Canada, Glacier NP, Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Hwy Part Three

 Day Five

When I go Yellowstone I try to avoid the thermal areas and certainly Old Faithful. It is a zoo in the summertime. There is a song title Summertime and the jazz great Ray Brown with his trio of Jeff Hamilton and Gene Harris do a great version of this tune. As it has no vocals so no quip here but it is great swing music.

Today's route is a favorite and the destination for this ride after leaving the Fab 5. From Gardner I get an early start about 7:40am then onto Lamar Valley, Cooke City Montana, a down and back on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, over Beartooth Pass and spend the night in Red Lodge.

Here is the route.



The key for this ride is doing a down and back on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. Most will go over then north to Belfy and Red Lodge or south to Cody. Why, when the best is just where you came from? Get back up in elevation when it is hot and stay cool. The only reason to stay on Hwy 120 is when the weather inclement and I did that once years ago.

This was the first time I have been here since the Yellowstone River had it's way with the road along the river, washing it out, in June 2022.

The new road goes up a hillside with lots of switchbacks on good pavement with a 25mph speed limit and enough traffic to just relax and enjoy the views. The new route drop into Mammoth above where the old road was. Very nice.

It wasn't long before my first wildlife encounter but it wasn't a fluffy cow. Oh no.



I did a couple of u-turns to get a good view a decent shot and stay safe.

Fluffy cows along the Lamar River.









Soda Butte Cone



View along Chief Joseph byway, also known as Crandall Road on Garmin maps and Wy 296 and whatever you call it the is a great road for brisk riding. Absolutely sublime.

Clark Fork Canyon along Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.



Along the Beartooth Hwy where there was no construction. Yippie!







At the summit.



Some mountain sheep or goats I don't know which.



A deer in downtown Red Lodge.



It was a great day to be on the motorcycle. I was ride very well today. There are just some days where everything clicks and this was one of them.

I had a good meal in Red Lodge, I believe it was elk. I like eating things unavailable at home.

End of Day Five