Day 20: June 25, 2021
Regret Be Gone

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When I went to bed on Thursday, I was resigned to missing the Yellowstone Trail between Butte and Missoula. To drive it now, would require nearly two hours of backtracking. I was tired and not at all inclined to do it. But it sure bugged me. To make it all this way then miss a big chunk because of motel overload would annoy me for a long time. I woke up about 3:00 calculating when I would have to leave to reach Butte around sunrise. The answer was "soon". The moon still looked pretty full from the night before which may help explain my behavior.

I reached the west side of the mound of dirt that had blocked me and verified that I could probably have continued by just driving over it as others had apparently done. But that would not have solved my time problem. Things looked better now. I had a full day available for driving.

After driving by Deer Lodge twice on the expressway, I finally got to enter the town today. It has at least one decent looking motel and a good looking theater. According to the horse topped sign at the north edge of town, the Big Sky Draft Horse Expo would be starting up later in the day. I'm guessing the Down Towner is benefiting from that and maybe the Rialto, too.

About a mile south of Garrison, the road made me think it might be impassable when wet but there was no sign.

I caught the locomotive a few miles east of the town of Drummond which has a motel on each end and a "used cow lot" in the middle.

There is plenty to look at between Drummond and Clinton.

From west of Huson, MT, I have a preview of a coming attraction and the attraction.

One end of the westernmost bit of first generation Yellowstone Trail is under I-90. Not paved over; just under it. Westbound travelers have to exit and cross to the south side of the expressway to connect with the unpaved road and head north. The road isn't horrible but there are some ruts to contend with. It could be another of those impassable-when-wet places. At the top, there is a clearing where a few hiking trails convene and with two roads heading west. My GPS routes were divided by state so the one I'd been following ended in the middle of the clearing. I crossed my fingers, hoped that the next route matched up with my current location, and was overjoyed when it did.

With that, I entered the state of Idaho for only the second time ever and the first time on gravel. I paused part way down to snap a shot of the roadside.


I collected my welcome gift at Wallace Brewing.

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