• Day 3: No one bothered us about our Stealth Camp.
• The morning sky seemed to have slightly better visibility but smoke could be smelled from the forest fire south of Butte.
• We learned, from meeting a gentleman walking his dog, that the GDMBR had been re-routed for this segment. We were on the old route and the new route followed Montana 82 and Boulder Creek. Both routes met at the I-15 Exit/Underpass at GDMBR Mile 180. We took the older route because the display information for the newer route was not on our map.
• We had no troubles riding on the shoulder of I-15 and that was sort of exciting. How often does one see a cyclist on a major highway?
• We learned later that schools were closed to kids in Butte because of the deteriorating smoke conditions. Kids and Seniors were not supposed to go outside. Many families temporarily relocated to friends or family during the next following weeks. Hmm, Dennis is a Senior.
• We had originally planned on continuing southward at Grant, Montana (we had already biked the segment from Butte to Grant) but Grant and Dillon were the proximity locations of the current forest fire. There were about 30 forest fires in Montana on our final day in Montana (we did not know this at that time). We decided to pick up our vehicle in Butte and depart for Wyoming, for cleaner air. After another day of driving we arrived at Flagg Ranch, Wyoming (Grand Teton area) to ride another segment on the GDMBR (which is yet another Bicycle Adventure).

Day 3 - Depart our Stealth Camp on Montana 82
and Head to Butte (our destination) by way of the I-15 Frontage Road

Above Left: Morning arrived. We quickly struck camp (pun).

Above Right: The Bee was loaded and ready to go.

Above Left: The far road was I-15 and the near road where the man and dogs are standing was our Frontage Road to ride (south). This was where we learned, from meeting a gentleman walking his dog, that the GDMBR had been re-routed for this segment. We were on the original route and the new route followed Montana 82 and Boulder Creek directly into NW Butte. We took the original route, now called an Alternate Route, because the display information for the newer route was not on our present (apparently older) map.

Above Right: We immediately went into a steep climb. There is nothing like starting the day with a steep climb to warm-up a body and get the muscles working.

Above Left: Still climbing next to the Interstate.

Above Right: A view looking down on Interstate-15.

Above Left: The Frontage Road will eventually merge into a former railroad (but not yet).

Above Right: Now we are a little isolated from the Interstate.

Above Left: Somewhere, I became an old man.

Above Right: This is a railroad cut. We are now on a railroad grade road.

Above Left: Geological Violence.

Above Right: The vista is bella.

A Railroad Tunnel (Tunnel #9, 1911)

Above: A railroad tunnel.

Above: Tunnel #9, 1911. We saw no other tunnels on this ride. Inside the tunnel, we learned that our new Halogen Light worked very well (it is always on).

Above Left: A back view of the tunnel.

Above Right: A common Cattlemen's Fence and Gateway Setup, on the left side is a Fence Gate for heavy loaded vehicles and on the right side is a Grid (Cattle Guard) for lighter vehicles. We rode over the open grid.

Above Left: Creek.

Above Right: Wetland Ponds.

Above Left: Some timber was cut here. We had to dodge wood slivers on the ground.

Above Right: We stopped for a mid-morning snack.

Above: Gravel, gravel, gravel - It's difficult to pedal and keep traction.

Above Left: Road selfie.

Above Right: We lost our railroad grade road.

Above Left: The Frontage Road came near the Interstate again.

Above Right: We had entered a mountain valley.

The Frontage Road Became Paved

Above Left: Haze.

Above Right: While it is 10 miles away, that gap is Continental Divide Crossing #4. We have come upon paved road.

Above Left: Sheepshead Picnic Area / Wildlife Viewing Area.

Above Right: Nez Perce Creek, Maney Lake, Lowland Camp. We think that this was where the new GDMBR route meets the Interstate.

Above Left: Blue Bird Box. We learned to never face these boxes towards a road because the birds fly often low level into their nests, ignoring traffic.

Above Right: We were making headway towards Continental Divide Crossing #4.

This is Where We Got Onto Interstate-15

Above: This is it. This is where we got onto Interstate-15.

Continental Divide Crossing #4
(Elevation 6368'/1940m)

Above: Terry Struck and the Bee at Continental Divide Crossing #4 (Elevation 6368'/1940m)!

Above Left: Just over this crest is the city of Butte, Montana. The tailings of a working Gold Mine is viewable on the right (southwest) side.

Above Right: Luckily we stayed on the shoulder all the way - We turned onto Interstate-90 West and took the very first Interstate Exit into Butte. But First we were going to stop in a very informative highway rest area

Bute, Montana
(I-15 Scenic View Pull-Off)

Above: Terry and Dennis Struck at the I-15 Viewing Area of Butte, Montana, just south of the Continental Divide Crossing #4 on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR), August, 2015.

Above: Our Lady of the Rockies Statue.

Above: The City of Butte, Montana, as viewed south to west from our Interstate-15 Rest Stop.

Above Left: A wider view east of our Rest Stop and the Lady of the Rockies Statue.

Above Right: Our last picture, taken rapidly while cycling and making I-90's Exit 127 into Butte, Montana.

Summary

We had an easy day of it, we only rode a half day and most of the ride was flat and paved.
We made a wise decision to evacuate the area due to Forest Fire Smoke issues.

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