On the road again, making our dreams come true !

Tuesday, August 4th, we decided to take a trip up to Red Lodge Montana. The drive up there is by way of “Beartooth Pass”, US Hwy.212 which runs between Red Lodge and Cooke City Montana, (the northeast entrance to the park). The Beartooth Pass is opened from Memorial Day through Labor Day (weather permitting). As one can tell by the pictures taken on this day , the snow was still in abundance up there. The hightest point of elevation on the Pass is just under 11,000 ft., 10,974 to be exact. The one picture taken by me, standing at the edge of the top of a large hole in the ground, with lakes in the bottom, is actually around 200 feet to the bottom. The crazy people that ride snowmobiles up there, actually start sking from a higher spot and go out over the edge and land somewhere between the rim and the bottom.

The highway consist of numerous twist, curves, steep drop offs on the side of the road, and “switchbacks” that seem to last forever. For those of you who are wondering what a “switchback” is, it is noting more than a road that allows you to travel the side of a mountain. You might travel 1 mile east, make a turn, head back west 1 mile, turn and head east 1mile, so on and so on, just to travel ½ mile down the side of the mountain. The entire road between Red Lodge and Cooke City is around 70 miles and one can figure on 2 hours to make the trip, providing you are not caught in a snow storm or high winds at the top of the pass. Yes, I said snow storms in the middle of the summer!! (not uncommon on the top of the Pass.



All in all the road is a “Must See & Do” if you ever get out this way. You will notice I have 2 sets of pictures on the page, Cindy uses her camera and I use mine. Sometimes I like to get the the “edge” of things and look at the scenery from a little different view point, ( which makes Cindy ask “can you get any closer without going over the edge”?. So before you stop looking at both sets because you think they are the same ones, please take the extra time and enjoy the views taken from a safe distance and one's taken from the “just a little closer dear, I’m not going to fall over the edge” view.