September 28, 2021
Wow, I’m posting this a bit over a week after I did the ride. I’ve been busy, mostly with school homework for what I hope is my last semester of classes toward my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
On that Tuesday morning, September 28, I got up a did the usual Tuesday morning thing which is to run 7 miles or so with my friend Jerry. We’ve been doing this weekly run for at least 15-years and it’s just part of our routines. Here’s a couple photos from where we ran up Myers trail to the top of the rimrocks.
After the run, a shower, and breakfast, I got the bike packed and headed out, making my way to Laurel, MT. There are lots of ways to get there. There’s the interstate, which I usually avoid, the Buffalo Trail route on the far west end of town, the Duck Creek/River Road route, and one I hadn’t done before, the frontage road along I-90 to some side roads that end up meeting Hwy 212 at the Cenex refinery. I took that just to be different. It was fairly cool out and I was wearing the thermal liner inside my jacket and had on my full riding pants on over my Levis. Summer gloves felt fine with the grip heaters on.
I headed south on Hwy 212 and when I got to Joliet I had to stop and remove that thermal liner. It was starting to get warm out. I made it to Red Lodge, went through town, and continued on until the Beartooth Highway sign where I pulled over for a photo.
From here it’s a beautiful ride up the twisties to the Vista Point. Along the way I stopped for photos.
Being that it’s a Tuesday and past the big tourist season, there were very few other vehicles on the road. This really is the best time to do this ride. A couple photos at Vista Point.
This is my 5th time up the pass since last May and I’ve taken lots of photos and I know I will today but decided to try and stop at some places I’d hadn’t before. This next bunch is from a spot that is massed with snowmobiles when the pass first opens in May. It’s a large parking area and a good jumping off point for lots of activities.
There’s a nice lake down below.
The road going up to the pass looks inviting. But the temperature has started to drop so I put my thermal liner back in my jacket. It was about 57 degrees.
One can’t go to the pass without a photo next to the sign.
While getting up to the pass is a great ride, I think the ride down toward Cooke City is just as good if not better.
There’s a nice lake after exiting the twisties.
Just past Beartooth Lake there is a road construction project that’s been going on for quite a while. On my past rides up they have it down to one lane and an automated signal letting vehicle through since the work takes place at night. Today they are working during the day and are using a pilot car to shuttle groups through. When I pulled up I’d just passed a sign that indicated there could be a 30-minute wait. So, I parked, got out my Kindle, and read while I waited.
I got through the construction zone which was, luckily, very well-packed dirt and gravel, and somewhere past the turnoff to Cody, WY, the Chief Jospeh Highway, I pulled over for this photo with Pilot Peak in the background.
I made it to Cooke City and gassed up.
From there is was a short drive to the entrance to Yellowstone Park.
I went through the park entrance using my new Military Interagency Pass and started riding one of the most beautiful routes one can imagine. As I mentioned before, it’s a weekday and post-season so there are very few cars on the road so I was able to cruise at the park speed limit of 45 mph without getting stuck behind the usual assortment of recreation vehicles.
Most of the ride going west travels through the Lamar Valley and scenery is hard to capture in photos.
There were plenty of bison herds to be seen lounging in the open areas.
Like I said, the scenery….
At some point I encountered my first traffic backup of the day. It turns out there was a herd of bison trying to decide which side of the road it wanted to graze on. It took a while for cars to move and when it was my turn I rode very slowly with bison on either side of me less that 8-feet away. No time for detailed pictures but I did snap these while I was stopped.
I rode the rest of the way to Mammoth, a small city inside the park, and stopped just long enough to grab a photo of some elk lounging on the lawn.
It was only a few more miles to the park’s north entrance and into the town of Gardiner. This place is full of motels and restaurants, catering to the park visitors. I found a ranger station that looked closed and pulled over, parked under a tree, and ate the sandwich I’d brought along.
After a rest I headed north into the Paradise Valley, a very nice ride. I stopped at a rest area for a quick break and a photo.
The road goes north to Livingston and as I got closer the wind kicked up. A lot. Very heavy gusts from the west. This is one of my least favorite riding conditions but with the miles I’ve got behind me now they are way less anxiety-producing.
I arrived in Livingston and the wind was still blowing, usual for this place, and I got my mapping app out and found my way to the county courthouse for another to add to my collection of the bike in front of county courthouses.
As courthouses go, this one isn’t much to look at.
I headed east out of town and with the wind to my back I decided to get on the interstate and ride it back to Billings. Traffic was very light and I made it back without event.
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