The wonders of Wallace

What a great town! Prince and I had a leisurely breakfast, then he had a nice hot shower. I showered second and discovered that the hot water tank is just not as big as I thought. The morning was capped off by breaking in our brand new 15 foot sewer kit. What a thrill! Everything drained, all systems are working and the two of us smell like roses. You would think that would be the highlight of the day, but noooooooo….. Off we went for a tour of the Oasis Bordello, complete with a tour of the Madam’s main room including several wigs made out of feathers, a list of prices for various (ahem) services and even a chart showing the Canadian exchange rates. The bordello was a going concern from 1895 to 1988 when the feds cracked down. The ladies were given just minutes to get out and left everything from cigarettes in the ashtrays to clothes and even a bag of groceries on the counter. The tour guide explained the accounting practices, which would put the internal revenue service to shame. From there, we crossed the street to the Railroad station museum which was also very interesting and, we’re sure, provided many of the customers for the Oasis. We then took a very brief trolley tour and saw the sites of downtown Wallace (pop. 960). This took approximately 15 minutes. The downtown area looks much like it did in 1910 after the original town was destroyed by fire. It’s absolutely beautiful! Oh yes – and it’s also the Center of the Universe. We know because the signs tell us so and they even have a manhole cover to prove it. To round out the adventure, Prince and I then drove 8 miles to Burke, which is a ghost town. It was the most populated ghost town we’ve ever seen. The hotel was fascinating, since it had to be built over the creek and had 2 railway lines running through it. It was adjacent to an active mine and we didn’t wander around – for the very simple reason that the thing looked like it was about to collapse. All in all, it was a very good day. The torrential rains stopped as we got into the car and didn’t start up again until we got back in the late afternoon. The concept of dryness is beginning to take on a certain amount of importance in our lives. We may abandon the eastward trek and start driving south to try to find some heat and sunshine. Death Valley is beginning to sound very appealing.