August 2019 - Day 16/21 drive Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge, Montana

Friday, August 23, 2019 - drive the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge (102 miles):



I was going to make a quick trip south, back into Yellowstone to see the rising sun hitting the peaks. That got canceled:


So I just headed east out of town:



I don't know if it was trying to sleep (two nights) at 7600', or because of the 16+ miles I hiked yesterday, but this morning I was wiped. I took a little closed-eyes rest at a turn-out, which was nice. Afterwards, I was just "tired", not "exhausted". So let's keep on keepin' on!

Exploring the Beartooth Highway - this is Beartooth Lake, with Beartooth Butte rising above it:

Half-an-hour later, Beartooth Butte still dominates the landscape:


Looking way-down into the Rock Creek Canyon, where I'll be hiking tomorrow up to Glacier Lake:


Looking down to the east at Gardner Lake:


It's pretty desolate up here on the top of the world:


After a bunch of twists and turns you arrive at Rock Creek Vista Point:

which has a wonderful viewing platform:


with really pretty views:

I'M GOING TO BE DOWN THERE TOMORROW!!

Looking northeast toward Red Lodge:


After more twists and turns, I got to Red Lodge:

where I had a late lunch and a cup of coffee at Honey's Cafe:

and got to hear my wife's voice for the first time in 3 days.

I didn't want to just do nothing for the rest of the day, so I headed out "W Fork Rd", which runs into "Forest Road 71":




After 11 miles I got to the West Fork Rock Creek Trailhead:



Looks like a nice valley to hike in:


I was looking forward to seeing "Calamity Falls" and Sentinel Falls":

After about an hour (and a little over 2 miles), I was in a nice lush area, next to "West Fork Rock Creek":



The valley walls are pretty cool::

but no waterfalls.

I hustled back because it was about to rain:

And then IT DID RAIN. I got soaked, but it sure made for a quick hike (4.1 miles in 1 hour 37 minutes):


Got back to town and checked into the Lupine Inn a little after 6:

That's my room - upstairs-corner! Thank you God for all this beautiful adventure in your creation!

Today it was hit-the-road music-time:

"Pattern Recognition", cd 8:


The Police - Message in a Box - cd 4, 1993 4-cd box set

cd 3 has all of "Synchronicity", plus a bunch of other stuff. I saw these guys out at Nassau Coliseum April 22, 1982, on the last stop of their US Tour. They did a great show, but did not play "Walking On The Moon" - not to worry, Wendy and I saw Sting & Paul Simon at the Boston TD Garden March 3, 2014, and Sting played "Waking On The Moon".

Mott the Hoople - Mott the Hoople, 1969 debut self-titled album


The Pretenders - Pretenders II, 1969


The Rascals - Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits, 1968