Cooper Pass from Montana to the Ghost Town of Burke and historic Wallace, Idaho
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2023
- Cooper Pass from Montana to the Ghost Town of Burke and historic Wallace, Idaho
Join me as I travel Cooper Pass from Montana Secondary Highway 471 to the Ghost Town of Burke and historic Wallace, Idaho. This was an easy ride in my Polaris General David Lee Side-by-Side.
In Burke, Silver, lead, and zinc were the precious metals extracted from the Star mine, owned by the Hecla Mining Company. The mine opened in the 1890s, but fire destroyed all above-ground structures in 1923. The brick and concrete structures you see today were built in the 1920s after the devastating fire.
The 8,100-foot-deep Star Mine was the deepest mine in North America. It closed in 1982 but saw brief activity in the 1990s. In 2011 Hecla Mining Company studied re-opening the mine due to rising silver prices.
Founded in 1884, Wallace sits in the Silver Valley mining district of northern Idaho, the world’s largest silver producer. In 2004 the mayor made a proclamation: “I, Ron Garitone, Mayor of Wallace, Idaho, and all of its subjects, and being of sound body and mind, do hereby solemnly declare and proclaim Wallace to be the Center of the Universe.”
You can see the Center of the Universe in this video at 5:30. It is marked by a purple man-hole cover in the middle of Bank Street and Sixth Street. Now you know!
Captured with a GoPro Hero-11 action camera, two Garmin mini dash-cams, and a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced drone. Editing was accomplished with Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Music: Perspectives by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: filmmusic.io/song/4207-perspe...
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: filmmusic.io/standard-license
That freeway cutting through the town is amazing. Hope all that construction helps the economy of that little town. Thanks for the video, Mike
Mike, this was the last and most expensive stretch of the US Interstate highway system. The town sat in the path of I90 so they had to go over the entire town! I remember driving through Wallace and stopping at the last stop light on the entire interstate highway system. That traffic light is at the Smithsonian. Since the highway is a bypass, Wallace has found other means to survive. Thanks for watching! Dave.
I am very jealous. I wish I could do what you do everyday!
Well, I would have you know, every day isn't like this. I try to ride once/a week in the summer, but family commitments do come first. During the "off-days", you find me tinkering on the General David Lee and on my pop-up pickup camper and such. Then there's time in front of the computer screen editing my rides. I find this last step extremely enjoyable since I get to relive the rides all over again. Thanks for watching and commenting. Dave in western Montana.
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I attempted this trip on Sunday, May 13, 2024. About 8 miles in from MT 471 I encountered a huge snow drift! Common sense said that I should abandon this trip! I had to carefully back up about 1/4 mile to a point where I could do a 6-point turnaround. If you really want to explore Burke ID, do it from the Idaho side on ID route 4.
Awesome post! I hope folks will read it before attempting. I encountered snow a few days ago around Philipsburg, Mt. There is snow above 7,500' as we were attempting the top at 8,000'. It's still winter in the high country. Yes, backing out is the proper thing to do. I have a friend who tried to turn around in a snowbank and yes, his SxS was high centered, and he didn't even have a shovel! He had to dig out by hand to get unstuck (he was traveling alone). A lesson learned. Thanks for your post. Dave.