Beartooth Pass

We decided to drive back eastbound on the Beartooth Highway towards Red Lodge, Montana which is located about 35 miles from our place.  The rest of our time in Cooke City would be towards Yellowstone and such.  My goodness!!!  The scenery was breathtaking!  Every turn we took, snapped pictures.  And we climbed higher and higher.  Up and over Beartooth Summit Pass at 10,947 feet.  Huge snow markers - at least 30 feet tall lined the road.  And narrow!  Definitely know why vehicles 40 feet and larger must not travel this road.  Just enough room for 2 passenger cars to pass each other.  Lots of snow pack still evident.  There are some glaciers which means snow pack will not melt, snow will continue to pack it down come August.  They say by end of August the pass probably will close for the winter.

Caught this on way to top

Was used just a week prior

Incredible blue of lakes 

Top of the World

Came to ‘Top of the World’ store/lodge and stopped in.  Said it had snowed last week at the pass, was very heavy ice for 2 days.  And it’s the middle of July. Two separate snow plows ready on the road just in case, one a mean looking one with huge teeth - I suppose for the ice breaking.  I am sure both were used last week when they got snow. Saw a rally of antique cars getting ready to continue on their journey up over the pass, some really neat looking ones.

We could see 360 degrees - and the distances!

Antique cars lined up at Top of the World

Discovered we were actually in two different mountain ranges - the Beartooth and the Absaroka.
And the wilderness we are camping in is called the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness.  Makes sense.

Mountain meadows, flowers, winds whipping you.  The smell of fir when we dropped down to the Top of the World.  Vista views. Saw on one snow packed mountain top where someone had skied it - how did they get up there to do that?  Watched pikas scurry around.  Stopped to see waterfalls.  The roar of the water.  And motorcycles.  A lot of them.  But would not want to be on one - it was 42 degrees when we got out of the car at the Bear Tooth Pass, froze our butts off and the wind was brutal. Saw in the distance Pilot Peak at 11,699 and Index Peak at 11,313 - we are camping at 8000 feet below Pilot Peak.

Beartooth Lake

Who planted all these flowers?

Index and Pilot Peaks

Crazy little pikas - just chattering at us

Clarks Fork Falls

Amazing - this rock had a beautiful little flower growing out of it 

Never made it to Red Lodge - that’s okay, wanted to see the mountains instead, not a bunch of touristy stores.  On our drive back we stopped at the Flume falls of the Clarks Fork Trailhead and hiked a little bit.  Did not have the energy to continue on to the second set of waterfalls noted on the info board.  Dave did have his bear spray, thankfully we did not need it.

Today was one of those days where you just cannot explain the beauty you saw.  Magnificent! Made me feel so very small in such a large world.  If you find yourself within a day’s ride of the Beartooth Pass Highway, you must do it!  A trip we will never forget.