We left Devils Tower Monument and turned north in to Montana. Our next destination was Grand Teton National Park, but we both have wanted to travel Beartooth Highway through Beartooth Pass into the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. We checked the road status as we were leaving Devils Tower and it had been opened for the summer a few days before and was still open so we decided to go for it.
On the way we passed by Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. This is a fascinating site to visit, but be prepared as it can be emotionally difficult.
We didn’t stop this trip but would recommend it for anyone interested in the history of the United States.
And the Custer Battlefield Trading Post Cafe across the highway from the entrance to the monument has great frybread. Try it with honey!
Onward to the Beartooth!
The mountain vista at Rock Creek Vista
Above treeline on the Beartooth Highway
Yay… another storm. This time it’s snow.
That’s a lot of snow.
Look at that view!
Driving along hairpin turns above treeline with snow towering on both sides of the car was a bit harrowing but the views were fantastic… when you could see over the snow.
We entered Yellowstone National Park at the northeast entrance and cruised through the park to Grand Tetons. We had initially intended to camp within Yellowstone, but I had failed to note the opening dates of many of the campgrounds as being June 1st.
Our arrival date was May 30th.
D’oh!
Also… I was very apprehensive about camping within Yellowstone as somehow I’ve gotten it in to my head that there are more human-grizzly interactions (negative) that occur in Yellowstone than in Grand Tetons so we did pass by one campground that may have been open. But we didn’t see any bears or even any “grizzly in area” signage.
So we continued south.
Until, about a mile from the campground, there’s a crowd of people stopped taking pictures. And big, flashing signs: “Mother grizzly and cubs active in area”.
We were tired, so we stopped anyway and set up camp at Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons.
The mosquitoes were horrendous because many of the sites were still swampy from melting snow… so we went out for dinner. Pizza at the Colter Cafe Court and then went next door to the Ranch House so J could have a drink after.
Yes. We ate the whole thing. Preggers.