Today we're riding Beartooth Pass and going to spend the night in Red Lodge. Beartooth became Mary's favorite road (and in my top 10) when we first rode it, many trips ago. Fortunately is is between where we live and where our granddaughter lives, so we ride it pretty regularly.

Getting ready to pull out of Cooke City-










Not far out of Cooke City we start climbing.










A sign letting me know that the fun riding road is ahead!!!












Oh yeah! Hard to beat the scenery and the curvy road!












In this pic you can see the curve we're in, and another nice one, way up ahead...plus you can see a bit of snow on the mountainside...but there are even several more curves between us and the one ahead!












What a fun road....and we're getting closer to all the snow!











Pic as we're rolling past Beartooth Butte and Lake.











"Top of the World" is a little stop with a C-Store, motel and campground. It's at 9400 feet elevation. We've never stayed there, but it's on our to do list in the future.










The snow is starting to melt....












...but still has a ways to go. Absolutely beautiful country, so glad there is a road thru it!







Passing a lake that is still frozen over...








...sky's looking like snow ahead...










...another lake that is still frozen over...barely starting to melt thru...










...we've been up here before when it has snowed on us, but today it is colder and windier than other times. Tomorrow they are saying the snow will be so heavy that travel is not advised.

But for today we're enjoying the ride and the amazing sights!









A look to the left- down below you can barely see the road we've just traveled.








We are starting to get to the really fun part of the road!









Fantastic views everywhere-A look back.










Still looking like snow ahead.









Fun Ahead Sign!






​​​​​​​More of Beartooth in next post.





See that water/ice on the road? Gotta be careful of that stuff, even on 3 wheels.









Wow, a Wall of Snow!








Looking to the right, what an amazing view!









This is just a fun road, anyway you look at it. Easy to understand why it is Mary's favorite road in North America.









Looking down and to the right at the road we just traveled up to the switchback, and then the scenic backdrop.









Now we're starting to get into the really fun stuff! (starting to see a little blue sky every now and then too)








Had to stop and change batteries in the camera and video cam.









It is cold and windy up here. You can see the lever tassels being blown back as if we're headed down the road at 25-30 mph. I don't even want to think about what it would feel like without the electric jackets.









What!?!?!? We've never seen the snow piled this high before. Might be normal for the folks up north, but for us this is just crazy!











Another perspective-






This pics makes it easy to see why we like this road so much...riding and views are hard to beat!








Riding close to the snow bank....but I did not try and touch it today, like I did at Mt. Evans. lol









Cars and humans! What's going on?










This is the first time we've been up here and the ski lift has still been running! Lot's of folks taking advantage of it.









A look back, seeing more and more blue sky now.








At to top now, entering Custer National Forest...









...and Montana. The road is a bit nicer, speed limit is higher (typical of Montana) and there is little snow up here. It is cold, but the sun and wind rid the top of snow faster.









Just WOW!








This road is a blast to ride...










...in this photo you can see 4 great curves, with a good road surface & camber, making it a joy to ride.





On the Red Lodge side of Beartooth Pass...









...there is a Scenic Overlook...









...with plenty of parking....









...and a walkway out to...









...some really great views...








...and chipmunks galore.









We really enjoy this place...









...but after 20 minutes of looking around, it's time to head back to the bike...










...and get bundled up for some more great riding in one of the most scenic spots in NA.









Back rolling now!






and the fun resumes...








...great road surface, fantastic views, and lots of curves!








A quick look at the map and there look to be over 100 curves between here and Red Lodge...11 of them being hairpin.









The views in this part of the world...









...are hard to beat.










Mary, hanging out over the edge of the road, while we're rolling, for this pic. That's a long way down!









Looking up the hill...that's a lot of melted snow coming down!









Curves, snow, canyons and Mary in the Mirror.









Rolling about 50 mph with a look back at all that melted snow coming down from up top.









Beautiful view and a hairpin curve coming up.






I know I've posted a lot of pics of our ride today...but it is such an amazing place...those of you that have ridden it know that I am cutting out the majority...and just posting some of the highlights. I'll be wrapping it up with this and the next post.


Coming up to yet another curve, notice the -> sign, mostly buried in the snow. lol








Mary in the Mirror, and More Curves Ahead!









A look back, what a view!









If you like riding the curves...









...this is a road to put on your list...









...there are a ton of them, and they're a blast!









We are pretty much down the hill now, and it has warmed up to 51 degrees.









Fellow biker headed up the pass for a day of extreme riding enjoyment!!!









Taking a little detour a few miles before reaching Red Lodge.






We saw this little road off the main road to Red Lodge...









...and decided to take it. It was a few miles long and went down to a parking area, then there were various trails. We took a little stroll to the creek.








Trying to get a photo of some fish. lol








After puttering around a bit, got back rolling. That is a LOT OF TREES!!!!










Back on the main road to Red Lodge.









We're here! What a great day of riding!!!!









Turning into Red Lodge Inn. We stayed here a couple of years ago. Really nice place and reasonably priced.








After checking in and unloading, we rolled thru town...here's the main drag-








HD knick-knack store.









After filling up with gas we went to the grocery store for tonights meal and tomorrows lunch.






Tomorrow we head to Missoula to visit Craig and Lydia, our son & granddaughter.