The Bear Tooth Hwy.
black mamba
Registered Users Posts: 8,325 Major grins
The late Charles Kuralt, CBS correspondent and noted traveler, called this road the most beautiful drive in America. It's hard to argue that assessment. The Bear Tooth section is actually a part of U.S. HWY 212. I left the north east entry of Yellowstone and rode the Bear Tooth from start to finish at its end 68 miles later in Red Lodge, MT. I shot these pictures in early June and I include just a few here to give you a sense of the majesty of the ride.
1 ) This is the last level section before the road peaks out at about 11,000 foot elevation. From this point on, it's up, up, up.
2 ) A large lake that's just beginning to thaw at the shoreline.
3 ) You can see some of the road you've left behind.
4 ) This lake high up is said to never thaw.
5 ) This is near the crest of the road. The twists and turns to get there are obvious. The banks of snow along the " S " shaped road, kind of in the middle of the image, were at least 15 feet tall.
Comments
First 2 are GREAT compositions in my view Tom! What a fun place to be at! Hope you are having fun!
Hey, buddy. You know, we in Florida have had perhaps the least restrictions of any State placed upon us because of this virus stuff. I have a niece that lives in CA. ( LA ) and they are plum miserable. So, yes, thank you, I am having fun. Take care, my friend.
Very scenic! I like the view of the road in #3.
www.mind-driftphoto.com
Hi, Cristóbal. This Bear Tooth ride is one of the side trips I recommended to you if you get to Yellowstone. When I left Red Lodge, I took another road and went back down into Wyoming and over to Cody where I spent two nights before returning to Yellowstone. Cody and Yellowstone are only about 55 miles apart and the road connecting them is also spectacular in its beauty. Stay safe, buddy.
Tom, you keep adding things to my bucket list. Thanks!
www.mind-driftphoto.com
Wonderful "road trip' destination.
When you have the opportunity and safer travel conditions prevail, you gotta try this trip in early to mid-Sept. The autumn colors explode into awesome scenery. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into this part of the country in early summer. Summer really doesn't take hold until the last two weeks of July, then autumn begins its slow march toward winter.
Great set of images!!
El Gato
www.globaltrekk-photos.com
Lovely shots, Tom. I especially like the great overview in #5 - what magnificent territory!
Thanks, Al. Great info on exploring other times to visit the Bear Tooth. They caution folks, during any snow period, to be sure and check current weather conditions along that road. They have to close it frequently.
It's great to hear from you, Sara. The term " breathtaking " hardly does justice to the scenery along this road. I was told by a local guy that , on a clear day, there was a distant peak you could see that is 150 miles away. I don't know if that's accurate, but there were a couple of peaks.....not in view in my shots....that might have qualified. I'll sure like it when things loosen up and we on the forum can be treated to more of your great bike trips. And a few car shots thrown in wouldn't hurt either.
As a matter of fact, Tom I just posted today about a short trip we took last summer... 😎
https://dgrin.com/discussion/comment/2115673#Comment_2115673
Now that's what I'm talking about, Lady. I just love these trips we take. I get to see all kinds of stuff. I'd offer good money for that rig in shot #9. Oh, and I notice you didn't comment on the next to last shot.
Great trip Sara! We've missed you around here.
www.mind-driftphoto.com
@black mamba Tom, sorry for the slight hijacking of your thread!
Thanks so much for the comments, Cristóbal. It's nice to be missed.
For the past 8 months I'be been fairly busy, coming out of retirement to help out at my old job, and there's the "retirement projects" - cataloging and editing the slides I had digitized and ripping 500+ CD's (many of which are multi-disc opera and classical recordings) to our NAS. Ugh. No rest for the wicked. 
Heck, Sara, you never have to worry about hijacking me. I was thrilled to catch the ride you sent. I have a quick story you may can relate to somehow.
My wife and I had reached the very peak of the road, got out, were just trying to take it all in. We also had a small group of mountain goats come within about 20 yards of us. Fairly soon, a group of 7 motorcyclists pulled over not far from us. They were talking and carrying on about the views like we were. It was 7 guys out on a group ride. We talked with them a little then one asked if we would take a group shot of them. Well, sure. One goes to his bike saddle bags and comes up with a beer for each rider. Another one gets to his bike and comes up with ....I kid you not.....2 pizzas in a box. Damn , those things were as hard as a rock. I used their camera, as well as mine, and got a great shot of the group, each looking straight at me and each with a beer in their hand and chomping on a slice of the pizza. A real classic.
That is a great story, Tom. It's being open for moments like these that make our trips more memorable.
if you want to take beautiful pictures, stand in front of something beautiful. You sure did that here.
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