It was definitely bittersweet packing up our van for the final time on this camping trip. We were excited to drive through another part of Yellowstone on our way out, but so sad to be leaving behind the past week of adventure.
The kids were troopers in tearing down camp and we had a quick breakfast of oatmeal before driving northeast. We had decided to drive through the Lamar Valley and exit through the North Entrance, which we had originally planned to enter through.
On our way, we spontaneously decided to stop at the Mud Pots. Well, until we saw this:
So, we stayed in the car and just observed from there. We drove through the Hayden Valley, past Canyon Village and then through Lamar. Honestly, this was my favorite part of Yellowstone. I loved seeing the canyon, the geysers, lake and hot springs, but the valley is incredibly filled with landscape beauty and wildlife. Morning is the perfect time to drive through.
I was really hoping to see big horn sheep, even from a distance. And then, we saw one right by the road. Incredible.
A pronghorn crossed the road right in front of us.
And so many bison traffic jams.
The most incredible moment was when we came across an enormous herd of bison. Hundreds. Maybe more than 1,000. They were just little specks in the distance in this huge open valley. Then, we saw one bull take off running. Fast. We stopped the van and just stared in awe as he covered the valley in an incredibly short amount of time. Soon, a few others started running too. We saw a bull, followed by a cow, followed by a calf. They were all running through the valley in a straight line. You read that bison can run 40 miles an hour, but you don't realize how fast that is or what that looks like until you actually see them flash across a valley. Beautiful.
We wove our way out of the park and started our 38-mile drive on the Beartooth Pass. The road started out very calmly weaving around forest and lakes. I started thinking, "Hey, I might enjoy this."
Then, the switchbacks started.
Oh, first tiny, baby mountain with switchbacks. You make the drive look deceivingly easy.
And didn't stop.
Soon, we were traveling 25-30 mph on very, very narrow two-lane roads, winding our way up one mountain, only to wind down and start up another. It might have been beautiful and awe-inspiring, if I wasn't so busy panicking that we were going to tumble off the side of a mountain. There were lovely guardrails around most turns, but then they would disappear as soon as the curve ended. There were no shoulders, just road, a few inches of grass and then drop-off. Ugh. As huge pickups and campers came toward me I struggled to give them enough room to hug the center line while not bottoming out my own car by accidentally driving off the abruptly ending road on the non-cliff side.
We reached elevations of about 12,000 feet, with mountain peaks and valleys all around us. We were ABOVE the snow. In the summer.
Huge nets saved us from being crushed by rock.
This cliff was apparently so dangerous they just covered the whole thing in cement.
As Beartooth is considered one of the most beautiful scenic highways in the country, clearly plenty of people WANT to drive it.
Here are my criteria for enjoying Beartooth:
1. You crave all types of intense fair and carnival rides, including extreme roller coasters.
2. You regularly parachute from planes or helicopters.
3. You have climbed K2 or Everest.
If you do not meet these criteria, you might look like this after the drive:
It felt so incredibly good to be on flat land again with a very smooth, predictable drive to go across Montana. Oh, sweet, flat land.
We picnicked in Red Lodge and spent the rest of the afternoon driving to Miles City.
We stayed at the Sleep Inn, ordered pizza, let the kids swim and took long relaxing showers.
Day 7:
The next morning, we were out the door before 9 a.m. for the long drive home. The kids were a dream in the car and we were so excited to get back to home and our routine.
We've already started planning for our next visit to Yellowstone. We're hoping to use Gavin's 4th Grade Pass to see the western side of Yellowstone, including Mammoth Hot Springs and Grand Prismatic. We would also spend a night or two in Grand Teton National Park.
We can't wait.
P.S. Obviously, we won't be driving Beartooth.
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