The drive up 287 toward Helena follows the Madison River.  It winds through a wide valley edged with snow capped mountains.  The views are spectacular and the open land a haven for wildlife: elk, big horned sheep (roadside, not dots way off on the mountain peaks), pronghorn and deer.  Mountain tops reflect in the many lakes that line the valley including Earthquake Lake that formed when a mountainside slipped and a depression formed after a quake.   It is a great alternate route to get off the Interstate for a while. Kent even agrees, it is pretty good two-lane.   We stopped at the Virginia City NHL.  We strolled Main Street.   It is lined with restored and some rebuilt 1860s mining era buildings.  There is even a working hotel.  We are a little ahead of season so it wasn’t open yet so we could really check it out but this might be a fun place for a few days in season.