Get Lost in Montana’s Russell Country

We took Montana’s recent ad campaign to heart a week ago and got lost! Well, I can’t say that we were lost but we didn’t get to where I thought I was going.

I’m fairly sure it was just one incorrect turn and that turn wasn’t marked. What a drive though!

We started driving to the ghost town of Maiden, north of Lewistown. We drove in to Maiden canyon which seemed lush with vegetation, hay crops and sporadic homes and cabins. Hay bales seemed to go on forever in the fields.

We continued driving, and climbed and climbed in elevation thinking we would end up at Camp Maiden. Never got there!

After looking at a map when I got home I’m pretty sure we were at Judith Peak in the Judith Mountains. We had 360 degree views and very interesting geology.

This area was once home to several gold mines and at times the soil seemed to have gold-colored rocks. I was thinking positive about the gold! There is interesting history here since gold was found in a couple of the gulches in 1881.

All in all, we had a great time getting lost and this area had been on my list of places to explore for quite some time.