Road Trip #6 Day 2 Chief Joseph Byway and Beartooth Pass WY/MT

September 3, 2011
Colorado, USA

Greybull, WY -- The ride this morning on Hwy 14 to Cody, Wyoming was as one would expect a Wyoming ride to be - long and flatter than flat. What was most surprising is it was damn cold. Too damn cold for denim jackets anyway. About twenty miles out Tim is cussing the fact that I let him talk me out of packing the leathers - just in case. So, we rolled into Cody and found the Walmart where sissy-boy Tim purchased a hoody and since there was no hoody in my size I settled on a stocking cap and decided to tough it out.

Cody is a neat little tourist town. We liked it. We rode back along the main drag passing small gotcha shops, saloons and Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel all the while looking for breakfast. We found a great breakfast at a family restaurant called Granny's which was packed with both locals and tourists. We didn't wait long for a table and two cups of coffee appeared in front of us before we could slide out of our jackets. Our waitress was an older woman full of good humor, friendly and efficient. We ordered a hearty breakfast knowing Wyoming as we do, that it was not likely we would find restaurants along our ride today. Eggs, pancakes, hash browns and bacon served up hot and cooked exactly to order arrived fast. We liked Granny's and will return when we are in that neck of the woods again.

We topped the tank off and rolled out of Cody after breakfast heading out on Hwy 120 looking for the Chief Joseph Highway. What a beautiful ride! The view from the summit of Dead Indian Pass (elevation 8048) was stunning. The history of the Nez Perce Indians and their struggle against the inevitable domination by the white man is as interesting as the landscape giving meaning to the ground we were standing on. And, yes - it was still cold. But making up for it was the 47 miles or so of road being one switchback after another which was more fun than a roller coaster - woo-hoo! Tim and I agree the engineer of this road had to be a biker. This ride is nothing but eye candy with spectacular views of rugged mountains, craggy cliffs, and crystal blue mountain lakes around every curve - lots and lots of curves. Did I say woo-hoo!

Slide show for Chief Joseph Scenic Byway WY (55 photos):

At the end of the Chief Joseph Highway we turned onto Bear Tooth Highway. We had no idea when we started out this morning what a spectacular day of riding this would be. The Beartooth Highway (highest elevation paved highway in the Northern Rocky Mountains) winds through the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains revealing high alpine plateaus with snow fields and glaciers, countless glacial lakes, miles and miles of forest and lush valleys and waterfalls cascading over high cliffs. Our temps averaged 37 degrees as we traveled Bear Tooth Pass (elevation 10,947 feet). Did I mention it was cold? And do you think we cared? No, we were having too much fun.

Shortly after starting out on the Bear Tooth highway we encountered !!&*%(*%*^%$!! road construction and as is typical in Wyoming the road was down to dirt and bedrock. Several inches of loose gravel and dirt made for treacherous going. We had gone about a quarter of a mile when we saw a water truck headed our way. We were thinking great, let's add a shower and mud to the mix...next we would be riding as icicles but the water truck guy stopped, pulled over and let us pass with a friendly wave. We met the water truck guy later at a visitor center. He was hanging out beside the ride, said he noticed our plates and told us he was a biker, up from Colorado Springs working on the road crew for the summer.

Bear Tooth Highway - check out the road below the Rock Creek Vista Point Lookout (elevation 9190 feet)

Glacial Lakes and snow all along the Bear Tooth Highway

The Bear Tooth Highway is 60 plus miles of pure OMG (Oh My God) highway. We have OMG highways in Colorado but I believe this day of riding would match and outdo any one of them. We rode into Red Lodge Wyoming with big ol' smiles on our faces. Did I say woo-hoo? Our host at the Greybull motel recommended riding back the same way we had just ridden but it was late in the day and we realized that doing as he advised would put us riding part of that road at night. With temps already in the mid-30s we decided against that and chose to ride the lower, warmer, flatter route back through Cody and on to Greybull. This route took us through Bearcreek, Montana where the buildings of Washoe Mining Camp, a ghost town line the sides of the road.

Once back in Greybull we parked The Ride, said howdy to the Vets who were already congregating outside and then strolled off in search of food. We found a poor excuse for food at a Pizza place downtown not far from Lisa's where we dined last night. Afterwards, we decided we might have done better with peanut butter and jelly from the grocery store. We decided to find food before we ride back in tomorrow or PB&J it is.

We spent some time this evening visiting with the Vets and listening to their stories and laughing as they poked fun at each other. They offered drinks (whiskey) but being lightweights, we stuck with our beer. What a fun group.

Now we are ensconced in our cozy room and ready to call an end to an amazing day and 298 miles of oh my God highway -- all those switchbacks - wow!

Slide show of Bear Tooth Highway and Pass WY/MT (100 photos):