Why I Should Never Take the Scenic Route
Why do I take the scenic route? Because it is scenic, the road less travelled and because I am an idiot. Leaving from Billings, Montana and taking the Beartooth Scenic Byway which has been described as the “most beautiful drive in America” by Charles Kuralt I was ready for adventure.
Do I agree with Kuralt? It’s hard to say. Mostly because I was practicing my mindful breathing in order to keep myself from shitting myself. Why? Well… I was at over 10,000 feet elevation (10,947 feet to be exact) and I don’t like heights. Or edges... Did I mention the sheer drop? How about the weather. It was snowing. And foggy. And Icy. And there were drifts along the side of the road that were taller than my car. I had visions of being wiped off the road in an avalanche and rolling down the mountain.
Oh. And it was a two lane highway. And often animals were in the road so you had to swerve around them often without being able to see what was coming around the bend. Now, in all fairness, the animals were adorable. I saw rabbits running across the road like a bat out of hell… and Yellow-Bellied Marmots which were just lying there. In the road (probably because it was warmer than the icy talus fields that I was driving through).
Hellz.
Eventually, I reached lower elevations where it still snowed but the roads weren’t icy and there was no accumulation. And then I saw the bison in the park. And there were kids on the swings. That was a bit too blasé for me.
But then I got to the park. The Northeast entrance is pretty low key. A sign. A gate. Nothing so grand as the Roosevelt Arch that I exited. But basic.
The ranger who greeted me was enthusiastic and friendly and made me excited again. She told me that the Beartooth Pass had just opened the day before (derp) and was sympathetic of my terror but assured me that the Tower Pass in the park which had just opened was probably the most challenging drive but that I had “already seen the worst”.
What did I see?
Wow. Well, a lot along the way…
Barronette Peak
Soda Butte Creek
Soda Butte
Lamar Valley and its wildlife. Herds. I mean HERDS of Bison. Pronghorn Antelope, Deer a BEAR and her cub that just walked out in front of my car.
Roosevelt Lodge
Dunraven Pass
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
The Sulfur Cauldron
Mud Volcano
Yellowstone Lake
The edge of the volcano caldera
West Thumb
Continental Divide
OLD FAITHFUL - which I saw ERUPT!!!!
Midway Geyser Basin including the
Grand Prismatic Basin
Firehole River that burning hot water enters
Mammoth Hot Springs
Roosevelt Arch.
How’s that for one day?
The downside? Aside from the terror? I twisted my knee and am now limping which would make me wolf fodder for sure. Luckily, I didn’t see any…