Beartooth, Meredith and Yellowstone

We had  breakfast at Springhill Suites in Billings and went to fill up the van with gas and get it washed before hitting the road.  Of course where we got gas the car wash wasn't working so we paid for the gas and they gave us directions to another one.  Kay got out and washed it as it was a self service.  We washed the windows and then started toward our Beartooth Highway/Pass adventure to our first day at Yellowstone.  Beartooth or as Bertha calls it Barratith which when she says it sounds like Meredith.  This pass travels through the mountains of Montana and Wyoming and we pass back and forth several times on this road before entering into the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone.   Now that I have made it through I must admit it was an absolutely gorgeous drive but hair raising at times to say the least.   The summit is a bit over 10,000 ft. we were told but never really saw the stats at the top posted anywhere but some of those  hairpins turns caused emotional outbursts that almost landed me bound and gagged in the rear of the van.  Rock Vista Point is not the summit but a great lookout and there were a bunch of people up there that we saw all the way to Yellowstone.  There were chipmunks up there that were funny and obviously used to people feeding them.

Kay washing the van...

This reminded me of the Beverly Hillbillies

Fence made of Skis

Oh no..no turning back now!

Who does this biking to over 9,000 feet on a windy two lane road?

The view was beautiful but it's a long way down!

Chipmunks were everywhere at the viewing area and used to people feeding them.

You see a lot of dead pines..they have the beetle destroying them there.

We are still going up!

Snow capped mountains around a little lake at the top.

The water is so clear...

Beautiful wildflowers where we waited for a half an hour to pass through the road construction.

 

 

We passed through a cute little place called Cooke City before arriving into Yellowstone.  We stopped at the visitor center there and they sent us to a great takeout café across the street.  We all bought some food and had a picnic in the van and headed on to Yellowstone.  I have to say that everyone we have encountered along the way from the Welcome Centers to the Park Rangers to the desk clerks at the hotels have been so nice and helpful.  We entered the park finally and started our awesome time in the north park area of Grand Loop Road which includes Mammoth Hot Springs.  We saw everything from beautiful scenery to bison to hot springs and bubbling mud.  Every corner we rounded brought a new experience and it was all right before your eyes or in front of your car!  When we finally reached the Westgate exit of the park it was around 8.  The city of West Yellowstone where we stayed is an adorable little western town and we enjoyed seeing it.  We were all so tired from jumping in and out of the van to take pictures all day that we ordered pizza delivered to the hotel and were all promptly in bed. You will be impressed to know that I did put the window down to take the photos of the bison..including the big guy who decided to lay down and roll over!   Enjoy the photos and I will try to catch up on our second Yellowstone day later tonight.

 

Cooke City Visitor Center

Flowers are so much prettier when they have cool weather to grow in.

We had lunch here.

A group getting a photo as we passed.

Our Park Rangers for today.

First sighting of Buffalo

This guy was huge!

Debbie and Kay checking to see if the spring was warm.

This was not a waterfall but a bubbling pot..it was fascinating

These are called Pronghorns

It was almost dark by the time we left.

We have been in and out of Wyoming and Montana all day.