We arrived in Red Lodge relatively late at night. We had a long day of driving, but we also saw a lot as well. The kids were still high on the Buffalo - particularly those in Custer State Park. We kept telling them to wait until we got to Yellowstone, but quite frankly (having never been there) even I was unaware of what we would truly see.
Between Red Lodge and Yellowstone lay The Beartooth Highway (Rte 212). Another feat of man's ingenuity. The road is taken out every so often by avalanches - sometimes for months at a time. This road is a series of switchbacks (seems like hundreds) over about 60 miles across the beartooth mountains. Do NOT think 60 miles, therefore 60 minutes....not even close. You climb about 10,000 feet in that distance and then back down. The road is not recommended for vehicles like long motor homes, but I did see them out there. We pulled over a few times when we could, but pictures absolutely do NOT do justice to this place.
These pictures show some of the hairpins and the road hanging on the edge of the cliffs. We took the family shot at the highest point on the Beartooth at just under 11,000 feet. Not long after this is where the kids took the shot in the snow at a place I was petrified to walk to - we easily could have dropped several thousand feet there. Then, there is my obligatory shot in the local bitterly cold water - I need to fire the photographer for getting that bush in the way of my shot.
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