Beartooth Pass, MT

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I think one of the biggest lessons we may have learned,hopefully have learned,,is to ask more questions of Park Rangers or even locals about roads to travel...not that we didn't ask as we did, but thinking back we just didn't ask the right questions,,,on our way out of Yellowstone NP we did ask the Park Ranger about the NE entrance? to which she replied "no problem,,some construction outside of the park on Beartooth Pass,,you should have no problem",,,with that,,we headed to the NE entrance, enjoying a picnic lunch on Yellowstone Lake watching the geese on the lake...out the entrance we go looking back down at Yellowstone,,climbing, then climbing some more,,,winding around a little,,beautiful scenery and forest,,first noticing all the campgrounds going through the Absaroka Range,,Nez Pierce forest are all “closed for the season”,,,we continue to climb,,,then the construction begins,,and one lanes and lead cars,,,more climbing,,,we finally make it to "top of the world" so I think to myself,,well, this wasn't so bad and the construction was minimal...but just when we thought we wouldn't climb anymore up popped the signs, you know the ones that wiggle and display hairpin turns?...we also notice that we have not met any RV's on the highway,,if we could have turned around we would but we were already in too deep so we had to keep going,,,and yes, we had a line of cars behind about 8 deep so can imagine the chatter going on there,,,the photos will tell the tale of the 11,000+ ft. climb and then the dissent to Red Lodge...all I could do was pray and take photos...at the 10,000+ ft. level we stopped to rest and let drivers go around,,,another RV that was behind us also pulled in,,,they had a 23' cabover and were amazed at our choice of driving Beartooth Pass,,,telling us that it would soon be closed as it was only a seasonal road due to the massive amounts of snow that gets dumped there every year,,and of course the alpine glaciers [photos included]...arriving at the KOA in RedLodge the host chuckled a little under his breath when we told him where we had been telling us that he told folks to not even go that direction anytime of the year, much less pulling a 40’ fifth wheel,,,I am going to search for a bumper sticker that states something like "We survived Beartooth Pass",,,much like the 'road to Hana' bragging rights....

Charles Curalt once stated that this route was the most scenic highway in the lower 48....I would have to agree,,,

Downtown Red Lodge reminds me of the typical winter ski town,,log cabins,,lodges,,snowmobiles parked alongside the cabins waiting for the snow,,,Humphrey Bogart's Cafe allowed us to sit down, enjoy a drink and talk about our day on Beartooth Pass and unwind a bit...nothing like a huckleberry martini,,,,