September 9, 2009: Beartooth Highway Adventure...

Mike unfortunately had to work today... so Mary, Evan and myself drove up the Beartooth Highway until we hit the construction at the Montana/Wyoming border at which point we turned around and came back down the mountain. For those of you unfamiliar with the Beartooth Highway... it is the stretch of route 212 from Red Lodge to Cooke City, MT and was described by Charles Kuralt as "the most scenic drive in America."

What follows are a few photos of the adventure experiencing the scenic beauty of this wonderful road... a route I never tire of no matter how many times I drive it. From several vantage points along the Beartooth Highway, the Hellroaring Road and Plateau are beautifully visible!

You may recall from yesterday's post that we drove up the Hellroaring Road to the Plateau... the rocky outcropping in the above photo is the spot where we stopped and had our lunch yesterday.

Look closely and you will see the last couple of switchbacks before reaching the top of Hellroaring Road... we parked our car at the end of this road yesterday and explored the plateau on foot for an hour or more.

The road seen here is a jeep trail on top f the Hellroaring Plateau that is no longer open to vehicular traffic.

Hellroaring Road and Plateau as seen from Rock Creek Vista on the Beartooth Highway...

Another view of the Hellroaring Plateau as seen from the Beartooth Highway... the switchbacks in the center foreground are lower down on the Beartooth Highway.

Itinerary for our next trip...

With Australia and New Zealand behind me, we're looking forward to a trip west to Idaho, Yellowstone National Park (Mammoth Hot Springs area) and our lovely vacation home in Red Lodge, Montana (available for rent when we aren't there). We're fortunate to have friends willing to house sit while we're away... they will feed the birds, eat the tomatoes and generally keep an eye on things such as watering the plants, etc. Our itinerary...

• Sept 2, 2009 leaving out of IAD at some ungodly early hour... to Salt Lake City... change planes... to Idaho Falls, Idaho... rent car... drive to Stanley Idaho where we will spend 3 days...
• Sept 5, 2009 driving to Mammoth Hot Springs for a couple of days stay in Yellowstone National Park
• Sept 7, 2009 driving to Red Lodge, MT via the Northeast entrance/exit to the park, Cooke City and the scenic Beartooth Highway over the mountains to Red Lodge.
• Sept 23, 2009 driving to Billings, MT, turning in the rental car and flying home via MSP (change planes) and on to DCA

A teaser photo taken from the Beartooth Highway last year follows... am sure I'll be posting photos from this year's trip west as time allows!

The Beartooth Highway is "the most beautiful drive in America" according to Charles Kuralt. (believe he wrote that when we were just 48 states but it is truly a beautiful drive and we'll be on it one week from today) This photo is from June of last year when there was so much snow that we couldn't walk all the way out on the lookout path.