Ride Report, Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph

We rode back to Cody today.... up the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. It was totally the best ride so far. Switchback after switchback, beautiful ride. Once again we found ourselves struggling to focus on the road instead of the amazing scenery.

We made it back to the overlook at the top (see pics from the last post) and I got a pic of the bikes.


We rode into Cody and got some gas, a snack and a drink, then rode back up the Chief Joseph. We got a little wet, but the weather cleared right up as soon as we got out of town and back onto the scenic highway.

Everyone told us that the Beartooth pass was closed, but we turned up it anyway. The last hotel owner told us that this was the absolute best scenery / ride in the entire area and that it is rated one of the best motorcycle (scenery) roads in the country. We turned up the road anyway. Just figured that we'd turn back once we hit the barricade. Make a right at the stop sign to hit the beartooth :)


They were 100% right. The scenery up this road was by far the best of the entire trip. I had the camera out more times here than I've had it out anywhere else! On the way up we came across a sweet waterfall.


Then the Beartooth Lake... still mostly frozen over.




Nice name for this store (it pretty much was at the peak).




Leaving the 'top of the world'


Really incredible views... absolutely amazing.


You can see the weather pattern that we were about to get caught in.










Bikes... and us.






Think this might be why the pass is still closed?




More scenery...




End of the line... all the equipment and the crews are here to begin clearing the road further.






On the way down from Beartooth we saw the 1st group of sportbike riders we've seen the whole trip. They were loaded out, each with saddle/tankbags. They told us a story about how they had a helicopter after them earlier today, just before they entered the park and that a nice ranger had a chat with them about speeding, and called of the chopper without giving them a ticket! They were headed for the Chief Joseph Highway and we told them about the Beartooth.... they headed off toward the Beartooth pass, and hungry and needing gas we headed back for Cooke City and the motel.

It's been a pretty awesome couple of days. Tomorrow we'll be heading into Yellowstone again. We hope to see Old Faithful, then head south to Grand Teton.