Beartooth Pass 2014

Well it’s the second weekend in September and our friends Roy & Caroline have joined up to travel Montana and Wyoming. We plan on riding up and across the North East corner of Yellowstone Park and then the Beartooth Pass to Red Lodge Montana.

We delayed our departure as much as we could as the temperature was only 3 degrees at 07:00. Now at 09:15 it’s up to 7 degrees.

I brought along my Extra set of Sena headsets so we could communicate between bikes and the couples individually. After we install intercoms in Roy and Caroline’s helmets we are off.

It looks like Roy’s open face helmet has too much wind noise when using the intercom, so we only talk to him when at low speeds.

We made a quick stop in Fort McLeod for Timmy’s and we make the border by 13:00.

Roy has a bit of a problem crossing due to a replacement passport so we ride ahead to the pullout just south of the customs station.Here’s a photo of TJ’s forefathers.
It didn’t take long before our friends ride up and pose for a quick photo. Our next stop will be in Babb Mt along Hwy 89 for some fuel.

The weather is really nice and the temperature gets to 72f by midday. We had a great ride down Hwy 89 and arrive in a Great Falls at 16:30. Everyone is hungry so we head over to the Montana Club restaurant. Roy had the most unusual meal of us all. He had a deep-fried pork chop sandwich. He really liked it. Sorry I forgot to get a photo.

We decide over dinner that we won’t make Livingston before dark and no one wants to dodge Deer so we elect to stay in a Great Falls at the Great Falls Inn. We stay here almost every time we travel through. They offer a great room at a great rate. Today $70.00. Yahoo I love living in the FOG.

Here TJ and Roy discuss the days events while Caroline and I check in.After we check in the others go for a walk while I write-up today’s activities while watching Guy Fieri from Dinners Drive Inns and Dives. I’m pretty much convinced people will eat just about anything.

We plan on riding the Beartooth Pass tomorrow and as it will take us at least six hours to get there from here the temperature should be at least 11 degrees when we cross the top. I’m definitely wearing long johns and multiple layers of shirts and fleece.

Well the others are back and they brought me a Twix so its munchie time.

Well it’s 23:30 and I’m beat, good nite all.

DAY 2

Well Roy has been up for quite awhile, I guess he can’t wait to see the Beartooth Pass. I clean the windscreens and repack the trailer as we wait for the woman.Here the ladies are ready to roll, well at least ready to roll to the coffee shop.Here we are loading up at the hotel and here’s our planned route for today:

TJ wanted no part of the coffee served at the hotel so I found a new Bakery Coffee house called Five Loaves, humm we wonder about the name. Ah yes there are scriptures on the walls and Compassion flyers to sponsor kids around the world. These folks may be followers of Christ. What a great little place that is now our must stop in Great Falls list.We make our way down Hwy 89 south and make our first stop for photos. Caroline took some great photos and shared a few with us. Check out this good-looking fellow.Looking back towards Great FallsWe stop in Livingston MT for fuel and then march on towards Yellowstone. We are all so interested in getting to the Beartooth Pass we forgot about lunch. Not very good planning on our part, we should have bought sandwiches for a stop in the park duh!

As we zip along the Northern part of the park the first animal we see is a bison standing right beside the road. I was going so fast I was by him before I seen him. Well it wasn’t long before we came upon this fellow:It’s fall and all the families with kids are gone but now the old folks are out and they are stopping in the middle of the road and driving like, well you know.  It’s a slow ride through the park.

Roy seems to be enjoying himself and why not. Great weather, on a motorcycle, with great friends how can it get any better.We are about to start our climb from the west side after just driving through Cooke City.As we travel the Bears tooth Pass we go in and out of Montana and Wyoming.

The gang discussing the climb.We stop at the Vista Point Rest Area Elevation 9,190 for a few photosThe road twists and turns with plenty of switchbacks to get you to the top. On the Red Lodge side it is mainly along the edge of the mountains and on the Cooke City side it is more wide open.Descending towards Red Lodge MtBack in 2011 TJ and I stayed at the Alpine Lodge in Red Lodge and we really enjoyed our stay so we rolled in and thankfully they had room for us.  We got a room at the end with a comfortable bed and plenty of pillows.

The hosts definitely know how to run a motel. The rooms are clean and reasonably priced and the rate includes breakfast that is prepared fresh by the owner.

We once again go to a restaurant that we have been before but this time it’s different. The menu has changed and it’s really loud. Well Roy and Caroline order the steak sandwich and TJ and I try the Bison along with the in house prepared onion rings. The rings were good and we all liked our meals except TJ, she didn’t enjoy her’s at all. We stop at the Town Pump to fill up and get some snacks for later.
What a beautiful almost full moon night in downtown Red Lodge. We Spend our evening discussing our places with God and what He has in store for us next.DAY 3
07:30 Well it looks like I’m the first up and as I get the bike reloaded Roy comes out to see how much longer breakfast is served.

 I managed to find pancakes with real maple syrup, thanks to our hosts. Yes the owner actually makes his guests a variety of breakfasts. Roy and Caroline had burritos and TJ had Eggs and biscuits.What a great breakfast and coffee.
TJ is loading up.
Here’s todays map:

Our climb from Red Lodge is quite steep along the mountain edge, here’s a few shots of the road climbing up: As you can see it’s quite steep.

We make a number of stops on the way up for photos.We make our way to the top:View at the top  What a great view!The sharpe pointed top right of the pole is the Bear”s tooth Here we are on the way down the west side
A bikers paradise.

Caroline catches us in action.   
We make a quick pit stop in Cooke City so Roy could buy a T-Shirt and as we are waiting I see a Homemade Ice Cream sign on a building next store.

Yeah Coffee Ice Cream!

We make a tour through Yellowstone down by the canyon and then over to Norris Geysers

The Norris Geysers, boy do they stink.

We exit the park and make it to Livingston Mt for suppertime. We search Tripadvisor and find a good review on the Budget Host Inn, Yikes that was a mistake. Old, run down but the rooms were clean.

This place is in dire need of an upgrade but we still had a great time casting out all the demons.

We left Great Falls and it was 78F and while driving north the temps dropped to 43F in Lethbridge. We elected to go straight up I-15 and avoid the rain in Babb. When we got to Lethbridge we found out that Calgary was covered in snow and it was starting to snow about an hour south near High River.
We got wet, cold, and covered in rain, drizzle and snow thanks to all the transport trucks, but we made it to Roy & Caroline’s

Yep that’s what I had to see through to drive. What a wonderful trip!