Tripometer – 4308 mi
Gas Gauge – 344.458 gal
Location – Loch Leven Campground, Pine Creek, MT
Lodging – $12
Cans of OFF – 4
Beartooth Pass & Yellowstone National Park
(We didn’t appreciate how clear of smoke the skies were today until many days later. We both look back on our trip through Beartooth and Yellowstone as our last really clear day. You can still see hints of it in the distance in a few shots.)
Beartooth pass coming out of Red Lodge Montana going into Wyoming was one heck of an uphill climb. Commissioned in the later 60s, it was designed and built to be a tourist attraction and scenic route (especially for motorcycles), not an easy trailer-hauling route. It was a tricky and steep trip, but very exciting (see the switchbacks in pic above – this was the more gently sloped side of the pass). Much of the drive was above the tree line – we even got to see a couple of pikas when we stopped at an overlook! The views were astonishing and Paul’s weak knees ached most of the way up and in several places on the way down (cue the fake puking sounds when his stomach got woozy). We stopped for more than a few pictures along the way.
Our short drive through northern Yellowstone National Park was amazing. We had been to the park 8 years ago and spent almost a full week in Yellowstone / Grand Tetons N.P.s. During our entire last visit we never once saw a moose and it took us several days to add bison, antelope and elk to the list. Today, in one short trip from the Lamar Valley entrance and out the North gate of the park we managed to see several of each. We were stunned. Sadly we were too slow to catch a picture of the two juvenile moose we saw close to the roadside on our way down the mountain.
The arch we are pictured driving through was the original entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, MT. Built in 1903, the cornerstone was laid by Teddy Roosevelt. The quote at the top of the arch is from the legislation that created the first National Park “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People”.
We pulled into Loch Leven Campground predictably late. Loch Leven is one of many fishing access points along the Yellowstone river south of Livingston, MT. the campground has 12 First Come – First Served sites, but we were unable to get waterfront. We ‘settled’ for a site about 100’ from the Yellowstone river.
Trip Note: Aside from the glory and beauty of the park itself, our experiences in YNP has soured us to the large destination parks a bit. Dog restrictions (must remain within 100 ft of pavement) and tourist masses make the campgrounds and trails outside the park much more attractive.
Technical Note: The rig made a creak / thump towards the end of the day in a way we have never heard. We heard/felt the sound probably a total of 4 or 5 times in the evening after all of the strenuous climbing – you know, just enough to freak us out good and proper. We haven’t heard it since (a week later).