Galt's Gulch
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Galt's Gulch in Montana?

Posted by awebb 9 years, 11 months ago to Pics
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Was doing a little exploration in north west Montana this weekend and came across a place called Kerr Dam. It's a beautiful place that immediately made me think "Galt's Gulch" --- The pictures certainly don't do it justice.

You descend into this valley via a winding (slightly frightening) road. There's even a small (5-6) grouping of houses down by the dam (sorry no good pictures of the houses). I wonder who lives there? Maybe I should have knocked on a few doors and asked for John Galt....

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  • Posted by $ blarman 9 years, 11 months ago
    A couple of notes if you want to use Montana as a potential "Gulch" site:

    1. Montana gets cold. Really cold. I lived there for seven years. Make sure you build well-insulated buildings with gas(propane) or wood-burning heat. When you don't see a temperature above -10 F (before wind chill) for a week, you want to stay warm.
    2. Montana also gets quite hot. In Great Falls, July would hit 100 F pretty regularly.
    3. Prepare for wind. Montana gets a LOT of wind. Some areas see 100+ MPH gusts and chinooks are commonplace. A police patrol car even got rolled by the wind near where I lived when a 130+ mph gust hit it sideways.
    4. Temperature flux. Because of the chinooks, the temperature can change _radically_. It was not uncommon for a chinook to come in and raise temperatures 40 F in a couple of hours. The most extreme temperature fluctuations saw temperatures go from -40 F to +60 F in two+ hours. This wreaks havoc on basically everything.
    5. There is plentiful oil/natural gas. It's not atypical to see wells pumping in the middle of farmers' fields on the northern plains.
    6. Beware of grizzly bears. Lewis and Clark stumbled on them when mapping their journey and found them to be pretty inhospitable. They haven't changed much in the last 150 years.
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    • Posted by freedomforall 9 years, 11 months ago
      It would not be high on my list due to climate. We must be self sufficient in food production. There are lots of places where growing food is much easier. It is also land locked and surrounded by a dictatorship. Lincoln caused the civil war by stifling trade for the south (via tariff.) The feds could easily destroy trade for a Montana Gulch and starve us to death.
      Remember Ruby Rudge and Waco.
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  • Posted by mdk2608 9 years, 11 months ago
    Beautiful. Someday I would love to go to the place in Colorado that Rand actually identified as the Gulch. Of course it may be filled with pot manufacturers and people stoned but I would love to see her vision.
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    • Posted by jabuttrick 9 years, 11 months ago
      It's a small town called Ouray, Colorado which sits on the Western Slope about half way between Durango and Montrose. I have visited there and found it quite charming and beautiful. I didn't see any pot manufacturers or people stoned but this was around 10 years ago. They have a hot springs, a waterfall and interesting mining areas along with some small trailer parks. All in all, a quaint slice of the past. I saw no indication that anyone in the town was aware of the Rand connection or was attempting to cash in on it.
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      • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 11 months ago
        I was around that area many years ago. We took the narrow gage railway train from Durango to Silverton, the old silver mining town. Breathtaking scenery. We also drove the 40 mile long Gold Camp Road (Mostly dirt) that was so scary we decided to take the 160 mile highway back to Colorado Springs, instead. The turnouts were beautiful, though.
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      • Posted by wiggys 9 years, 11 months ago
        there are still no pot mfgers or pot stores there. but i am equally sure it is readily available.
        however, i was under the impression Galt's Gulch was Telluride, co about 50 miles west of Ouray.
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        • Posted by jabuttrick 9 years, 11 months ago
          I am 100% sure it was Ouray, but cannot put my finger on my source right now. It may have been cited in one of the Brandens' books or perhaps I read it elsewhere authoritative.
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  • Posted by term2 9 years, 11 months ago
    Montana is in the middle of an Obama dictatorship, however. Not very safe in case of currency collapse. A landlocked Gulch populated with well stocked preppers would be a target to be looted. There is a LOT to be considered in order to be self-sufficient and safe !!
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  • Posted by Bob44_ 9 years, 11 months ago
    Great looking place, but a little small for the gulch. Thought I saw a fine rainbow trout rising to a soft hackle though. Think I'd stop and wet a line. My fly rod is itching for action.
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    • Posted by NealS 9 years, 11 months ago
      Your " fine rainbow trout rising" structured comment turned me on. I've got to get over there and do some fishing... Perhaps will even go south to Hamilton for some great fly fishing. I used to go almost every summer. It's been way too long (at least 20 years) now. Where did all the time go? Maybe I'll see you there.
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      • Posted by Bob44_ 9 years, 11 months ago
        That would be great. I spent most of my time in the Madison River around West Yellowstone MT, but also got around WY, NW MT and almost every stream in YSNP. Can't wade anymore so fishing is limited to guide boat. I have MS and have very poor balance and don't walk too well. Quite a jolt for someone who started adulthood as a professional baseball player and then a court executive officer. I've been to Hamilton and thought it was pretty, but was turned off by property owners charging to fish the river. I asked some old timers about the river and one described it to me as : east side, tick side. west side rattlesnake side or maybe vice versa. It's been a long time ago.
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        • Posted by NealS 9 years, 11 months ago
          I understand, amongst other things, peripheral neuropathy, so toes always feel cold. I could not take standing in the river anymore either. Besides I'm sure my waders, someplace out in the garage, are rotted by now, should throw them out. I guess times change, but I've still got a lot of spinning gear too. I wonder if all of it is too antique to use today. Lead weights are probably banned today??? I usually entered river outside of Hamilton, but even in Hamilton used to have all kinds of free access to river, and once you were in it, it was yours, at least it was mine. Maybe I'll just Netflix "A River Runs Through It", and call it a day. And I think it is vice versa, ticks (woodsy) west, rattlers (hot/dry) east. Take care.
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  • Posted by TeresaW 9 years, 11 months ago
    This is NW MT in mid-February? And I was thinking maybe you all had time on your hands to blog ‘cause you were snowed in. Only true of NE Gulchers, eh?
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  • Posted by DGriffing 9 years, 11 months ago
    Not every place with scenic views is like Galt's Gulch. A large percentage of Montana's have statist mentalities and Montana is highly dependent on Federal subsidies, taking in more taxes than their citizens or businesses pay.

    Montana has a number of Indian reservations (even near Kerr Dam) showing the utter failure of the collectivist, tribal, racism that has native Americans totally dependent on government handouts and without hope.

    But Montana is beautiful and I live there.
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  • Posted by scojohnson 9 years, 11 months ago
    We (my employer) has a large detachment, similar to that at Fort Peck, Montana. The housing around Fort Peck is basically to maintain and support the power dam.

    I'm sure the same thing is here, looks like a tiny little sub-1-megawatt power dam, probably some workers there that live in the houses. Usually their salaries are designed to support the micro-household there, as well as a more permanent residence somewhere else and they do something like 1-week on (on-site) and 1-week off.
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