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    The Beartooth Highway

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    We left home in Massachusetts the day after Labor Day in 2011 with a goal of getting to and spending some time at Yellowstone NP before the snow and cold arrived. The last leg of our 2300 mile trek was over the Beartooth Highway, which runs from Red Lodge MT to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. Built during the early 1930's, the highways covers 68 miles and climbs to an elevation of 10,947'. Naturally it offers spectacular views of the area.

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    Just outside of Red Lodge MT as we were headed toward the start of the highway, we passed this dude carrying a large pack and propelling himself along on a scooter!

    A little further on we started to see some interesting rock formations and the mountains loomed ever closer and bigger.

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    Here we're about halfway up the switchbacks that get us up to the top of the pass. 

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    		  As we climb higher, we can begin to see the plateaus at the higher elevations.

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    		 Here we are at Rock Creek Vista with Beartooth Mt behind us. 

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    A few miles short of the summit we cross into Wyoming. We stopped here for lunch.   beartooth059
     beartooth062  The Beartooth is supposedly the top-rated road for motorcyclists.
    While eating lunch, we talked about a beautiful parking spot a few hundred yards back and decided it might be a great spot to spend the night. So we went back to check it out and decided that indeed it was. Down below was a small lake; we hiked down about a mile to check it out. 

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    beartooth063   Looking back up the hill toward our camp spot.
     We awoke in time to catch the sunrise. But the wind had picked up considerably overnight and with a temperature of about 40, the wind chill made it rather brisk. We left early in order to enjoy the early sunlight on the mountains.

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    		  Twin Lakes. Between me and the lake is a major headwall with a ski lift; it's the home of the Summer Ski/Snowboard Camp.

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     After passing the highest elevation, we began the descent.

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     beartooth138  Lake Creek Falls.
    The Beartooth Highway ends at the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, which was our primary goal for this trip. Come along as we explore the Treasures of Yellowstone. yellowstone001