Motorcycle Adventure, Day 23
Greetings from Red Lodge, Montana. What a nice little town. I wasn’t sure I was going to get here today as the weather has been less than cooperative. It was raining when I got up this morning in Idaho Falls, ID and it is raining now in Red Lodge, MT as I chronicle today’s adventure. I didn’t get underway until 0930 when I saw a break in the clouds. The weather forecast for this entire area has been less than optimal and continues that way for the next couple of days. Fortunately meteorologists must spend most of their time drinking beer and playing cards, because none of them can do much better than look out the window and tell you what they see. Heavy, dark, cloud cover followed me all the way to West Yellowstone. As I was on my way, I thought if I could escape the rain until I got there, I would don my rain suit and then not worry about getting rained on. It came to pass. I didn’t go a half a mile to pay my $20 to go into Yellowstone when the bottom fell out. It didn’t last long and I didn’t get wet. I had no intention of touring Yellowstone, it reminds me of Wal Mart when they have a 50% off sale. It just happened to be the most expeditious way of getting to the Beartooth Pass. I was unable to escape the tourists who stopped their vehicles in the travel lane and jumped out to take a picture of one of the many wild beasts. It took me 2.75 hours, by the most direct route, to escape the place. Not to mention the fact that the pavement had been dug up in many places and I was riding on a gravel road. The only reason I stopped to take any pictures was to let the half-million dollar motor homes get far enough in front of me that I didn’t burn up my clutch trying to cruise at 10 mph. Once I cleared the NE entrance to Yellowstone the traffic was minimal, but the bottom fell out again. It was so dark, coupled with my smoked helmet shield, I had trouble seeing. After about 30 minutes there were some breaks in the clouds and the rain had mostly stopped except for a few periodic sprinkles. Well, I have to say, Beartooth Pass was the last thing on my bucket list for this trip next to saying howdy to “Chopper” yesterday. At some point I will write down all the great places I have been and give my opinion on how they rank. Unequivocally, this was right near, if not at the top. It was absolutely spectacular, bad weather and all. I checked into the Comfort Inn at 1800 ready for some chow and a frosty malt. The clerk, Dave, recommended a place called Bridge Creek, Backcountry Kitchen & Wine Bar. It was the nicest place I have been in 20+ days. I sought out the owner, Dennis Christ, to tell him what a nice place he was operating and told him I would give him favorable mention here. The barkeep/waitress, Jade, couldn’t have been any nicer. I have run out of places to go! I will sleep in and watch the weather, but I have exceeded my wildest expectations of the great places to see for this trip. I got an added bonus this morning! As I was northbound on Hwy 20, I could see the Grand Tetons and just happened to pull over at a marker that had a commentary on them. That was icing on the cake because I had no idea I would see them, even in good weather. I saw the Tetons in ‘06 and to this day, they remain one of the most magnificent sights I have ever seen. Enough yapping, on with the pictures!
Greetings from Red Lodge, Montana. What a nice little town. I wasn’t sure I was going to get here today as the weather has been less than cooperative. It was raining when I got up this morning in Idaho Falls, ID and it is raining now in Red Lodge, MT as I chronicle today’s adventure. I didn’t get underway until 0930 when I saw a break in the clouds. The weather forecast for this entire area has been less than optimal and continues that way for the next couple of days. Fortunately meteorologists must spend most of their time drinking beer and playing cards, because none of them can do much better than look out the window and tell you what they see. Heavy, dark, cloud cover followed me all the way to West Yellowstone. As I was on my way, I thought if I could escape the rain until I got there, I would don my rain suit and then not worry about getting rained on. It came to pass. I didn’t go a half a mile to pay my $20 to go into Yellowstone when the bottom fell out. It didn’t last long and I didn’t get wet. I had no intention of touring Yellowstone, it reminds me of Wal Mart when they have a 50% off sale. It just happened to be the most expeditious way of getting to the Beartooth Pass. I was unable to escape the tourists who stopped their vehicles in the travel lane and jumped out to take a picture of one of the many wild beasts. It took me 2.75 hours, by the most direct route, to escape the place. Not to mention the fact that the pavement had been dug up in many places and I was riding on a gravel road. The only reason I stopped to take any pictures was to let the half-million dollar motor homes get far enough in front of me that I didn’t burn up my clutch trying to cruise at 10 mph. Once I cleared the NE entrance to Yellowstone the traffic was minimal, but the bottom fell out again. It was so dark, coupled with my smoked helmet shield, I had trouble seeing. After about 30 minutes there were some breaks in the clouds and the rain had mostly stopped except for a few periodic sprinkles. Well, I have to say, Beartooth Pass was the last thing on my bucket list for this trip next to saying howdy to “Chopper” yesterday. At some point I will write down all the great places I have been and give my opinion on how they rank. Unequivocally, this was right near, if not at the top. It was absolutely spectacular, bad weather and all. I checked into the Comfort Inn at 1800 ready for some chow and a frosty malt. The clerk, Dave, recommended a place called Bridge Creek, Backcountry Kitchen & Wine Bar. It was the nicest place I have been in 20+ days. I sought out the owner, Dennis Christ, to tell him what a nice place he was operating and told him I would give him favorable mention here. The barkeep/waitress, Jade, couldn’t have been any nicer. I have run out of places to go! I will sleep in and watch the weather, but I have exceeded my wildest expectations of the great places to see for this trip. I got an added bonus this morning! As I was northbound on Hwy 20, I could see the Grand Tetons and just happened to pull over at a marker that had a commentary on them. That was icing on the cake because I had no idea I would see them, even in good weather. I saw the Tetons in ‘06 and to this day, they remain one of the most magnificent sights I have ever seen. Enough yapping, on with the pictures!
