After a good nights rest on a slightly less than level tent site, we got up early and got going. The hope was to see lions, tigers and bears (or wolves, grizzlies and elk?) in the Lamar Valley on our way to Cooke City and beyond. A quick breakfast at the little village grocery store and we were on the way. The forecast was for more rain and the sky certainly looked threatening from our vantage point. It was noticeably cooler than the previous morning and the roads were still wet from the rain last night. We zipped through the Hayden Valley with intentions to return in two days and spend more time looking around, the bison were still sleeping and we went through another major bison area without seeing a single one. The trip up and over Dunraven Pass was a little slow – the wet roads covered in pine needles made cornering interesting, but amazing views of the mountains, all the way into Montana. Our first stop on this day would be Tower Falls, it was good to get off and stretch and work out a few kinks from the last two days. The load on the bike hadn’t gotten any lighter, but we had become more adept at packing and it made the bike handle a bit better. After a short walk and some time spent taking pics it was back on the road, the report from the rangers was to expect anther 30+ min delay to get out of the park and multiple delays on the Beartooth – the clouds were still quite imposing to the west and a sprinkle here and there kept us rolling down the highway.
As we came out of the Tower Falls parking and rolled down the road, we finally saw a bison, just one smaller fellow hanging out on the other side of the road, as we slowed down so Kari could snap a pic, my first realization of our vulnerability around these big guys set in. With cars coming both ways we kept moving onto the Lamar Valley. Unfortunately we didn’t see much wildlife on our way through, but we did run into lots of exciting wind!! As predicted we ran full into another road block just before leaving the park, but our timing turned out to be impeccable as we just turned off the bike and were on the road again. We rolled through Cooke City and headed towards Red Lodge. The mountains behind us were just too amazing to not stop and snap some pics, with more dark clouds coming we decided to just keep moving. It wasn’t too long before another amazing waterfall stopped our progress and we just had to go take a look, a short hike brought us to Lake Creek Falls and it’s amazing rock features.
Back on the road and hell bent on staying ahead of the rain that began to fall as we started out ,we headed for the high country. The Ride along the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River was no less mind blowing than every other amazing piece of country we had rambled through so far. As we started the climb up to Bear Tooth pass and the top of the worl, we started encountering long sections of road where the pavement had been removed, lose gravel on soft dirt with big heavily loaded bike = way too much fun!!, but we had a place to stay in Red Lodge and there was no way we were going around. We would not regret forging on.
The ride over the Beartooth was amazing and we experienced a little bit of everything along the way. Rain, sun, wind construction and just overpowering mountain vistas. After the first initial climb into the mountain, we made a few stops for photos along the way including Beartooth Butte and a stop at the Top of the World for a drink and to stretch the legs. As we left the Top of the World and headed to almost 11’000 feet, we left the tree line behind and the winding road through the high alpine terrain reminded me of the mountain passes of the French and Swiss Alps. Just Below the top, we stopped to admire the 360 degree view and enjoy the cool mountain air and silence. The bonus to riding the Beartooth while under construction, was that the RV’s and crowds I had read about were nowhere to be seen. A half-dozen cars and a handful of motorcycles was all we saw.
The drive off the other side towards Red Lodge was no less mind blowing. The forest slowly began to reappear as the road wound its way through the glacial carved canyons and deep river ravines, we made one last stop at the overlook and spent a few minutes being entertained by the obviously spoiled chipmunks there. The road ahead went straight down the mountain side to the valley floor below. The storm was still chasing us and it had gotten a bit more intimidating in the last few hours. We still had about 40 miles to our destination and a hot shower and some cold beers. We reluctantly said good bye to the amazing views and got on our way.
We rolled out of the mountains and onto the western edge of the Great Plains and the town of Red Lodge. Our destination was the Yodeler Motel, it was nothing fancy but Mac and Tulsa and their large German Sheppard puppy Shackleton were extremely friendly and helpful. It had everything we needed and it was nice to chat with them and our common interests. It was no more than five minutes after we had checked in and emptied the bike into our room when the skies finally let loose. This was a full on deluge of lightning, hail and hard rain!! Once again luck was on our side. After a long shower and a change of clothes, we took a walk in the rain to check out the town. 
I think this has become my favorite small town – don’t go screw it up, it still has the old west character and the locals seem intent on keeping it that way, I’d hate to see it turn into another Park City or worse. We found a cozy pub, had some great food, good beer and more Habanjero Margaritas than we probably should have. We walked back to crash in the dark and were surprised to see the Tiger surrounded by dozens of Harley’s!! I still wish I had taken a pic that night, oh well. After a nice dip in the Hot tub, it was off to lala land for us. Tomorrow would be a journey into the Old West and more places neither of us had ever been before!!
JMH
