Brydn's 2003 Travel Journal - Montana: Last Chance Gulch

Brydn's 2003 Travel Journal - Montana: Last Chance Gulch

Page 60

I spend a couple days in Last Chance Gulch when my pickup breaks down. The town has a unique history of the gold mining days.


PG 60. 8:02 am, Helena, Montana.
I get to Last Chance Gulch and my truck starts overheating right before Hwy 12, West. I notice I'm directly in front of the radiator shop on Last Chance Gulch so I coast into the parking lot. The top hose isn't even hot. All the water's leaked out. I go in the shop. I had called that morning and the guy, Torry, tells me he can't get me in until next Thursday. So, I tell him my story about the thermostat, the water pump and the stop leak. He says if I take it to the Firestone tire place, they can pull the radiator out and that would speed things up to tomorrow, and then he can get to it. So I ask if I can pull it out in the lot out front. He says, "Okay." I unbolted the radiator, cut off one of the hose clamps and pop it out in 15 minutes. By now it's 4:40pm, and they close by 5:30pm. Torry's gonna try to get it before the day's over. I call Megan with the word. She's admittedly sounding bored. She suggests I get a beer at a saloon while I'm in Helena. I walk up the Last Chance Gulch to check it out. Steve answers his phone. He says the equipment will be in the parimutuel's office when I get there. He also has 4 more days of work in Kalispel for the meet. He says he didn't want to, but he'll drive out to Missoula since Patrick quit. I may be able to find a camera person before next Tuesday(?). I walk all the way up Last Chance Gulch. There are many references to the gold mining days. There is a concrete stream where the original stream went through town. I sit on a bench at the end of the street by the library. I start getting tired. It's getting close to 5pm. I walk back to the radiator shop to be there at 5pm, closing time. Torry, at the radiator shop, calls about not being able to weld it back together because the radiator is rotting away. He shows me the radiator suspended in air. The metal cooling fins are falling apart. He gets on the phone and ordersa new one from Seattle for $250, plus a $50 overnight shipping. He lights up a Marboro. We talk about the video tour a little. He offers to park my truck and all the equipment in one of the bays. I go up a block and get a room and the hotel. I run back to the radiator shop and grab the red writing box, my green clothes box, and honey guitar. I lug it all back to my room after giving the truck key to Torry. He says he'll drive it in to the bay without a radiator. I think that's unique. The minute I get to my room, I fall asleep. I wake up about 8:30pm and take a hot shower.