How We Avoided the Road Construction on U.S. 287 On Our Way Home - Thursday, June 25, 2020

In my June 22 blog, I recounted our displeasure with U.S. 287 north of I-90 on the way to Helena, Montana. We did not want to return through the miles of torn-up roadway. So we bit the bullet and took I-15 south from Helena to Butte, Montana.

The scenery was gorgeous, but there were passes to cross and this route is longer than U.S. 287. We crossed the Continental Divide three different times today! So, we missed the road construction that we dealt with on the way north, but we were slowed down by the passes. Still, it was a very pretty way to go. Slow and steady wins the day.

Continental Divide
north of Butte, MT.

Butte, Montana, and the Rockies.

I-90 east of Butte, Montana.

I-90 east of Butte, Montana.

I-90 east of Butte, Montana.

Rock formations on I-90 east of Butte.

We took I-90 east, crossing the Continental Divide twice more, to MT 2 toward Lewis and Clark Caverns. Our ultimate destination today is Island Park, Idaho, south of West Yellowstone. 

We were pleased to learn that even though MT 2 is a two-lane highway, it is very picturesque as it flows along Boulder River. Also, we avoided another steep pass on I-90. There were very few cars on MT 2!

Boulder River along MT 2.

Boulder River along MT 2.

MT 2 is a two-lane highway.

Beautiful geology.

Our route along MT 2.

MT 2 was only 11 miles long, so we were quickly past Lewis & Clark Caverns (with a very nice-looking campground). We connected with U.S. 287 south and stayed on that along the Madison River. Again, more pretty scenery.

Madison River by the rest area.

Madison River.

Bozeman Trail historical marker.

This route to Island Park, Idaho, really impressed us. Our next choice was whether to stay on U.S. 287  to Quake Lake (which is impressive, but we had already been there) or take SR 87 and cut off a number of miles and miss West Yellowstone. We opted to take SR 87 which is a wonderful road. We didn't need to get into the traffic of West Yellowstone. We took SR 87 straight south to U.S. 20.

Our campground for the night was Buffalo Run RV Park on U.S. 20 in Island Park, Idaho. It's a cute little park right up against an area with a lot of moose browse. In the campground office, I asked if moose come into the campground and the manager pulled out a photo of a moose and baby moose taken in the campground. We weren't lucky enough to see any while we were there. 

We took the rest of the afternoon off. Tomorrow, we will do the Mesa Falls Scenic Loop. It has been a while since we've been there and the falls were worth seeing again.

I forgot to take photos of Buffalo Run RV Resort. It has trees and most of the RV sites are back from U.S. 20. The park is close to Harriman State Park which has bike paths that Bob will explore tomorrow before we drive the scenic loop.