Beartooth Pass, Montana
While staying in Cody, Wyoming Sarah and I decided to explore the surroundings a little. I had read on the internet about the Beartooth Highway that snaked across the mountains between Wyoming and Montanna and we decided to take a look. The road is closed in winter time due to snow, from the image below it is easy to understand why.
it is a great scenic road that begins with a drive through a long valley before starting the twisting ascent that carries you very quickly to the summit with scenic overlooks every now and again
The overlooks do provide some spectacular vistas out across the valley to the mountains beyond
in the shot below you can see one of the overlooks provided, there is parking for about 15 cars and a small path leading to a pinnacle where the whole valley and Shoshone National Forest can be seen
the shot below was made from that overlook, we were very lucky with the cloud as it was at mountain top level but stayed away for long enough to capture some great scenes.
Once at the summit we took a walk around the last of the snow (note the dodgy ankle strap still in place ruining any chance of a good exploring session)
The photo below is unremarkable until you look to the bottom right hand corner of the shot and see the little ground squirrel peeping over the rocks, this little thing was so close to us Sarah couldn't believe it so she shot the short video below as I snapped away.
after our close encounter we carried on along the road until we came to the 'Top of the World' Store where we sat outside enjoying the sunshine and having a drink and bite to eat.
Further along the road now and descending fast we find beautiful lake with Beartooth Mountain in the background and we stop for a short walk around the lakeside.
Finally as we reached the lower slopes we came across this river with a huge raft of dead wood trapped against the side making a slightly risky pathway to a huge boulder in the middle of the river, I took the risk to get this shot.
We had a fantastic time crossing Beartooth Pass and will try to do the same again from Canada dropping down very spine of the Rockies...another road trip in the making