July 18, 2008

On Wednesday, I decided it was time to “sight see” again. And what a day!! I drove back into Yellowstone, taking a different route, down Hwy. 89 from Livingston. This takes you through the North Entrance, which was the original entrance into the park and was dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt. Beautiful drive. And it was quite noticeable that many of the animals had left Lamar Valley for higher elevations. There were some buffalo herds, but very far away so they only looked like little spots on the green grass.

But my main objective was to drive over the Beartooth Mountains – it’s called the “All American Beartooth Scenic Drive” and is suppose to be one of the most beautiful drives in the country. And I think they are right. (The picture above is the "Bear's Tooth" which the mountains are named after)

After leaving Yellowstone, you will drive through Cooke City. This place reminds me of an old mining town. It does have hotels, stores, and small places to eat, but it has a very rustic feel, and I’m pretty sure in the winter it is only accessible by snowmobile. The Beartooth road (and it is the ONLY road that goes through this area) is closed and the usually the Yellowstone road through Lamar Valley is usually also closed.

Once leaving Cooke City, the road starts up through the Beartooth Mountains. I told myself I wouldn’t take any pictures. I had been on this drive several years ago and took a lot of pictures then. But when you see the mountains and the beauty, you are just COMPELLED to stop and start shooting. And I’m talking every ¼ of a mile – pull over and take pictures. Unfortunately, I did delete many of them – the camera has a hard time catching the beauty and majesty.

I went up a dirt road to Clay Butte Lookout (this is a forest ranger tower) – almost didn’t think I was going to make it, as it was a dirt road, steep, and my truck was spinning tires every once in a while. But I got to the top and the view was FABULOUS (and it was at 10,000 feet!!!). A full 360 degree view of the Beartooths. Worth every bit of apprehension I might have had. (The picture of the mountains was taken about 3/4's of the way up to the tower -- so you can imagine the view from the top.)

As you level off at the top, there is a cute little store called "The Top of the World". They have gas, a few motel rooms, food and souvenirs. When I was looking through the various local papers, I saw that it was for sale. I spent some time talking to the owner and asked if they live down the mountain in the winter, as the road is snowed closed and opens May 31 (maybe) and closes in October. When they bought the place it was run down, she had 3 little children (one a baby), but they decided they would stay on the mountain all year round. She home schooled her children, and her husband fixed the place up. I decided they are very brave -- up there all alone with the grizzlies and other animals. I love the mountains.....but not quite that much. They are selling now because her daughter is 15 and needs to interact with others her age and will be going to college in a few years. Interesting life!!

As I continued the drive through the rocky mountain tops and mountain lakes, I was thinking, “I wonder why you don’t see any mountain goats up here” – and I turned a corner and there they were. A heard of mountain goats complete with little baby goats. It was great.

The Beartooth Drive ends back in Red Lodge, MT. So I stopped, had a great pizza, and started the 2 ½ hour drive back to Bozeman.

Yesterday, I went to the Gallatin County Fair. Reminded me of my days as a kid when I was in a 4-H club and raised beef steers and showed my western horse. Another day in the west. Then in the evening, it was “Music on Main” in downtown Bozeman. Again, they close down the street and have a band play. Always seems to be something to do here.

The pictures below are of the Beartooths -- the mountain flowers are all over, growing on rocks (like these are), on the sides of the roads, etc. They are just beautiful. The second pictures is taken from an observation stop where you can walk out over the edge -- this is hazy (everything is hazy because of the smoke from the California fires), but it's such a great view of the valley below.