WYOMING to MONTANA
Aug. 31-Sep. 1 2010
PART 5
We left off south of Victor, ID. There we ended up on a minor gravel road to avoid a traffic tie-up.
This is either ID 31 or US 26 near Swan Valley, ID.
This has to be US 26 about 10 miles west of Swan Valley.
This nighttime clip is of Idaho Falls, which has long challenged nearby Pocatello for the mantle of second-largest city in Idaho. (Reportedly, however, some suburbs of Boise have recently surpassed it. We'll see about that, won't we?) I couldn't help but notice that in "small government" Idaho Falls, every major intersection seemed to have surveillance cameras staring down at us from above the traffic lights. The first half of this brief video has us traveling southwest on Yellowstone Highway (US 26/Biz US 20) under 3 overpasses. The first overpass is the ramp to South Boulevard; the other 2 are rail. The second half of the clip is downtown, probably Broadway.
This is from I-15, probably near Roberts, ID. The road running horizonally across the photo was probably once part of US 91, which now doesn't go north of Idaho Falls at all.
I-15 north, probably still near Roberts.
I-15, probably near Hamer, ID.
More I-15.
From I-15, the road seen here is another extremely likely candidate to be the old US 91.
I-15 at exit 172 near Dubois, ID. Idaho is so desolate compared to what we city folk are used to that this exit doesn't even have a name or city. It's just exit 172 perched hat-like on the sign. In reality, however, the road has a name (Modoc Road).
Another exit 172 view, showing the tight ramp.
I-15 near Spencer, ID.
This bridge is visible from I-15 north of Spencer. The span is near Fort Harkness, along what was probably once US 91.
A present from the pampa! Now we're almost in Montana, and this is an excellent view of a bridge along the apparent former US 91. I think it goes over a rail line.
In this motion picture show, I pick up an all-time new state for me: Montana! It's my first visit to the state that once threatened to give Metric Man fits. The Montana/Idaho border is shaped like a profile of Ronald Reagan, and here we're on I-15, down on Ronnie's chin. The bridge at :30 and :48 is the same span shown in the previous still photo.
I-15 just after entering Montana.
Another I-15 view. Three cars ahead is a state trooper car with its lights going. The fuzz pulled over the speeding motorist who passed us on the left after we entered Montana in the video.
I-15 at mile marker 14 near Lima, MT.
I'm rapidly becoming an I-15 expert!
I-15 between Lima and Dell. The road on the right is definitely old US 91, with a rail line to the right of that.
Approaching Dell, with animals grazing to the left of the freeway.
Clark Canyon Reservoir is to the left of I-15. The reservoir was created in 1964 from the Beaverhead River. The dam that forms the reservoir is notable for crossing the 45th parallel - the midpoint between the Equator and the North Pole. The reservoir forced the relocation of US 91 and the accompanying rail line and even inundated the town of Armsted, MT.
More I-15 and Clark Canyon Reservoir.
I-15 at the north end of the reservoir.