Day 30 - Yellowstone to Red Lodge, MT

Can you see the deer?

The next two pictures were taken leaving Yellowstone.

The rest of the pictures were taken on Beartooth Pass.

When I broke camp this morning it was 38 degrees at 7 A.M.. I really enjoyed the ride through northeastern Yellowstone. It had many lush green fields and hills and mountains!!! It was nice to get away from the burned out areas covered with young trees and the ugly remains of a recent forest fires. There were many buffalo. It seems that buffalo have replaced bear as the main wildlife attraction in Yellowstone NP, although I did see one brown bear (grizzly ?) at a distance in a high meadow. (Too far away to photograph with my cameras.)

Leaving Yellowstone, I once again ran into road construction and delays. Fortunately I found very few soft spots in the dirt and gravel sections. But the fear of encountering such areas made the drive very intense. Thankfully the construction zones ended soon after I reached the Beartooth Pass (Route 212).

What a treat The Beartooth Pass was. It is an amazing streach of road through Wyoming and Montana that leads into Red Lodge, Montana. It climbs to high elevations with drops into deep canyons. Despite the date, July 8th, there was quite a bit of snow. And the winds at these high elevations were brutal. By the time I reached Red Lodge my senses were saturated with sights, wind and elevation changes. I decided to find a motel room in Red Lodge after today's 177 miles. Time for a haircut and a much need shower! I will tackle the return over Beartooth Pass in the morning on my way to Cody, Wyoming.