Skywatch Friday: Driving the Beartooth

 A couple days ago we decided to visit Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park.  We got up early and entered through the west entrance at about 6:30 a.m. and we still had to wait in line.

On our way up north we got to see this cutie and his mama (from the safety of our vehicle).  I was surprised how nicely these photos turned out.

This is a cinnamon colored black bear.  His mama was pure black and was down the hill from him.

They were searching for breakfast.  It took him no effort to flip over the log and dig for grubs.

Further down the road we found another black bear and two cubs.  The cubs were on the hillside and only look like rocks in the photos.  During the entire day we found 10 bears, 4 grizzlies and 6 black bears.  Many of them could only be seen through the spotting scope so there is no photographic proof.  Sometimes an image can only be captured in your brain and that's okay.

In addition to the bears we saw sandhill cranes, bison, elk, pronghorn.

On Barronette Peak we saw an entire family of mountain goats.

Again, a spotting scope was necessary. 

We planned to go to lunch at a restaurant in Cooke City, MT, but when we got there it had a sign saying it wouldn't open until June 18th.  Onto plan B.

We decided to keep heading west and go to Red Lodge, MT via the infamous Beartooth Highway.  Those are the Beartooth Mountains in the background and yes, we are at a very high elevation.

On our drive we spotted a small plume of smoke.  I knew a wildfire had been reported near Red Lodge on Sunday afternoon, but didn't think it was anything to worry about.

If you're not familiar with the Beartooth Highway it is a National Scenic Byway and is an economic lifeline for the cities of Cooke City and Red Lodge, MT.  It connects these towns to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone.  The plan to build this highway started back in 1915 when automobiles were becoming popular.

Construction took place between 1931 and 1936 and the road opened to the public in 1937.  It's quite impressive how the road was built, it caused some construction companies to go bankrupt because they vastly underbid the project.  The road is definitely challenging especially to the flatlanders who were having difficulty navigating the many switchbacks and curves.  Not many guard rails along this route.

To this day there are sections of the road that are not claimed by either Wyoming or Montana so much of the maintenance is left to the National Park Service.  It normally takes until Memorial Day to get the road plowed as it goes up to almost 11,000 feet in elevation.

At the summit there is a small ski area with a tow line.  Lots of skiers in shorts enjoying the last bit of skiing for the year.  Crazy if you ask me.

We found a nice little brew pub in Red Lodge and grabbed some lunch and a brew.  (Anyone else out there really enjoy local brew pubs?)  By the time we came out this is what the fire looked like.  We knew it was time to skedaddle out of there and make our way back to West Yellowstone.  It was 95 degrees, dry, and windy and this fire was growing quickly.

Here it is from the top of the Beartooth.  What started as a 200 acre fire is now a 24,000 acre fire.  Pray for rain in the west, the hero firefighters, and for the people of Red Lodge!

Here's a map of the 68 miles of Beartooth Highway from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone to Red Lodge aka US Highway 212.

Fun day, but lots of driving.  If you're in the area I recommend it if you're comfortable with mountain driving.

Linking with Skywatch Friday