Beartooth Highway, Yellowstone, Tetons

The freezing Glacial winds were whipping up the left side and the right side and across the top, threatening to knock me over its edges at any moment.  But I just kept counterbalancing against its attempts along those narrow and no guard-railed lanes, getting a little close to the edges many times. Swearing was an occasional friend of mine.  Beartooth Highway.  

I just can't believe that I ended up miraculously in a little town called Red Lodge, one evening by complete chance, just looking for a close place to camp.  And that the next morning I would find out it was the base and beginning of the Beartooth Highway.  This is a notorious highway evidently and I was a fortunate recipient and experiencee of its wild and wooly pathways.  And of course I underestimated the time it would take to complete it.  It started out fine and normal, climbing slowly up along a beautiful accompanying river and into a mountain valley, steadily getting higher with more picturesque views.  The next thing you know, the winds start picking up.  Then the switchbacks become more and frequent and tighter.   I'd ridden lots of tight roads, but complied with these winds, it became a whole new wonderful experience.  When I reached the top of the mountain, it was blowing hard across the top, and I found a patch of gravel to pull over, and access my leather jacket.  Folks had been taking pictures of the view and then getting comfortably in their cages and warmly and safely rolling away.  I did not have that luxury, nor to leave my bike kick-standed for too long, cause the winds would probably just take it right off of that.  I pulled my signature relief move, off the edge of my bike, in the presence of a few tourists, and I got back on the road.  Boy was that wind trying.  Overall  the switchbacks were great, watching for gravel and riding those carefully in the blown out corners.  There were a few gnarly spots.
 
 I finally get to this place called Top of the World.  A small log cabin with one old pump.  Inside it's full of fun stuff like mountain things, furs, sticks, weapons, patches and bumper stickers that say things like "I survived the Beartooth Highway." Yes, I bought that one.  I picked up a chocolate bar to give me back the carbs and calories I just burned.  And I entertained the staff with some songs that were running through my head at the time.  Although I wanted to take more time there, I knew I couldn't.  There were dark clouds building over these mountains and all I wanted was to get through and out from under them.  They looked like dumping clouds, and the last thing I wanted was that coupled with cold mountain air.

I was still 25 mountain miles from Yellowstone.  So I raced on.

I got gas in a cute town where bikers and other folks taking their time to enjoy things were shopping and eating in more log cabinesque dwellings.  But those dark clouds made me keep saying "just keep pushing on, you can always stop and set up shelter if it gets too bad."  Well as soon as I was on the road the drops came.  I always want to see how long they last.  Mostly just a little patch of cloud and you can roll through in seconds.  You dry quickly on the road anyhow.   I kept riding.

I flashed my Park Pass to the woman at the Yellowstone gate, and got my maps.  opened them up to the roads I'd be following and placed them on my "dash board,"  a little place under my handlebar bungee cords and back-up/old bubble shield.  It's a great design.

I was counting miles and constantly averaging arrival times with the pace of the tourism traffic.  The stop and go, let alone the slow looky-loo traffic.  It was fine, and I would have been them, had I not been trying to beat a brewing storm.  I made good use of those passing lanes as much as possible.  I was still able to take photos and video of the beautiful scenery, rivers, and wildlife from my motorcycle, as I was riding.  Photos don't do real life any justice anyway, and I try to take it in for myself as much as possible.  Yellowstone is really amazing.  I saw tons of folks fly-fishing gorgeous wide streams along the roadway.  I hear it's big for Cutthroat Trout.  I miss fly-fishing.

Somewhere in Yellowstone among the folks stopping to take photos at everything and cars clamoring for parking spots where there were none, I started to get sleet.  You know messy snow.  I jammed around any holdups.  I just kept saying "ain't nobody got time for this."  Thats my go to line, when I gotta just do my thing.  I finally got through those Yellowstone roads, and they opened up, and dropped down into a valley, and I was suddenly under sunny skies again.  I could relax.  I had no idea what the Tetons would be like, and I kept looking off into the distance going, are those the dark clouds I'm going under?  I'd just have to wait and see.  I stopped twice for gas, souvenirs, and talked with fun and engaging folks.

Then I was out of Yellowstone, and rolling through the Tetons.  Well not the way I thought it was gonna go, like riding through and over the mountains.  Instead the road takes you around the Tetons, from which you can see it's massive features, and smoldering hillsides.  It had been under fire recently and a lot of the forest was burned badly.  I got some footage as I rolled through its blackened aftermath.  Traffic was much smoother through Yellowstone.  Even though it did break suddenly for what appeared to be a young Moose at the roadside edge trying to jaywalk, the cute lil bugger.   I took the scenic forest backroad, following more folks looking to spot Moose along this route.  And I did get to see a cute little Moose butt, disappear into a thick of trees.  I just wanted to see more Moosies. I got to Katies cabin with plenty of light still in the sky, or at least the sun was trying to set behind the Tetons, but still definitely up.  She's a family friend from the home town and works at the Tetons.  We visited for a bit at the cabin and then made a run for some eyedrops and a beer at a nearby watering hole.  One and done, we headed back to the cabin and visited some more before sleep was calling us all.  I even took a shower.  The heat felt nice after a day of freezing through mountain passes.  And all the locals didn't think I'd make it to Jackson. Hahaha  Made it!

See you on the Road!

~J.W.