Beartooth Pass 10,947 ft

Today, Thursday we took highway 212 aka the Beartooth Highway, which is listed as one of the most scenic drives in the U.S. and is one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, ( closed during the winter months ).  The road itself is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet).

We have spoken with folks who had come through and experienced rain and hail along with the cold temperatures that come with the elevations, and when I walked outside this morning, fog and clouds prevented me from seeing much more than the 1/8 of mile to the end of town. By the time we found breakfast the skies had cleared and I began to feel better about our chances for a good day.

So we layered up our clothes, T shirts, long sleeves, fleece and leather jackets and chaps, heavy gloves and masks in anticipation of 35 degree temperatures and headed east of town and began to climb toward the Summit at Beartooth at 10,947 feet, then back down to the town of Red Lodge at 5,500 feet. The ride began with a gradual climb and nice wide curves. A few miles in, we had a brief stop for some road construction, after which the slope increased and the switchbacks became more frequent and severe. A couple of stops when the overlooks looked safe for some great views and hopefully good pictures.  At our first stop we talked to a couple of Canadians who remembered us from dinner and breakfast, ( don't know what we were doing to be so memorable ) and we would see them again several more times on the ride up.

We ran into riders from all parts of the country, Canada, and France today, all headed to Sturgis, all doing the same ride through the mountains and all reciting the same weather reports. However mountains in the high tundra have a weather system all their own and do not listen to the weatherman, nor pay attention to surrounding conditions... so despite our fears, the weather was again perfect, as were the road conditions, with the exception of 200 yards which was unpaved and under repair. So again since we left Sarasota on July 2, we have had one real rain day back in Oklahoma.... we hope it continues another 10 days or so until we get home.

The rest of the day was straight flat roads, with little to write about, but in the interest of full disclosure, I will share our lunch experience today. After stopping at a peaceful looking roadside park to eat, we loaded up and I pulled out taking a short cut across a parking lot of deep gravel. It was then that I felt something inside my left pant leg rapidly making it's way up to and past my knee. I was not sure what critters are native to southern Montana, but in a millisecond everything from bees to lizards to snakes and Gila monsters ran through my head and I began to impede his upward movement with my left hand, while trying to control the bike with my right. My brain knew that neither of these efforts could possibly succeed, but my survival instincts had taken over and in a few more seconds I was rolling on the ground pulling a grasshopper from my pants. Later Debbie likened the experience to Ray Stevens' song 'Mississippi Squirrel Revival'. So now I must check, each time I mount the bike, to assure that no living being has infiltrated my clothing. No damage or personal injuries resulted, and even the hitchhiking insect was freed to live another day.

Tomorrow, we will arrive in Sturgis... maybe we will have lunch in the safety of a vendor tent...