Our original plan was to move to Grand Teton today, but the weather was still overcast, and we didn't feel like we had seen much of Yellowstone yet. So, instead of leaving, we decided to check out Lamar Valley in the far northeast corner of the park and then drive the Beartooth Highway. It wouldn't be a good day for photographing the Beartooth Highway, but at least we could find out if it was as incredible as we had read.
The Lamar Valley had scattered bison, but we didn't see any wolves or any other extraordinary wildlife. They were probably in hiding and waiting for a nicer day.
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| La Mar Valley | Cook City |
We continued out of the park toward Cook City where we stopped at an artist gallery and had lunch. We purchased a Mary Blain print for our bedroom and talked with her for quite a while. She raved about the Beartooth Highway and said we should definitely go as far as the pass. It had been snowing on and off, but we decided to keep going. As we drove higher, the weather improved somewhat, although we never escaped the clouds. The Beartooth Highway is amazing. On a sunny day, it must be one of the more beautiful drives in America. As we approached the pass, there seemed to be alpine lakes everywhere. Our next trip to Yellowstone will definitely include a trip on the Beartooth Highway.
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| Alpine Lake | Pilot Peak |
We decided that it would be faster to drive over the pass to Red Lodge and then go south to Cody to return to our campsite at Fishing Bridge. Driving back through the park would be tougher and would include a lot more difficult driving because of the wildlife and slower roads. We left Red Lodge just before dark, so we had a long drive back to Fishing Bridge. In fact, we were on the road about 11 hours today. By the time we got back to camp, we were both exhausted.
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