As the three of us (Jordan, Emily, and I) were hiking out from our backpacking excursion to Black Canyon Lake, we chatted about our plans for the next couple of days. Originally, we thought about leaving straight from the trailhead after our excursion and driving up the Beartooth Pass, finding a place to camp for the night, and then making our way to Yellowstone National Park the following day. Since Emily and I were pretty cold when we camped the night before, we decided to alter those plans and forego camping another night. Instead, after hiking out on Friday morning we took the scenic drive on the Beartooth Highway before returning to Billings that evening.
What is the Beartooth Highway you might ask? Well, it is one of the most scenic drives in the United States, featuring break-taking views of the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains, as well as open high alpine plateaus dotted with countless glacial lakes, forested valleys, waterfalls, and wildlife. As an All-American Road, it is one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48, with 20 peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation. It is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies, and is surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests. It’s closed for majority of the year due to excessive snow and adverse winter conditions, so those who are lucky enough to actually make the trip during the small window that it is open are treated with the opportunity to hike, fish, camp, look for wildlife, or simply just sit back and admire the scenery.
Okay, so now that you have a bit of a background on what the Beartooth Pass is, here are some snapshots of our journey with Emily:
We arrived back in Billings later that night but had little time to relax as we had another jam-packed day of exploring ahead of us. We were headed to Yellowstone National Park bright and early, so we quickly unpacked our things from backpacking, repacked for the next day, then set our alarms for 4AM before getting a good night's sleep in our (warm) beds.
Morning came fast, and soon we were on the road again. We only had one day to spend in Yellowstone, so we were going to make the most of it! Entering the park from the East Entrance, we were able to hit all the hot spots. Hehe get it…hot spots…hot springs… okay, okay, let’s get to some pictures already:
Yellowstone Lake
West Thumb Geyser Basin
Old Faithful
Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs
Boiling River
Last but certainly not least (and our absolute favorite part of the entire park), the Boiling River. There is no better way to finish off a day of sitting in the car than relaxing for a while in the Boiling River – a natural “hot tub” where a large hot spring flows into the cold mountain waters of the Gardner River.
We finished off the day with some pizzas from the Yellowstone Pizza Company, drove back home for a restful sleep, and before we knew it Monday was here and it was time for Emily to leave.
Her flight wasn't until early afternoon, so after dropping Jordan off at work in the morning us girls had a few hours remaining to do a bit of exploring around town. We enjoyed our last breakfast of the trip together (Kodiak pancakes – Emily, you’re welcome for getting you addicted to these!) and then I took her over to Pictograph Cave State Park.
We still had some time to kill before she needed to be at the airport, so we went up to the Rims to wander around Zimmerman Park and Swords Park.
It wasn’t long before I was having to say goodbye to my first friend who had visited me out in Montana since moving here over 4 years ago. I was sad to see her go, but SO thankful for the time we got to spend together and all the adventures we were able to fit into her quick trip!!!
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