Leaving Yellowstone, the Beartooth Highway and the Bighorns

After another chilly night, I awoke reasonably early and tried to warm up and dry out the tent by standing in the sun. After packing everything up, grabbing a granola bar and water breakfast, I hit the road bound for the Northeast Entrance to the Park. Along the way I saw more bison and traveled through the famed Lamar Valley which has been described as the Serengeti of the US. It really was, but unfortunately I didn't see any wolves or anyone out looking for wolves, the "wolf watchers" as they are known. I did see a group of people at one pulloff and after glassing the mountain, all we saw were mountain goats or sheep.

I left the Park and headed up the Beartooth Highway. I had debated about taking this route as it would put me a ways out of the way of my intended route home, but after several people from BCDS said I must do it, I caved. I'm really glad I did. If I had skis with me, it'd been crazy. There was still a lot of snow as you can see from the pics below. After heading down the other side in to Red Lodge, I nearly flattened a juvenile black bear who ran out in the road in front of me. After turning east at Red Lodge, I made my way through a maze of secondary roads in Montana finally back in to Wyoming. It was then I was presented with another route choice, head down towards Cody and catch the 14 east to Sheridan and then Gillette or take the 14A (for alternate) across the Big Horn Mountains National Forest to I90 and then down to Sheridan, etc. Which one do you think I chose? Yep, those mountains were some of the steepest climbs of the whole trip. I had to gear down to first to make any appreciable progress at one point. Again, there was snow up on top, but as with the Beartooth, I was glad I did it. It is a really pretty area and worth exploring again. I fueled up with gas and Subway again in Sheridan where the Sandwich Artist told me it wasn't good to stay in Gillette, according to him it's the meth capital of the West. Duly noted.

Again, thanks to smart phones and the Interwebs (help from back home) I found a place to stay in Sturgis, SD. I was really motivated to get out of Wyoming, even if it meant setting up the tent in the dark. That was how I came to find the Rush-no-more RV park and campground, just outside of Sturgis. Ed Miller, the owner, took pity on a fireman from back East and put me up in one of the cabins for the night. Before bedding down, I hit the beer garden on premises and got to hear Ed's story. Ed was a DC lawyer/lobbyist for the real estate lobby for almost 25 years when he decided to change things. He looked at 30-40 different campgrounds before finding Rush-no-more, which he bought in December. It really was a nice campground and can't recommend it enough to anyone who may be out in the Sturgis/Black Hills area. And Ed is a really nice guy, too.

Before leaving the campground, I walked down to the lake shore and caught this early morning group paddling back to Grant.

Sweet fireplace surround in the Grant Visitor's Center.

They also have a really good exhibit on fire in the Park and the fires of '88.

On the way north, I stopped to see the Mud Volcano.

And the Black Dragon's Hole.

The Hayden Valley bison.

This big guy stopped for a drink.

Baby bison laying about.

Looking for wolves, but only found sheep.

Oh, I'll be back.

Cool snowblower, still needed for the road, even in July.

Sweet Oshie 4WD.

This one was staged a little farther up the road nearer to the pass.

I ran out of ice in the cooler, so yep, snow will do just fine.

If you look really close, you can barely make out the road snaking its way all the way back down to Top of the World, the last gas/convenience stop until Red Lodge.

The old girl is still going strong! Even at almost 11,000 feet.

Yes, that is a road sign sticking out of the snowbank on the left.

Just to give you a sense of scale.

The top of Beartooth Pass Ski Area, with its lift just steps from the road. The facilities at the top were a couple of Airstreams linked together!

Two guys about to drop in while one trudges up from the bottom. Check out this account of summer skiing in the Beartooths.

Looking back towards Beartooth Pass.

Skiing in T-shirts must be some kind of crazy.

Back in to Montana for a little bit.

These steel mesh rock fall capture fences didn't give me much comfort.

He certainly wasn't in a mood to stick around.

The abandoned ruins of the Smith Mine near Bearcreek, MT. Check out these accounts of the 1943 disaster that killed 73 men, here, here, here and this video.

And back in to Wyoming.

A radar dome atop the Bighorn Mountains along 14A. A little ways down the road, Bear Lodge looks interesting.

I made it out of Wyoming, finally! I've got a love/hate relationship with that state. Parts of it are breathtakingly beautiful, but others are torturous in their desolation. I did see Devil's Tower off to the north as I passed by Sundance, Wyoming, but that will have to wait until next time.