Making the Turn
A fight awaits the push west as the long sweeping turn at Vendome comes into view, showing the rise that will take the transcron around Vendome Loop and to the crest of the Rockies and Continental Divide. These are not the Cascades, and the grandeur of the land is different. In the Cascades, a sub-tropic rainforest covers snow covered cliffs and magnificent edifices that separate the West Coast from the inland. By contrast, here the vegetation is sparse and marked with sage brush and summer heat that yields a thirsty land, scorched by blistering sun. The Milwaukee's course across the Rockies is less visible than the NP's Homestake Pass which closely follows the well-traveled I90 to Butte. Old trestles and rusted rails still mark that line. Still, its fate seems little different than the Resourceful Railroad's own ascent. Homestake pass seems chained and destined to be a question mark in the minds of those that choose to look from the 4 lanes of concrete. In