An Alternate Road West From Miles City. Although the Road On the North Side of the Yellowstone River Is Smoothe Gravel and Has Treacherous Huge Deep Center of Road Crash-Holes, It Is a Hi Quality Road! This Road Allows Two Dramatic River-Crossing Views and Has Other Sights, Such As This Large Herd.
(page 005) "We have learned how to spot the good ones on a map, for example. If the line wiggles, that's good. That means hills. If it appears to be the main route from a town to a city, that's bad. The best ones always connect nowhere with nowhere and have an alternate that gets you there quicker." AND (page 003) "It is a kind of nowhere, famous for nothing at all and has an appeal because of just that."
About 6 Mi West of Miles City, MT. (Continued fm previous) In Summer 06, I had the chance to traveled this stretch along the north-side-of-river. I took N 7th Street, Rt59, which has a great view of the Yellowstone River, went to the top of the bluff, and turned on the first major gravel road left. Mapquest shows this as Rt 158, Scheffield Road.(Later Hy 446.) This road goes thru the towns of Sheffield and Thurlow. At Cartersville a left turn will return you over the river to I-94. This road, on my map, is an unlabeled, hard to discern light-colored wiggly grey line. It fits the Narrator's description of high-value travel: (page 004) " ...when you make that shift in emphasis the whole approach changes. Twisting hilly roads are long in terms of seconds but are much more enjoyable on a cycle where you bank into turns and don't get swung from side to side in any compartment. Roads with little traffic are more enjoyable, as well as safer. "
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(Photo = Summer2006 0295 ...... ZMM Page = 092 ...... WayPt = 104k ~2680ft)

The Yellowstone River Was the Route of the Pioneers.
"[Now we follow the Yellowstone Valley right across Montana.]"
, MT. As any alert land traveler (and history buff) soon discover, river valleys generally provide an easier passage for nearly all modes of travel as well as road construction. Rivers and streams often allow boat navigation and sometimes the first ways into and through a new territory. These facts were important for early explorers and settlers. Additionally valleys, compared to the surrounding terrain, are more favorable to agriculture. For these reasons roads and then towns become established in valleys such as the Yellowstone Valley. The Narrator’s goal was Bozeman, MT, so we should not be surprising that the ZMM Route follows for 160 miles fairly close to a river, the Yellowstone. It is also not surprising that this river was also traveled by Captain Merriwether Clark. So both t Narrator and Lewis and Clark traveled West through this area Montana. Basically the facts of geography, given above, lead/constrained the ZMM Route so that it repeatedly encounters Lewis and Clark Landmarks as you will see.
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(Photo = Summer2006 0317 ...... ZMM Page = 1 ...... WayPt = 104m)

Along the ZMM Route Many Road–Side Signs Explain the Activities of Lewis and Clark.
“We pass by a marker saying something about Lewis and Clark. One of them came up this way on a side excursion from the Northwest Passage. .. Nice sound. Fits the Chautauqua. We’re really on a kind of Northwest Passage too."
I-94 Rest Area 6 Mi West of Miles City, MT. Capt. William Clark, mentioned in sign, traveled this way. Because of all the reasons mentioned in the previous photo, the Yellowstone Valley, became the major East-West artery of Montana, and locus of commerce and larger towns. Since the Narrator’s goal was Bozeman, MT, we should not be surprised that the ZMM Route follows for 160 miles fairly close to a river which happened also to have been traveled by Capt. Clark. Moreover, both the Narrator and Lewis and Clark traveled West from Montana. Basically the facts of geography, lead/constrained the ZMM Route so that it repeatedly encounters Lewis and Clark Landmarks. “The Chautauqua” mentioned above is the upcoming “lecture” by the Narrator. He will cover hierarchies of logic (inductive & deductive logic) as applied both science and mathematics. “Logic in action” is illustrated by mechanics of motorcycle maintenance and the physical organization of the motorcycle.
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(Photo = 105-0544 ...... ZMM Page = 092 ...... WayPt = 104`|w|' 2680ft)

Looking North From Interstate 94. Typical Scenery of the Yellowstone River Valley.
"I want to pursue further now that same ghost that Phædrus pursued...rationality itself, that dull, complex, classical ghost of underlying form. .. This morning I talked about hierarchies of thought...the system. Now I want to talk about methods of finding one’s way through these hierarchies...logic."
Interstate 94 West of Miles City, MT. Poetically reflecting the necessary but boring travel through this landscape, the ZMM Narrator discusses a similarly necessary but boring topic, logic, which is the ghost .... of.... rationality"? For a long time I could not understand what this meant. Here we see that the ghost of rationality, is for example, simply all the assertions and habits of science that make us Moderns who we are. New topic: Interstate I-94 closely follows the southern edge of the Yellowstone River all the way to Billings. However, as you see here, the river itself is not at all seen or even hinted at! This is usually the case in this part of Montana. Growing up in Ohio and living all my life in lands not at all as flat as this region of Montana, I was surprised by this. Rivers in this wide expanse of relatively flat land, took me some "getting used to"! I have had to learn the hard way (i.e. not finding good photos), that often the only indicators of streams or rivers is a low line of trees in an otherwise wide sea of grass. This is not at all true for a person like my self, who used to the Eastern part of USA where there is abundant rainfall. Inability to see the river here is especially true because of the high dense trees on both sides of the river. Examples of these trees at the river will be seen in my photos taken from bridge crossings previous and upcoming. I happened to cross over the river ahead because I exited the interstate at Forsyth, MT., and followed the olderroad thru Sanders, MT. and Hysham, MT. My attempts to locate the old Rt 10/312 turned me onto a long and anxious detour over the river, and away from my search goal!
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(Photo = 105-0559 ...... ZMM Page = 092 ...... WayPt = 104n 2680ft. Photo at = 113`|w|' 2915ft)

Although Looking Somewhat Dry, This Could Be In Norhern Ohio Corn Country.
[In the chautaqua] "[We’re really on a kind of Northwest Passage too.] We pass through more fields and desert and the day wears on. .. I want to pursue further now that same ghost that Phædrus pursued—rationality itself, that dull, complex, classical ghost of underlying form. .. This morning I talked about hierarchies of thought—the system. Now I want to talk about methods of finding one’s way through these hierarchies—logic."
The photo looks like my Northern Ohio Country side! The Narrator now takes on the fine points of the scientific method. Naturally he uses motorcycle trouble shooting and repair to illustrate the steps. , MT.
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(Photo = Summer2006 0320 ...... ZMM Page = 092 ...... Thirty miles East of WayPt = 105w)

Dry Bluffs and Green Irrigated Fields. The Yellowstone River Is At Right In Middle of the Trees This Side of the Distant Tan Bluffs At the Horizon.
[The Yellowstone Valley ]" .... changes from Western sagebrush to Midwestern cornfields and back again, depending on whether it’s under irrigation from the river. Sometimes we cross over bluffs that take us out of the irrigated area, but usually we stay close to the river. "
Some , MT. I have departed from I-94 at Forysythe, traveling on Frontage Road, Rt 311, and Getting near Hysham, MT.
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(Photo = Summer2006 0332 ...... ZMM Page = 092 ...... Two mi East of WayPt = 105w)

A View From the Bluff, Dry Grass On the Slopes and Green Irrigated Fields By the Trees Lining Both Sides of The Yellowstone River.
"[Sometimes we cross over bluffs that take us out of the irrigated area, but usually we stay close to the river.]"
Rt311 between Forsyth and Hysham MT As urged in the previous caption, I tried to seek out the older "non-interstate" roads, especially if it seemed to be a road that the Narrator might have traveled. For these reasons I got off I-94 at Forsyth and traveled the South side of the Yellowstone River. I stopped here for this and the previous photo because this location showed especially well the Narrator's changes from flat river green irrigated fields to the rise on the dry bluffs.
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(Photo = Summer2006 0334 ….. ZMM Page = 096 ...... Two miles east of WayPt = 105w)

Is This The Scene Of Chris and the Narrator's Brush With Death?
[The Narrator is deep in thought as he explains the hierarchies of the mechanics mind as he seeks the underlying form. Then the near accident!]".... A car with a trailer coming our way is passing and having trouble getting back into his lane. I flash my headlight to make sure he sees us. He sees us but he can’t get back in. "
Rt311 Seven miles East of Hysham, MT. Well before Forsyth, I started look road clues that could fit the Narrators description above. As you can see this location has a safe place to pull of the highway and park. I stopped to rest and re-view the again the ZMM passages, so I would not miss any Narrators scenery clue. My task was to find the "narrow road" where he may have been "forced off the pavement" and the subsequent "had the shakes" and the "small town " where "order every kind of snack they’ve got".These light green trees wonderfully perfumed my time here
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(Photo = Summer2006 0338 ….. ZMM Page = 096 ...... WayPt = 105w)

Narrow shoulder with a bad pavement drop-off. No place to escape!
“[He sees us but he can’t get back in.] The shoulder is narrow and bumpy. It’ll spill us if we take it. I’m braking, honking, flashing. Christ Almighty, he panics and heads for our shoulder! I hold steady to the edge of the road. Here he COMES! At the last moment he goes back and misses us by inches.“ Rt311 between Sanders and Hysham, MT Is this where the Narrator and Chris nearly met their maker? Soon after I left Miles City, I started looking for the likely places that fit the above passage: A bad “drop-off” with a “narrow and bumpy” shoulder, followed by a town soon thereafter. Since obscuring conditions of a curved road is not mentioned, the road where this scene occurred (assumed real) should have a relatively straight section with visibility for a fair distance. Perhaps it was here, but my search was left incomplete, because the interstate had many places eliminated the old US 10/312 highway (plus roadside features), especially from Hathaway MT to Forsyth MT. Ditto for the segment between the towns of Casper MT & Pompeys Pillar MT. Any future search will have to take into account the road construction alteration of the many important local scenery clues.
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(Photo = 105-0546cfz1.5 ….. ZMM Page = 096 ...... WayPt = 105w)

The Relatively Straight Road Continues. In the Distance You See the Watertower of the Nest Town.
“A cardboard carton flaps and rolls on the road ahead of us, and we watch it for a long time before we come to it. Fallen off somebody’s truck evidently. Now the shakes come. If we’d been in a car that would’ve been a head-on. Or a roll in the ditch. .. "
Rt311, one mile to Hysham, MT. In the Narrative for the this series of photos, the student of ZMM should here note that our author has abruptly placed the Narrator’s “terror producing near accident” in poetic juxtaposition between two Chautauqua topics: 1) “knowledge of the faulty motorcycle” AND 2) “ I’ve a vision of an angry continuing social crisis that no one really understands the depth of, …. ”We are to notice that any time there is such an abrupt switche like this, we are to metaphorically “seek the connections.” And we are to feel these connections!. In this case, we are to emotionlly transferr 1) How faulty machinery (and drivers) might cause a terrible accident, to 2) How modes of science might cause social crack-up. For example in 1) & 2), you should feel the potential pain and brokenness. You will come to see that our author has worked these switches into ZMM, typically at the start and end of each chapter. Typically the abrupt shift happens either way between Chautauqua and Travel Scenery + Actions.
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(Photo = Summer2006 00348 ...... Contrast ZMM Pages = 096 & 102…… WayPt = 105k)

Museums & Water Tower, a Bit of Iowa in the Yellowstone River Valley!
“ We pull off into a little town that could be in the middle of Iowa. The corn is growing high all around and the smell of fertilizer is heavy in the air.“ Hysham, MT. Although this down did not have “corn high all around and the smell of heavy fertilizer", the two lane road (Rt 113) leading to this town, was the best overall fit to the Narrator’s passages concerning their near accident. However, as stated previously, my search was incomplete, because: 1) The then new ~1965, interstate overlaid the first half of the old US 10/312 between Miles City, MT, and Bighorn, MT, and 2) I mignt have somehow missed proper combination of clues in these older ~1968 roads leading up to the MT towns of Hathaway, Rosebud, Meyers, Bighorn and Pompeys Pillar. My 1964 Rand-McNally shows the road I took (Rt 113), as the area’s principle highway then named US 10/312. This 1968 map clearly shows this would have been the only reasonable 1968 through-route from Miles City to Laurel MT, which is the next named town inZMM.
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(Photo = 105-0547c ...... ZMM Page =097 ...... WayPt = 106w)

Is This The Site Of The Enormous, High-Ceilinged Old Place?
"We retreat from the parked cycles into an enormous, high-ceilinged old place. To go with the beer this time I order every kind of snack they’ve got, and we have a late lunch on peanuts, popcorn, pretzels, potato chips, dried anchovies, dried smoked fish of some other kind with a lot of fine little bones in it, Slim Jims, Long Johns, pepperoni, Fritos, Beer Nuts, ham-sausage spread, fried pork rind and some sesame crackers with an extra taste I’m unable to identify. .. Sylvia says, "I’m still feeling weak." She somehow thought that cardboard box was our motorcycle rolling over and over again on the highway.“ Hysham MT Supposing this town to be the correct town for the above passage, this old building, now converted into a shop for an irrigation company, could have been the location of their “late lunch” in an “enormous, high-ceilinged old place”. The Narrator, during the two years he was an MSU Professor at Bozeman, must have traveled this highway regularly. He would have known the good places to stop. This fact, plus the “heart-throb” of his near accident would have riveted into memory all of the surrounding scenery. (Continued next)
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(Photo = Summer2006 0350 ...... ZMM Page = 097 ...... WayPt = 107w)

More Possibilities For the Narrator's enormous, high-ceilinged old place. Supposing this town to be the correct town for the above passage, this also could have been the location of their “late lunch” in an “enormous, high-ceilinged old place”. From the descriptions of the historical society lady in the museum ahead on the right, the previous bar at this site (which burned down) did fit the above passage. (Continued fm previous) Since the Narrator started writing ZMM in Aug 1968 and reported completing the first draft by March 1970, his detailed recall, especially of the near accident along this road, could have been still keen and accurate. My entire research trip is in essence a check on the Narrator’s factual accuracy for details. Because I have found him very factually very accurate, he either took extensive notes or had fantastic memory compared to ordinary mortals. .. Hysham, being half the way to laurel from Miles City, is about the correct distance for a “late lunch” time wise. Also I’ve made a note to ask our author if he has any additional recall of the specifics. .. I thought you should see the next four photos. I use the ZMM caption space to present, two of the Narrator’s long passage by Albert Einstein.
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(Photo = 105-0548c ...... ZMM Page = 097 ...... WayPt = 106n)

Yellowstone River at Meyers Bridge, View Downstream
“The valley is narrowing as we move toward the river’s source. .. We’re also at a kind of beginning point in the things I’m discussing at which one can at last start to talk about Phædrus’ break from the mainstream of rational thought in pursuit of the ghost of rationality itself. .. There was a passage he had read and repeated to himself so many times it survives intact. It begins: .. In the temple of science are many mansions—and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them there. Many take to science out of a joyful sense of superior intellectual power; science is their own special sport to which they look for vivid experience and the satisfaction of ambition; (Continued next.)“ Meyers MT Note the low river banks and relative width of river. Also note how the river here can be navigated here by a small boat. Then contrast with next picture.
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(Photo = 105 0551c ...... ZMM Page = 097 ...... WayPt = 109w)

Yellowstone River at Meyers Bridge, View Upstream
“… many others are to be found in the temple who have offered the products of their brains on this altar for purely utilitarian purposes. Were an angel of the Lord to come and drive all the people belonging to these two categories out of the temple, it would be noticeably emptier but there would still be some men of both present and past times left inside -- . If the types we have just expelled were the only types there were, the temple would never have existed any more than one can have a wood consisting of nothing but creepers—those who have found favor with the angel—are somewhat odd, uncommunicative, solitary fellows, really less like each other than the hosts of the rejected. “(Continued next.) Meyers MTNotice that the river upstream is narrower, with much higher river banks, than in the previous view downstream. Just as the Narrator says “the valley narrows” as “we move toward the river’s source”. Also note the appearance of rocks, shoals, and rapids. Here is probably the end of continuous boat accessibility from either the ocean at New Orleans and/or the Appalachian mountains at Pittsburg.
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(Photo = 105 0552c ...... ZMM Page = 098 ...... Photo out of sequence WayPt = 109w)

Nature preserve adjacent to the Yellowstone River
“ ‘What has brought them to the temple—no single answer will cover—escape from everyday life, with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one’s own shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from his noisy cramped surroundings into the silence of the high mountains where the eye ranges freely through the still pure air and fondly traces out the restful contours apparently built for eternity.’ … The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshipper or lover. .. The passage is from a 1918 speech by a young German scientist named Albert Einstein.” East River Side, Meyers' Bridge, Meyers MT Although there were was no mosquito problem at nearby Meyers Bridge, the beasts in this nature preserve fit the Narrator’s descriptions at their camping experience near Lemon ND. These highly persistent dive-bombers will carry you away!! No amount of swatting or running will yield relief.
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(Photo = 105 0550 ...... ZMM Page = 098 ...... WayPt = 109i …… Photo at WayPt = 108w)

The Yellowstone River Valley Looking Over the Yellowstone River, Probably Hidden In the Trees Along the North Bluff. View From I-94 On South Bluff. You Can Tell the Valley Is Geting Narrower.
“Einstein had said, "Evolution [of science] has shown that at any given moment out of all conceivable [theory] constructions a single one has always proved itself absolutely superior to the rest," and let it go at that. But to Phædrus that was an incredibly weak answer. The phrase "at any given moment" really shook him. Did Einstein really mean to state that truth was a function of time? To state that would annihilate the most basic presumption of all science! .. But there it was, the whole history of science, a clear story of continuously new and changing explanations of old facts. (Continued next.)"
I-94 West of Custer, MT.
As you can see in the photo, this area of montana is very flat. This makes for a wide, deep, and calm river, which is of course great for river navagation! But it also means the traveler often can not see the river, or even guess where it is! In this area of the West, the traveler must learn to notice a line of trees, and imagine that that's where a river or a stream is.
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(Photo = Summer2006 0353 ...... ZMM Page = 100...... WayPt = 113m)

The Yellowstone River Valley Looking Over the Yellowstone River. View From I-94 On South Bluff. You Can Tell the Valley Is Geting Even Narrower Yet.
[An earlier Narrator's discription also applies here:] “[Outside in the valley again the sky is still limited by the bluffs on either side of the river, but they are closer together and closer to us than they were this morning. The valley is narrowing as we move toward the river’s source.]"
I-94 West of Custer MT
Here the river has been forced to cut deeper. as evidenced by the much higher bluffs. This correspondingly made the distance between the bluffs much closer. But this valley dosen't always get narrower. Ahead, after Billings, MT, the river evidently flowes through a practically level stretch, with much wider distance between the bluffs, if any. New Topic" On my 2002 trip through here, I got very lost after I crossed the river at Meyers Bridge. My companion had been an ever increasing anxiety over an empty gas tank! While researching possible ZMM “back-country roads”, through Sanders & Hysham I was unknowingly diverted diverted to unsigned roads not shown on my map. Not knowing where I was going on the twisty, circuitous, roads, I had a long and anxious detour, until I found my way back to maped roads again! I marked many GPS WayPoints, so I could at least have a fecord of my tangeled passage.
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(Photo = Summer2006 0360 ...... ZMM Page = 100...... WayPt = 113n)