gathering will be October 16-18. Jane Seymour will attend.

The hotel's kitchen staff of more than 100 prepares and serves as many as 4,000 meals per day. In 2014, more than 83,000 pounds of prime rib, 23,500 pounds of ham, 83,500 pounds of potatoes, 23,000 pounds of carrots, 14,000 pounds of strawberries, and 6,500 pounds of pecans are served.


The Grand’s famous front porch flowers include 2,500 geraniums — the hotel’s trademark flower — in 260 planting boxes with seven tons of potting soil. More than 5,200 geraniums can be seen in all the hotel's flower beds combined.

World's largest front porch.

More than 50,000 Grand Pecan Balls, the hotel’s most popular dessert, are served each season.

Don't expect Motel 6 prices, not even close. A double room with a lake view will cost you about $800 a night, which includes meals. Specials deals are offered which cut the price dramatically. Learn more at the hotel's website.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Beautiful, with friendly people

AUGUST 14, 2015

I'm still in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. If you look at a map, the U.P. is the part of the state on the very top — north and northwest of the state below. 

I am writing you now from St. Ignace, which is right at the bottom of the U.P. along Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

The folks in the U.P. refer to themselves at Yoopers and are very proud of it. They should be. It's a beautiful land.

So far, Gail and I have spent time on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The people around here are the friendliest in America, although maybe you say that for most of the rural Midwest. They will talk your ear off. They are just plain nice.

To someone who lives along the Pacific Ocean, the size and appearance of these lakes are impressive. Lake Superior is the largest. All the water in the other four Great Lakes — Michigan, Huron, Ontario and Erie — do not equal the volume of Lake Superior. The lake is so huge that once you sail 20 miles from land you see only water — no land. It would be easy to forget you were on a big lake, not the ocean. Lake Superior is about the size of Maine or South Carolina.

Being a ship captain is different on these lakes than in the ocean. The waves are closer together, making them more dangerous in stormy seas. That may have been a factor when the 728-foot SS. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in 1975.

I love the slogan I found on tee-shirts in tourist shops along Lake Superior: "No salt. No sharks. No problem." Another version is "Unsalted. Shark Free." With all the shark attacks recently in the ocean, this seems like a timely — and very appealing — message.

Small town crime: August 2, 2015

Crime marches on in rural America, this time as reported in The Connection in Iron River, Wisconsin. 

Here are a few reports from the July 28 issue:

•"Report received of a scruffy looking creepy farmer who approached her and her friends and wanted them to come with him to see a 'cute baby calf.' When they got to the farm, it appeared abandoned and there was a tractor blocking part of the road. She and her friends became nervous and when they went to leave the farmer ran up to them and was loud and creepy."

•"Deputy checked cabin on Tar Paper Alley, Port Wing and found the main door secured, and the rest of the building appeared secure. A total 360 view wasn't possible due to a territorial skunk."

•"Caller reported he has a 'retarded' dog at his house. He states he brought her in the house and she bit him an scratched him. States it's his neighbor's chocolate lab and it has been at his house for an hour. He tried to call the neighbors to get her but they won't answer. Would not give the neighbor's name to dispatch."

•"Caller reports he was assaulted last night. He said he was sleeping when the subject came home and she threw a phone at him, jumped on him and then threw a landline phone at him. He states he then got up, met friends at the end of the driveway and they drove him and his vehicle to Milwaukee."

•"Received a call stating she, along with others, have been poisoned. She states the other person is running down the road and she is going to die. The phone line was disconnected. She thinks she has been poisoned due to the fact that they were drinking non-alcoholic drinks and then started to feel weird. She thinks she was knocked out for a couple of hours. The other female that was with her was wearing white shorts, blue shirt, and the female that ran is the one that poisoned her. Caller states her husband and her had an argument last night about him beating her up a couple of nights ago. She states he talked to someone about this but did not report it. Now the caller wants officers to tell her husband to not treat his wife so mean. Caller is now denying anyone else was there this evening. Per officer, this appears to be alcohol related and possible alcohol withdrawals going on."

Yet another "World's Largest Thing!"

What's with the Midwest? It seems like every time you turn a corner there's another big thing. . . as in "World's Largest."

It happened again yesterday in Frazee, Minnesota, home of the "World's Largest Turkey." Yes, it's big all right — 20 feet tall! It's along the business route of U.S. 10 on the east side of town in Lion's Park, with an entry archway that reads "Best Lions Park by a Dam Site."

There's a smaller "big" turkey right downtown, maybe one-third the size.

A good part of Frazee's economy is based on turkey farming. So the big turkey makes sense. As you drive out of town in the east you will see huge turkey sheds — each one maybe 70 yards long. You can see thousands of turkeys inside, all crammed together like people in a stuffed elevator. A bunch of them are pressed up at the screened open end of the building looking out. If they had brains I'd say they were dreaming of freedom. But they don't, which is a good thing.

Still, seeing them made me feel sad. I wanted to bust 'em all out.

But then I eat a turkey every Thanksgiving, so I better not feel too guilty or sad because I'm the reason the birds are there.

The "World's Largest Turkey" isn't very old. It's a replacement for one before that burned. But maybe it was for the better because the new big bird is mighty handsome.

Things I've learned six weeks into my trip

It's been six weeks since I left home near Seattle. I have learned a bit about camping in America in the summer and getting online.

First, there are a zillion people camping this summer and the campgrounds are full. The RV industry is thrilled about the huge numbers of RVs being sold. The problem is that all those new RVers want to use their RVs, and in the busy summer season there are not enough campsites in popular areas to squeeze everyone in.

Finding a campground or RV park on a Friday or Saturday night without reservations is hard especially in well-known National and State Parks, where it is next to impossible. It's much easier Sunday through Thursday, when the weekend crowds aren't around. On these days, look for campgrounds that are first-come, first-served. Those that take reservations will likely be booked.

If you don't have a reservation for a Friday or Saturday and it's already Thursday, then plan on staying somewhere off the beaten tourist path, away from the weekenders.

Before you head off to a campground or RV park, call to be sure there is space. If necessary, make a reservation. What did we ever do before cell phones?

MY "GO-TO" SOURCE of campground information has been RVparkReviews.com, although I am disappointed that its listings are far from comprehensive. I carry a Good Sam Directory, and it is helpful, but it misses a lot of public parks. And I don't trust its rankings: If a park buys an ad I strongly suspect it gets an extra star or two. It's probably a good idea to bring along the directory anyway. When doing research I have used CampgroundViews.com, which is a growing website that provides video sneak peeks of campgrounds. I also use our own site FreeCampgrounds.com to find low-cost options.

If you enjoy camping at KOA, then pick up one of its catalogs at the first KOA you find. There are nearly 500 KOAs around the country. If you stay at the parks often, buy one of its Value Kards to save on fees.

If you camp more than a couple of weeks a year at RV parks, you should join the Good Sam Club to get a 10 percent discount at most campgrounds. Your AAA or AARP card will work sometimes.

My basic Garmin nuvi 55LM GPS is essential for navigation but also for finding a place to stay. I simply instruct it to search for nearby campgrounds and it shows what's ahead. Often this is the easiest and fastest way to find a place.

I belong to PassportAmerica.com, which enables members to camp for half price at a couple thousand campgrounds across the USA. So far this trip, I have only been able to take advantage of the program once. Most times I have tried there have been no participating campgrounds near me or the ones that were there restricted the benefit to midweek or the off season. I'll probably find the card more useful after Labor Day.

I have not yet had to resort to staying in a Wal-Mart parking lot, but that's an option when nothing else is available. Most stores allows overnight stays in RVs. Some RVers report they stay at Cracker Barrel restaurants with no problems. Ditto Cabela's.

INTERNET ACCESS
You cannot count on the Wi-Fi at RV parks, even when it's advertised as available. About one-third of the time it does not work. Another third of the time it's so slow it's worthless. About one-third of time it works okay. In fairness to other campers, never use it to stream Netflix or even YouTube videos.

I need to be online for my work, so I must do more than just rely on occasional Wi-Fi at RV parks or public spots like McDonald's.

I get online most of the time via my iPhone using its Personal Hotspot function connecting via Bluetooth (it will work as a Wi-Fi hotspot, too). My plan allows me to use up to 15 gigabytes a month.  Learn about Verizon's plans and rates here.

I also carry an ATT Unite Pro 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Hotspot (see photo), which without a contract costs $199. Instead of a contract, when I am on the road I pay $25 a month for 2 gigabytes of use ($50 buys 5 gigabytes). I only use the card when I can't get on through Verizon or a Wi-Fi source. 

So far, Verizon has been the hands down most dependable way to get online, especially in the rural West where coverage is often spotty or weak. On this trip, I have randomly tested both Verizon and ATT to compare access and speed. So far, Verizon has worked about 90 per cent of the time and ATT about 70 percent.  The connection speeds have usually been about the same, but sometimes ATT is screaming fast and puts Verizon to shame. Other times, Verizon is faster.

My conclusion: If you need to be online when you travel, get Verizon. And if you really, really need to be on, like me, get the ATT card, too, for those times that Verizon and/or public Wi-Fi is either not available or too slow.

North Dakota's "Big Things" lure tourists from the highway

Some states are not so lucky when it comes to tourist attractions.

Take North Dakota, where I happen to be now. There aren't any famous National Parks. There aren't any cities that anyone more than a state away would ever need to visit unless there was a relative present. Yes, there is a lot of farmland and rolling prairie. But those don't bring in tourists and their dollars. Nobody visits a wheat field on purpose except a farmer or tractor salesman.

So what do you do to provide something interesting for tourists? Simple, you create things. One excellent way is to come up with something that's bigger than anything else like it in the world. For example, in Washington where I live, we have the world's largest egg and the world's largest frying pan. Last week in East Glacier, Mont., I visited the World's Largest Purple Spoon."

In North Dakota, in a span of about two to three hours driving time along I-94, you can visit three such attractions, which based on "big things per mile" is quite remarkable.

West of Bismarck in New Salem, you have the World's Largest Holstein Cow, then farther east in Steele you have the World's Largest Sandhill Crane, and finally in Jamestown — about 100 miles west of Fargo, you have the World's Largest Buffalo.

There's usually a reason for a big thing. For example, there's a lot of milk cows around New Salem, so Salem Sue, the giant cow up on the  hill overlooking I-94, is a local "big thing" to attract attention. A few of the tourists who pull off the highway to snap a photo may even wander into town for a sandwich or to fill up on gas, so some extra tax dollars.

In Steele, which has a mere 800 residents and a far from robust economy, the huge Sandhill Crane right along I-94 serves as a reminder of the great birdwatching in the area. A colorful brochure "Let's Go Birdwatching along the Steele Birding Drive" is dispensed at the site.

The giant buffalo in Jamestown, also visible from the Interstate, advertises the town as the home of the National Buffalo Museum and its nickname, "Buffalo City." Jamestown is the hometown of legendary western author, Louis L'Amour.

All these attractions are free. The Buffalo Museum charges to get in, but you can browse the gift shop for free. Its selection of buffalo tee-shirts, refrigerator magnets, post cards and stuffed animals is impressive. And don't miss White Cloud, the only certified albino bison in the world. It's right outside in the pasture.

Anglers dream or nightmare?

So you think catching a big trout or bass or walleye is a big deal? How about a whopper salmon or Northern Pike?

Well, that would be child's play compared to landing this fish — that is if it were still around, which it is not. It's extinct just like the dinosaurs.

Xiphactinus was the largest and bony fish of its era, some growing to a whopping 17 feet! Now, that’s a big fish! With its savage three-inch teeth, this big fellow was a smaller fish's worst nightmare.

With its giant jaws wide open, Xiphactinus could swallow a six-foot-long fish in one giant gulp! You wouldn’t want to be swimming in the same waters as this fellow, that’s for sure.

The ancient creature once swam in the sea in what is now Montana. I found the skeleton at the The Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum near Glasgow.

Favorite photos from week of July 19, 2015

Here are a few things I found interesting as I drove on U.S. 2 from East Glacier to Glasgow, Montana.

Espresso stand in Browning on Blackfeet Nation.

Sears Motel, East Glacier. Very cute. One double bed $69 a night.

Looking west on U.S. 2 from just east of East Glacier.

Entrance to Blackfeet Nation. Made of destroyed material from flood disaster.

Open Range, East Glacier

Welcome to town penguin, Cut Bank

Welcome to town sign, Rudyard

Along U.S. 2 near Rudyard

Lake Shel-oole Campground, a Shelby city park. $25 a night with electric.

Dinosaur guards entrance to Malta museum

One of many abandoned houses on U.S. 2, this one 12 miles east of Havre.

Meth warning signs are everywhere, this one in Harlem.

Statues on hillside on U.S. 2 west of Glasgow.

Nobody home anymore. Along U.S. 2

The championship fight that nearly bankrupted a town

If you visit Shelby, Mont., you'll hear about "The Fight." You'll hear what a disaster it was, and how Shelby almost went broke. 

Heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey

It was 1923. About 2,500 people lived in Shelby, a backwater town that nobody had ever heard of. It was a stop along the Great Northern Railroad, that's all.

A local named James W. ("Body") Johnson read a news account that boxing champ Jack Dempsey was set to defend his heavyweight title in Montreal. He'd get $100,000 for his efforts. Johnson, who owned a some property around Shelby, figured that maybe Dempsey could be persuaded to fight in Shelby instead if the purse were sweetened.

The idea got traction and a deal was made. The world championship fight would be held on July 4th — Dempsey vs. underdog Tom Gibbons. Shelby would be on the map, prosperity to follow.

Dempsey's manager must have smelled a "sucker." He asked for $300,000 and got it, three times what Montreal offered. Nobody in Shelby questioned how the city could afford to pay it, which it couldn't.

Not many of these ringside seats sold. Too expensive!

A sprawling wooden, octagonal arena was quickly built to accommodate 42,000 fans. Hotels were erected specifically for the fight, to be torn down later.

Tickets went on sale. But they were priced way too high to cover costs. Few people bit.

When Shelby couldn't come up with Dempsey's advance on time, his manager leaked word that the fight was off. Now, nobody bought tickets. By the time it was announced the fight was on, it was too late to buy one and get to Shelby.

Then it was fight day. A fraction of the seats were sold. An admission ticket was lowered from $25 to $10, which helped a little. At the bell of round one, thousands of locals decided they wanted in. They stormed over the barbed wire fence. Four thousand freeloaders saw the fight in what was still a mostly empty arena.

Tom Gibbons' gloves.

The match went 15 rounds, the only time Dempsey went the distance.

Then reality set in. The town couldn't pay the bills. The arena was ripped up, the wood sold for scrap. Look closely today in the attics of some old houses in Shelby and you'll see seat numbers on the lumber.

Four banks went bust. It was disaster to all but Dempsey. Shelby managed to survive, but it wasn't pretty.

The site of the fight is now anchored by a Pizza Hut. The town is trying to fund a "Championship Park" complete with a replica of the arena and bronze statues of the fighters. Memorial bricks are $100 to $200 each. Or buy a "Ringside Sponsorship Tile" for $1,000.

Learn more about the fight at the Marias Museum of History and Art in Shelby.

Treasures await by the World's tallest purple spoon

Jo Wagner and a few of her spoons.

If you're into wooden spoons, then head to East Glacier, Montana where you'll find The Spiral Spoon. I bet the store has more hand-made wooden spoons per square foot than anywhere else in Montana. Maybe the USA. Maybe the World.

You’ll find the World’s Largest Purple Spoon out front. You’ll want to snap a selfie in front of this impressive 14-foot tall kitchen implement.

There are a lot of wooden spoons at the Spiral Spoon, all made with various woods with loving care by Jo and Charley Wagner with a few helpers. I have never seen more impressive spoons. Most sell for $10 to $50, but you can pay more. I bet there are 300 to 400 spoons on display in the store’s three small rooms.

Jo even makes left-handed spoons, something you don’t see every day.

She’s all about the feel of the spoons. She holds each one lovingly, rubbing it. “It’s calming,” she says. “My best customers are blind people.” She says they appreciate the texture.

If you visit, be sure to look up at the ceiling where there are spoons to view, but not to buy. Many were used in TV shows or movies. Charley’s favorite is a spoon from the TV show Bonanza.

Many of the store’s popular spoons have a name. There’s Linda, Doris and Jack to name three. They’re named for friends. The idea is when inventory is running low someone can just yell, “Six more Lindas” to the spoon maker on duty.

Jo and Charley live year round in East Glacier. Most tourists (and customers) arrive in the summer. So in the winter, when it’s too cold outside to do anything but shiver, they hole up inside and make spoons.

The shop is open every day. If the door is locked, a sign says to ring the bell, which plays a nice rendition of Home on the Range. Usually the first to arrive will be Buddy, a friendly black and white dog of small stature and uncertain breeding.

JO WAS AN ENGLISH TEACHER before she took up spoon-making. She never even gave a thought about making something — a spoon, for example. But then she made one and the rest is history. “I never thought I had any talent,” she said, which is pretty funny when you see her beautiful creations.

Besides making spoons, she makes wands. After Harry Potter became popular the local kids started “badgering me to make wands,” she said. After resisting for awhile she did.

Today they fly out nearly as fast as she can make them, each with a certificate explaining what makes it special.

Some have a copper core. Some have buffalo hair. One has wolf hair. She calls the wands “magic” — not because of what they do, but how much profit they generate. “You see that car out there?” she asks, pointing out the window to her Ford Explorer. “What I made from the wands in the first two years I could have used to pay cash for that.”

At age 69, Jo is a whirlwind — "doing" the showroom, talking the talk, smiling, laughing, having fun. She’s one heck of a sales person. I listened to her as she rang the register for one customer after another. She looks at each person's name and then tells a story. “I’ve had several Elizabeth Taylors in here,” she says. “Jimmy Hendrix was in last week.” I asked her if the name was spelled the same. It wasn't.

After leaving the Spiral Spoon, be sure to go next door to Brownie’s Hostel and Bakery and get a Huckleberry milkshake.

You'll find the Spiral Spoon on the Web at TheSpiralSpoon.com.