Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 132

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Popular Culture Review

Jefferson to Park and turn right on Park. Ahead is the ‘T he Rough Rider” statue
o f Theodore Roosevelt — a fitting terminus for the Theodore Roosevelt
International Highway.

Special Considerations for the Segment Along U. S. 2
There are a few places along the U.S. 2 segment that diverge from the
original route. Initially, the TRIH went into downtown Duluth, and proceeded
out o f the city along Mesaba and Central Exchange to Twig, Culver, and
Floodwood. After a time, however, the route came to follow the current path
skirting the city.
Across North Dakota, the old route is substantially the same as today’s
U.S. 2, most of which is a modem divided highway. For tme authenticity, though,
there are some small departures still possible along the original Trail. West of
Minot, turn left onto 19th Avenue NW and follow it through Des Lacs where it
becomes County Road 10. Proceed to Berthold, Tagus, Blaisdell, Palermo, and
Stanley. Take U.S. 2 from Stanley through Ross. Originally, White Earth was on
the route, but now the hamlet is at the end of a five-mile spur. Take the old highway
north of today’s U.S. 2 to Tioga, Temple, and Ray. Follow it south of U.S. 2
through Wheelock, Epping, and Spring Brook. Continue west, and turn left at the
intersection, reconnecting with U.S. 2. West of Williston, the original route went
through Trenton and Mondak (which no longer exists) just north of Fort Union
and on to Bainville, Montana. The road to Fort Union is good, but the road from
there to Bainville quite often is impassable—certainly to automobiles. It is better
to remain on U.S. 2 from Williston directly to Bainville.
In Montana, the TRIH early in its existence came to follow the current
route of U.S. 2 across the state. For a brief period, however, there was a digression
between Columbia Falls and Libby. To follow that path, take Montana 40 west
from Columbia Falls to Whitefish, U.S. 93 through Fortune and Eureka, and
Montana 37 south to Libby. West of Troy, there is a short section of Old U.S. 2
that goes north of the current route, and on to Moyie Springs, Idaho.
In Idaho, the route went through Moyie Springs rather than around it as
the current U.S. 2 does. It went south from Sandpoint through Atho and Rathdrum
and then west to Spokane. U.S. 2 goes to Spokane by way of Priest River and
Newport; and from Spokane it digresses from the TRIH route proceeding west to
its terminus at Everett, Washington. Until the late 1940s U.S. 2 ended at Bonners
Ferry.
The scenery along the TRIH is unparalleled. Soon after departing from
the East Coast one finds the White Mountains of New Hampshire (including the
tallest peak in the Northeast, the mgged Mt. Washington), the Green Mountains
o f Vermont, and Lake Champlain and its islands. The St. Lawrence portion of