The Beartooth Highway

 A cool night to sleep.  Breakfast at the camp and then at 8:00 we drove into Red Lodge where the lower end of the Beartooth Highway begins.  It was a beautiful, cool day.  Carol actually wore a long-sleeved shirt and for most of the day, I wore a sweatshirt.   We had taken the highway from the northeast gate of Yellowstone many years ago but it had rained the all day and we couldn't enjoy any of the beauty.  Today the sun was shining but there was also a cloudy, smokey haze in the sky.  From the beginning of the road, there was beauty around every curve.

This is the famous "Bear's Tooth" for which the highway was named.  It does look like a bear tooth.  

There were so many switchbacks on this highway.  

This picture and the one below shows some of the snow we saw on the mountains.

There were many beautiful blue lakes.

This lake is named Gardner Lake.  

At the top of one of the peaks was a store called "Top of the World Store."  Beside the store was this sign showing mileage to places around the world

This fire lookout tower was open to the public and we climbed to the top.  The pictures below were taken from the top of the tower or at the base of the tower.

We crossed the state lines of  Montana and Wyoming several times as we drove the highway.   This picture of me was taken on the State of Wyoming side of the sign.  This sign sets on the 45th Parallel which means Carol and I were exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.

Carol was sitting on the Montana side of the sign.

The Bear Tooth Highway ends (or begins depending on which end you start on) at Yellowstone National Park.  We drove into the park for about 10 miles and then turned around to go back to Red Lodge.    The pictures below were taken inside the park.

We saw this sign posted near the top of one of the mountains and Carol liked what it said, so I took a picture of it.

This is a picture of a marmot but we actually saw one sunning itself on a large rock by the highway.  I was taking video at the time and couldn't get to my camera to get a picture.

The only other wild animal we saw was this thing and it turned out to be a cow.  Parts of the highway had signs warning that cows are free roaming and may be on the highway.

In 2005, after nine inches of rain at one time, the road was closed  because of several large rock slides.  To control the slides, these huge chain barrier were installed.  Building of the highway began in 1931 and was completed in 1935 for a cost of 2 and a half million dollars.  It was brought in on time and under budget.  I'll bet that doesn't happen much today,

Today we saw some of God's best work of nature.   Man was able to build the roads that allowed us to enjoy God's work.    That is a winning combination.

Because we spent most of the day in the mountains, the temperatures were great.  When we got back to camp, it was considerably warmer.  The weather forecast for tomorrow is for temperatures in the high 90's.  Thankfully, it cools down at night.