So the first thing one would usually hear of Montana is “Go visit Berkeley Pit, and you’ll see what I mean.” Doing a bit of Googling helped. The pit is actually a 900-foot deep acidic lake that would kill anyone who would dive in it. Snow geese were the last of its victims. Bless them souls of those poor geese.

The Butte National Park is probably the strangest man-made park for the fact that it displays a charm that could melt the skin off of your bones. Like the La Brea Tar Pits perhaps. Only Tar Pits were made by Mother Nature. This one was made by men. On the course of mining, moving and more mining.

The pit still oozes with poison. And acid. Research concluded the water contains enough zinc, copper, lead and arsenic to cause death upon skin contact. ARCO, an oil company, was left to help the two towns clean up the big mess. It will take time. A very, very long time.

Standing proudly, overlooking the pit are two famous icons of Montana. The Big Stack, the tallest unsupported brick structure in the world and a 90 foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary dubbed “Our Lady of the Rockies”.

The Big Stack was originally a part of Washoe Smelter Compex. The people of Anaconda City had found the stack to be worth keeping and had fought for it on several occasions. Finally, by the end of the 19th century, the governor had declared it to be a Montana state park. The stack was saved from demolition and clearing.

Our Lady of the Rockies stands atop the hill, looking onwards at the pit and the residents. There’s a tour bus trip you can take if you want to get close and near the statue. From the pit, it looks like a white blur against the clear, azure sky.