GOOGLE EARTH SATELLITE VIEW: Eastern Montana, US12 From Powder River MT, Elevation 2392 Ft To Elevation 2502 Ft. Plus Related Passages From Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.,
In ZMM Route Segment 1 …There are none of these darker areas, hence relatively hot & dry! This fits the experience of The ZMM Narrator, Chris, John & Sylvia Sutherland.
….In above Google Satellite View, The ZMM Route following US 12 West, is the fine yellow line at the right of the image. The ZMM Narrator’s Roadside Rest Area, is discerned above the text “ere-Cox-Creek”.>> ((With a magnifying glass, or the zoom function on your browser, you can see => An even weaker white line, which is the from US 12 entrance ramp curveing up >> Then westward to the fuzzy white area which combines: a) The parking lot, b) Buildings, and c) And to the North, an adjacent slope of bare volcanic ash. >> Then further west is the exit ramp in the darker strip slant down back to US 12.)) ….One mile further West you see US 12 crosses the twisty Powder River (2392 Ft), in which you see the white of sand at river curves. The lowland Powder River Valley is the Narrator’s “We enter a low rimed canyon” At the left of the image the road has risen by 200 fooeet (to (2592 Ft). Here is what the ZMM Narrator says: => ….We enter a low-rimmed canyon. Before long, a roadside stop I’ve been waiting for appears. A few benches, a little building and some tiny green trees with hoses running to their bases. … [[ Several passages omitted.]] …John goes into the building to soak his shirt with water. …. John comes over dripping with water and says, "You go ahead this time, we’ll stay behind." …. "I won’t go fast," I say. ... "That’s all right," he says. "We’ll get there." ….So I go ahead and we take it slowly. The road through the canyon doesn’t straighten out into more of what we’ve been through, as I expected it would, but starts to wind upward. Surprise.” * Now, You Can See What the Narrator Says In The Image => …. US 12 (The Yellow Line West), Goes Straight To Cross The Powder River, And Turns To the Right. All This, Fits The ZMM Narrator, Including Fact The Road Is Climbing Rapidly: As is shown in Henry Gurr’s 2002 Research Photo, the feeling is ~3% grade..