Deer Lodge MT

We left the lake on Sunday and drove west to Deer Lodge MT.  Yesterday we visited something surprising to find in the middle of Montana called the Garden of 1000 Buddhas.  It’s actually located on the Flathead American Indian Reservation and it was built as an international center for peace in 2000.  The statues are centered around a 24 foot statue of Yum Chenmo (the Great Mother) in the formation of a “wheel of dharma” which represents the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth.  It was a very peaceful and thoughtful place to spend time no matter what your beliefs.  Below are some photos that John and I shot.

And here’s a video below.

Today, we visited the Old Montana Prison Museum located in the town of Deer Lodge.  Quite the opposite of the peace and calm spaces from yesterday, this was a real lesson in the harsh life of the people who committed crimes and were incarcerated here.  The prison was established in 1871 and was an active prison until 1979.  We were able to tour many buildings including the main Cell house and the women’s quarters.

The photo below was taken in what used to be the chapel.  To the right of the statue you can see a gun port which allowed the guards in the tunnels to oversee the inmates.

The video below was shot in ‘The Hole’ which is where they sent the most difficult inmates.   It was very creepy down there and I was getting very bad vibes.

Then I was flirting with an inmate so John threw ME in jail!