My Trip to Beartooth Scenic Byway
(On the Montana Wyoming border)
June 21-23, 2015
(See my for all of the pictures)
My birthday was last Friday and Father's Day was Sunday. I have been blessed with a wonderful, loving wife, five great children, their spouses, and now ten wonderful grandchildren with an eleventh on the way.
About two months ago my wife told me I needed to reserve and take off Monday the 22nd of June and Tuesday the 23rd. I knew she had something planned for the Birthday/Father's Day duo, but she would not budge an inch on letting me know what it was.
So, on Saturday, my son Jeff (age 30 years with three kids) told me that he wanted himself, myself, and my son Jared (26 years) to go on a ride on Sunday into the mountains ourselves. We have been doing this type of thing on Saturday's or sometimes Sunday's after church for their entire life...and now the grandkids love to do it too.
With the younger kids I will drive along and let them choose the direction at each crossroads...and then after about an hour and half, I will take over and take us back home. Just like I did with our five kids.
Jeff and Jared apparently wanted to do this on Sunday with just the boys. They said it would be one or two hours. So I said sure.
Sunday after church, they told me it was time to go about 1 PM so off we went.
After we had gone about 40+ miles and were nearing Banks, Idaho, I indicated we probably should start back because we had told Mom and the grandkids we would be back in an hour or two. They said no, I had to turn and head to Garden Valley first. I indicated that would take too long. But they RELLY insisted. So I stopped the car and asked why it was so important to go to Garden Valley when we said we would be back in one or two hours.
That's when they both said - Dad, we're not going back!
LOL! I asked them what they meant and they said they had me for the next three days. I was baffled and said - wait, I need my things because of my disabilities lingering from cancer.
They showed my a suitcase in the back seat of the truck that had all my stuff in it...apparently Gail had me all fixed up. It finally dawned on me that this is what Gail had wanted me to reserve the time for...so off we went.
They told me we were going to the Beartooth Scenic Byway, out of Red Lodge, Montana.
I have been on a LOT of scenic mountain highways around the US. The Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier. The entire West Coast, Pacific Coast Highway. The Smokey Mountain Scenic Highway back east. The scenic highway over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado, the beautiful High Mountain Highway out of Estes Park, Colorado, in Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, the Centennial Scenic Highway in southern Utah, Zion's Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, etc., etc. to name just a few. But I had never been on the Beartooth Scenic Highway.
So we drove the back highways out of Idaho, over Banner Summit and up to Stanley, Idaho and the Sawtooth Mountains. Following the Salmon River down through Challis and then to Salmon, Idaho. Back north to Tendoy and then over the gravel road into Montana over Lemhi Pass and stopping at the Sacagawea Memorial on top. Then down over Clark Canyon Reservoir Dam and onto I-15 and up to Dillon, Montana.
We lived in Dillon in the 1990s for four years and we ate that night at Papa T's in Dillon and I got the same delicious Fried Chicken and Jojos I loved twenty years ago.
After spending the night in Dillon, we got up early and drove over to Twin Bridges and then took the back road over to Sheridan, Virginia City and then to Ennis. We went from there to Bozeman and got on I-90 and took it clear over to Columbus, Montana, where we got off and drove to near Joliet, Montana and picked up US 212. We then took this to Red Lodge, and just out of town the Beartooth Scenic Byway starts.
What a beautiful road!
It climbs from about 5,500 feet at Red Lodge, up to just below 11,000 feet and the Beartooth Pass.
What a climb! What vistas!
My sons knocked this out of the park!
We were stopping and taking a lot of pictures and walking to the vistas. I am not able to do that as much because of my disabilities, but the boys sure did. What a great time.
I cannot tell you how unbelievably great those vistas, lakes, wildlife, etc. were. You will just have to look at all of those pictures to see for yourself...but it is nothing like being there.
The road passes back and forth into Wyoming and Montana. It stays high for most of its length, but then ends after about seventy miles, just before you enter Yellowstone National Park at the Northeast Gate.
Be advised, you will have to pay the $30 fee for traversing Yellowstone National Park, but that's okay because there is plenty to see there too.
Along the scenic byway and in the park we saw several bears (including a grizzly), a yellow bellied marmint, mountain goats, pronghorn antelope, elk, American Buffalo (Bison), a bunch of small rock squirrels, bald eagles, hawks and more. It was just such a great time!
We had intended on staying in Gardiner the second night...but everything was filled up with No Vacancy signs by the time we got there around 6 PM. So we drove to Livingston...but it was the same story. We finally got a room at the Bozeman City Center Inn. A really fine room and a decent price.
The next morning, the 23rd, we left and drove back along I-90 to White Hall and got off the freeway to go back to Dillon. At Dillon we picked up I-15 and drove south, this time right on down over Monida Pass into Idaho.
We stopped about noon and saw my in-laws in Idaho Falls, got some lunch, and then drove west on US 20 back to Boise via Arco, Fairfield, and Mountain Home. Along the way we passed through Craters of the Moon National Monument that way.
We finally got back to Emmett about 7:30 PM on Tuesday, June 23rd.
A great trip.
I would recommend this Scenic Byway to anyone!
One recommendation would be to spend an entire day...or maybe two...along the Byway itself. There was just SO much to see and we found ourselves hardly able to take it all in.
Thanks Jeff and Jared! Thanks Jolene (Jeff's wife)...and thank you sweetheart, Gail!
What a wonderful birthday and father's day. Who knows when we might do such a thing again. Such memories and experiences with family are what life is about and I have been richly blessed.
Again, please see my:
I have about 75 picuteres there and they are simply amazing!
(On the Montana Wyoming border)
June 21-23, 2015
(See my for all of the pictures)
My birthday was last Friday and Father's Day was Sunday. I have been blessed with a wonderful, loving wife, five great children, their spouses, and now ten wonderful grandchildren with an eleventh on the way.
About two months ago my wife told me I needed to reserve and take off Monday the 22nd of June and Tuesday the 23rd. I knew she had something planned for the Birthday/Father's Day duo, but she would not budge an inch on letting me know what it was.
So, on Saturday, my son Jeff (age 30 years with three kids) told me that he wanted himself, myself, and my son Jared (26 years) to go on a ride on Sunday into the mountains ourselves. We have been doing this type of thing on Saturday's or sometimes Sunday's after church for their entire life...and now the grandkids love to do it too.
With the younger kids I will drive along and let them choose the direction at each crossroads...and then after about an hour and half, I will take over and take us back home. Just like I did with our five kids.
Jeff and Jared apparently wanted to do this on Sunday with just the boys. They said it would be one or two hours. So I said sure.
Sunday after church, they told me it was time to go about 1 PM so off we went.
After we had gone about 40+ miles and were nearing Banks, Idaho, I indicated we probably should start back because we had told Mom and the grandkids we would be back in an hour or two. They said no, I had to turn and head to Garden Valley first. I indicated that would take too long. But they RELLY insisted. So I stopped the car and asked why it was so important to go to Garden Valley when we said we would be back in one or two hours.
That's when they both said - Dad, we're not going back!
LOL! I asked them what they meant and they said they had me for the next three days. I was baffled and said - wait, I need my things because of my disabilities lingering from cancer.
They showed my a suitcase in the back seat of the truck that had all my stuff in it...apparently Gail had me all fixed up. It finally dawned on me that this is what Gail had wanted me to reserve the time for...so off we went.
They told me we were going to the Beartooth Scenic Byway, out of Red Lodge, Montana.
I have been on a LOT of scenic mountain highways around the US. The Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier. The entire West Coast, Pacific Coast Highway. The Smokey Mountain Scenic Highway back east. The scenic highway over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado, the beautiful High Mountain Highway out of Estes Park, Colorado, in Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, the Centennial Scenic Highway in southern Utah, Zion's Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, etc., etc. to name just a few. But I had never been on the Beartooth Scenic Highway.
So we drove the back highways out of Idaho, over Banner Summit and up to Stanley, Idaho and the Sawtooth Mountains. Following the Salmon River down through Challis and then to Salmon, Idaho. Back north to Tendoy and then over the gravel road into Montana over Lemhi Pass and stopping at the Sacagawea Memorial on top. Then down over Clark Canyon Reservoir Dam and onto I-15 and up to Dillon, Montana.
We lived in Dillon in the 1990s for four years and we ate that night at Papa T's in Dillon and I got the same delicious Fried Chicken and Jojos I loved twenty years ago.
After spending the night in Dillon, we got up early and drove over to Twin Bridges and then took the back road over to Sheridan, Virginia City and then to Ennis. We went from there to Bozeman and got on I-90 and took it clear over to Columbus, Montana, where we got off and drove to near Joliet, Montana and picked up US 212. We then took this to Red Lodge, and just out of town the Beartooth Scenic Byway starts.
What a beautiful road!
It climbs from about 5,500 feet at Red Lodge, up to just below 11,000 feet and the Beartooth Pass.
What a climb! What vistas!
My sons knocked this out of the park!
We were stopping and taking a lot of pictures and walking to the vistas. I am not able to do that as much because of my disabilities, but the boys sure did. What a great time.
The road passes back and forth into Wyoming and Montana. It stays high for most of its length, but then ends after about seventy miles, just before you enter Yellowstone National Park at the Northeast Gate.
Be advised, you will have to pay the $30 fee for traversing Yellowstone National Park, but that's okay because there is plenty to see there too.
Along the scenic byway and in the park we saw several bears (including a grizzly), a yellow bellied marmint, mountain goats, pronghorn antelope, elk, American Buffalo (Bison), a bunch of small rock squirrels, bald eagles, hawks and more. It was just such a great time!
We had intended on staying in Gardiner the second night...but everything was filled up with No Vacancy signs by the time we got there around 6 PM. So we drove to Livingston...but it was the same story. We finally got a room at the Bozeman City Center Inn. A really fine room and a decent price.
The next morning, the 23rd, we left and drove back along I-90 to White Hall and got off the freeway to go back to Dillon. At Dillon we picked up I-15 and drove south, this time right on down over Monida Pass into Idaho.
We stopped about noon and saw my in-laws in Idaho Falls, got some lunch, and then drove west on US 20 back to Boise via Arco, Fairfield, and Mountain Home. Along the way we passed through Craters of the Moon National Monument that way.
We finally got back to Emmett about 7:30 PM on Tuesday, June 23rd.
A great trip.
I would recommend this Scenic Byway to anyone!
One recommendation would be to spend an entire day...or maybe two...along the Byway itself. There was just SO much to see and we found ourselves hardly able to take it all in.
Thanks Jeff and Jared! Thanks Jolene (Jeff's wife)...and thank you sweetheart, Gail!
What a wonderful birthday and father's day. Who knows when we might do such a thing again. Such memories and experiences with family are what life is about and I have been richly blessed.
Again, please see my:
I have about 75 picuteres there and they are simply amazing!
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