A NOTE ON OUR DAYS OFF

August 18, 1999

Finishing work at 2:00 pm (1400 for military types), Gina and I set off for Cody, Wyoming. Cody is 100 miles from our village in the park, but it's an easy drive down a long valley with a river flowing through it. We found Cody to be a very neat town with a population of 8,000 plus lots and lots of summer tourists. We checked into a hotel that gives park employees a great discount. After a wonderful dinner at the Holiday Inn we tromped up and down the main street with the rest of the tourists. But, the next day was devoted to the Cody Western Museum. This is the most impressive museum ever, really world class. Of course we hit the WalMart before leaving for Red Lodge, Montana.

The drive across Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and the Beartooth Highway was more than worth the trip. Beartooth Highway was called "the most beautiful drive in America" by Charles Kuralt. The road climbs up, up, up switchbacks with steep dropoffs on one side and cliffs on the other. Soon we were above the treeline and into open country with snow patches still on every hill. The road obtains the elevation of 11,000 feet giving a very real feeling of being "on top of the world". Maybe it was the reduced oxygen, but I found it to be very exhilarating. As the book says, "… a 64 mile corridor filled with alpine lakes, wildflower-carpeted meadows, lush forest, glacier-carved skylines, pristine streams and magnificent vistas of bordering prairies on distant horizons." Wild flowers were everywhere. The road can be seen in seven places as it switched back and forth coming down from the lofty heights into the valley below.

Finally, we arrived in the most delightful town, Red Lodge. We were very surprised not to see throngs of tourists. Red Lodge is a simple, clean town drawing most of its visitors from Billings, Montana. We were pleased to see VACANCY signs since we didn't have a reservation. The people were very friendly and proud of their town. There were several outfitter stores to support the backpacking industry in the surrounding national forests. There were also bars and restaurants and one very old, very up scale hotel with a formal dining room.

After visiting the ski slopes, closed of course, six miles up the mountain to the west, we began our very long drive back across the Beartooth Mountains. We stopped along the way to drive up a dirt road to a fire watch tower and to play in the melting snow. The breeze was cool enough to require a jacket. We saw many cars parked at the trailheads where there were signs warning backpackers of the grizzlies. After hours on a hungry stomach, we arrived at Cooke City where we took care of the hungry stomach.

Entering the park, we were delayed by road construction and wildlife jams. Wildlife jams are cars stopped along the road to photograph wild animals. They are often called "bear jams", "elk jams", or "buffalo jams". Finally, we arrived home just before dark. Driving the narrow roads, over such switchbacks, had completely worn me out and I was ready for an early bed.