The bus driver turned down the interior lights and darkness enveloped the Salt Lake Express bus. The time was 10:54 p.m. as our over-sized van pulled out of the Helena Transit Center with seven passengers bound for Butte.
This small drama plays out every night year-round. As most of Montana sleeps, a 15-seat mini-bus rolls through Jefferson County, stopping briefly in Boulder and Basin before reaching its destination of downtown Butte at the ungodly hour of 12:15 a.m. Many arriving passengers quickly hop on a 12:30 a.m. connection to Billings.
Later, in the wee hours just after 5 a.m., the Great Falls-origin bus turns around and heads back to its home terminal. On a recent Tuesday night, I made the round trip – just to say I’d done it, and learn who on Earth travels then, and why.
