Beartooth Pass - June 2017

Day 8 on our 2017 trip was a very long day.  We started that morning in Gillette, Wyoming and headed north to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (check out that post here).  By 2:00 we were back on the road with hotel reservations in Cody for the night.  But we had plans to go by way of the Beartooth Highway and still had upwards of 5 hours of driving time.

The drive to Red Lodge was about 2 hours and most of the kids were able to catch a nap.  We arrived in Red Lodge with a need to stretch the legs and eat some dinner.  The Red Box Car is a great little roadside diner right on Hwy 212 and just before the gateway to Beartooth Pass.  We filled up on delicious burgers, fries, and shakes and were able to sit on a beautiful deck next to a very rushing Rock Creek.  After a quick bathroom break, we were ready to ascend into the Beartooth Mountains.

I'd read multiple books and online postings about Beartooth Pass and we were excited to traverse through the mountains.  There are countless switchbacks up the mountain and it's pretty intimidating at first to drive.  Fortunately there a plenty of places to pull over and take pictures (or allow faster vehicles to pass).  The top of the mountains were still snow-packed in late June.  We stopped at Rock Creek Vista for a tremendous view and saw our first snow up close and personal.

After a few more twists and turns, we neared the summit and the snow banks on the side of the road were still 6-15 feet high in places.  It was mesmerizing and amazing - and we couldn't take enough pictures.  Don't worry - I was kind of stopped while taking this one...

 Unfortunately Rachel was pretty exhausted from such a long time and she just refused to get out of the car for any pictures.  Even at the summit, she wouldn't budge!

At the summit, it was rather cool and the foreboding clouds made it feel like it could storm at any time.  We had a quick snow ball fight and started down the west side to catch the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway to Cody.  There was quite a bit of snow melt going on and we saw plenty of seasonal waterfalls.  We stopped at the turnout for Lake Creek Falls and Historic Bridge.  It's about a 1/4 mile walk to the bridge but you could hear the sound of the falls as soon as you stepped out of the car.  Amazing power and force gushing through this little gorge.

The sun was heading toward the horizon and we still had a bit of a drive to get to Cody.  We did catch this great view of Pilot Peak before heading south on Hwy 296 toward Cody.

 It was pretty late in the day but we still had some sunlight for our 2 hour drive.  Word of caution - there is very limited cell phone coverage in this area.  Second word of caution - there is open grazing in this area.  We took it nice and slow but we did see a couple of cattle in the middle of the road so the roadside warnings are valid.  Needless to say, after countless switchbacks in the evening dusk, the driving was becoming a bit tedious.  Finally, right when night had fully crept in, we reached Hwy 120 with a direct shot to Cody and full cell service for the last 20 minutes of our drive.  We would be staying in Cody for two nights with time to relax and recuperate before heading back the exact way we had just come on our way to Yellowstone.