Chapter 3: Red Lodge, Montana and the Beartooth Highway

The next day in Red Lodge dawned cloudy and overcast again. We were scheduled to drive south over the Beartooth Highway to our next hotel in the town of Silver Gate near Cooke City. A very scenic drive of about 66 miles. The Beartooth Highway is one of Americas most scenic highways according to Charles Kuralt. It takes you up about 10,000 feet to an alpine mountain top. You're supposed to get fabulous dramatic views of the Beartooth Mountains where we had just been hiking. But with all the clouds and mist forming a ceiling at about 5,000 feet we figured we probably see nothing but white clouds. Soooo, we figured we'd just hang around the town of Red Lodge for the morning, killing time, hoping the clouds would clear out.

We found Red Lodge to be a real nice town. We checked out all the book stores, antique shops and outdoor outfitters. Oh, and I almost forgot, the ice cream store also! Everybody was very friendly. We spent a lot of time talking to all the different shop keepers, each one had interesting stories to tell about themselves and the town. Eventually, we had to leave town if we were to make our next destination in time. The clouds hadn't cleared out yet, so we figured we'd just get whatever views we got.

Following the highway south out of Red Lodge we soon found ourselves driving up a series of switchbacks. Then we entered the clouds and the only thing we could see out the windshield was the color white. Eventually, when we got high enough, we broke out above the clouds and we could see again! We were on top of the mountain, about 10,000 feet up, in a tundra environment. It was beautifully desolate. Every now and then the clouds would part and we would get dramatic views down into some of the valleys.

The highway out of Red Lodge entered a series of switchbacks and started climbing up the mountain into the clouds.
While we were up in the clouds we stopped at several of the scenic overlooks. Unfortunately, all we could see was the inside of the clouds. Here's Diane standing in front of a particularly scenic view. The sign said we were supposed to be getting a great view of the valley and mountains beyond.
^ On the top of the mountain we crossed the stateline into Wyoming. We were now above the clouds.
^ At one point, we got a view of the Beartooth Mountains to the west. The mountains just barely peeked up above the clouds.

The drive down the other side of the mountain into Cooke City was gentler without all the switchbacks. Plus, the high mountain kept the clouds to the north so the weather was much nicer. Cooke City was mostly a collection of local motels, restaurants, trinket shops, and one gas station all aimed at tourists. Silver Gate, another 5 miles beyond, was a much smaller version of Cooke City. We had reservations at The Grizzly Lodge on the western edge of town. It was an old family motel that was past its prime, but comfortable. The heat in the room was good so we hung all the tent parts from clothes lines we strung about the room. We had a hard time walking about in the room with all the wet stuff hanging every where. We were afraid if we kept the wet tent parts in the plastic bags in the trunk of the car too long, the tent might start rotting. For supper, the owner of the Grizzly Lodge recommended the tiny local cafe next door, which turned out to be a great recommendation.

^ A view down the main street of Cooke City looking east.