Bear Tooth Highway and Northern Yellowstone National Park

On our third day we checked the map and found the Bear Tooth highway, US 212.  This road goes to about 11,000 FT in elevation.  Yeah we had to drive it.  So we headed east and then took Montana State Route 78 to US 212 

Along MT State Route 78

After we picked up US 212 we started to climb and climb. 

Along US Highway 212 at almost 10,000 ft.

Looking into the valley in Black and White

Farther up the road we finally see a welcome to Wyoming.  

Welcome to Wyoming!

Up by the border between Montana and Wyoming along US 212

We finally peaked at 11,000 ft.  There were some small glaciers or snow bridges and some beautiful lakes.  

At 11,000 ft looking at some lakes.

Standing on a small glacier

We then made our decent toward Yellowstone.  

Watching a storm across the valley from US 212

 Later we came upon Lake Creek Falls, there is an old bridge there and a great waterfall.  

Lake Creek Falls

Under the old Bridge

Under the old bridge we found where people wrote their names and the year they came through, the oldest we found was 1908, most were from the 30′s.  

Once we were in Yellowstone National Park we were stopped by form buffalo crossing the road.  

Buffalo heard in Yellowstone

Later down the road there was a petrified tree, the sign said it was a redwood.  

Petrified Redwood in Yellowstone

Later we would see Undine Falls in Yellowstone before we left the park,  they were really pretty cool overall.  

Undine Falls in Yellowstone

All in all northern Yellowstone was pretty awesome.  We hope to see more of Yellowstone as we travel home.

After the Second Day

I am sorry for taking this long to get more pics up but we have not had internet, right now I am at a coffee shop in Bozeman. 

The second day was not a long of a drive but there was a lot more to see.  We woke up in Ogden, UT and continued north out-of-town.  It was not two long before we were in Idaho.

Yes Mark we are in Idaho

The eastern part of Idaho has lots of mountains with very large spaces in between them.  I honestly prefer Utah or Montana, but the far eastern part of the state is rather pretty. 

Lots of room in between the mountains but it is pretty

Lake in eastern Idaho

After going through a pass we finally reached Montana.  It felt good to be there even if it was only for a bit. 

A good Sign to see, Montana!

   

Looking Into Montana

After passing through Montana for a bit US Highway 191 goes into the western edge of Yellowstone National Park, and then into the western edge of Wyoming for a while before going back into Montana.  This area is just stunning to say the least and is now one of my favorite drives in the nation along with US 89 through Utah, AZ State Route 89 to Prescott, AZ State Route 89A through Oak Creek Canyon, and US 212 to Yellowstone, but that last one is for another post. 

Here are some pics from US 191 around the western edge of Yellowstone. 

Near the Western Edge of Yellowstone

There was a brown bear near the road that had people stopped.  I have never seen a bear in the wild so I stopped too.  Some of the people there said that we were in fact in Yellowstone at this point.  US 191 does not connect with any other road in the park so there is no fee to take this road through the western edge. 

That object between the trees is a brown bear in Yellowstone

We continued on northward long the edge of the park back into Montana. 

US 191 near Yellowstone

Watching that storm over US 191 near Yellowstone.

We finally arrived in Bozeman, MT about 10:30, (9:30 for you AZ folk)  It felt good to arrive and get some sleep.

The end of the first day

So as I sit here in a hotel room at last here is some of what happened.  First as we were heading up Interstate 17 there was a five-mile backup just north of the Cornville Rd exit.  After sitting there for about a half an hour we pulled through the median and went back to the Cornville Rd exit and headed to State Highway 89A. 

The Backup on I17

 

After taking 89A to Flagstaff, we headed out on US Highway 89 toward the border, however we decided to take the older route of US Highway 89A. 

Along US 89A north of the Colorado River

As US 89A heads down toward Utah you get some great views into the state. 

Looking into Utah

Finally we got into Utah and I had to stop. 

Yes Finally in Utah

We stopped in Richfield to get some gas and I had to take a picture of the clouds. 

Awesome Clouds in Richfield UT

Finally after driving all day we get to our hotel but have an issue with our door getting locked out.  As I waited I decided to just eat my dinner in the hallway.  They got our stuff out and us into a nother room with a working lock. 

Don't Bother Me, I'm Eating

Yes I pulled up some floor in the hallway and ate, so what.  Well for now I am going to get some rest, tomorrow starts the second leg of out trip and three states to go to.

A Minor Setback

As I write this I am not on the Interstate 17 but because of an acident I am on Cornville Rd heading toward State Highway 89A and taking that through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff so a minor setback. More to come.

Backup on Interestate 17

A Little Bit About Ogden, Utah

Tomorrow night I will be staying in Ogden, Utah.  We wanted to stay somewhere north of Salt Lake City to avoid morning traffic.  

Ogden was settled in 1844 and incorporated in 1851.  It sits at an elevation of 4,300 ft.  It is located in the northern part of the state and has about 82,865 people calling it home and about 531,488 people calling the entire Ogden metro area home.  It is also the county seat for Weber County. 

The area was a major rail stop for both fright and passengers having both east-west and north-south lines there, in fact most passenger trains went through Ogden and not Salt Lake, however today the national rail system Amtrak stops in Salt Lake and not Ogden.  Also Ogden is where the Osmond family (Donny and Marie) used to call home.  The Flying J truck stop company has its headquarters in Ogden as well.  Despite Ogden being only a few minutes north of Salt Lake it has its own Mormon Tempel.  The city was also one of the filming locations for the movies Dumb and Dumber and The Sandlot. 

The city’s average high is 62°F and its average low is 40°F and in August is 78°F and the average low is 52°F.  As far as rain the city gets an average of 23.67  inches a year, in August the average rain fall is 1.02 inches, so again we could see some rain. 

This will be where we make camp on the first leg of out trip to Montana.  Maybe we can check out a few things while we are there.

A Little Bit About Utah

Utah borders my home state of Arizona to the north.  It is a state that I have not spent a lot of time in but I plan to change that tomorrow.  It is the 13th largest state in America and is the 34th most populus state in the country.   

Utah is the 45th state in the Union being added on January 4, 1896.  Its highest point is Kings Peak at 13,528 ft.  The state is 270 miles wide and 350 miles long making for 84,889 square miles.  There are nemours National Parks there but I don’t think we will have a lot of time to explore those.  We will be driving through the state and spending the night in Ogden. 

Utah is known for some beautiful areas and for the Mormon Church.  In fact between 41% and 60% of its residents claim to be part of the Mormon Church.  The state also has the largest inland lake in the nation, The Great Salt Lake.  The state is also one of tha fast growing in the country with its population continuing to grow. 

All in all I think all of this will make for an interesting time as I travel through Utah.

A Little Bit About Bozeman, Montana

Bozeman, Montana was founded in 1864 and sits at an elevation of 4,795 ft.  It is located in the southwestern part of the state and is the 5th largest city in the state with about 37,981 people calling it home.  It is also the county seat for Gallatin County. 

William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, came through the area in July 1806.  Later in 1863 John Bozeman and his partner opened the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot of the Oregon Trail going to Virginia City.  The trail went right through the area where the city is today. 

The city’s record high is 105°F and the record low is -43°F.  While the average high is 56°F and the average low is 32°F (yes that is freezing)    Now we will be there in August, and in August the record high is 101°F and the record low is 26°F.  The average high in August is 82°F and the average low is 51°F.  As far as rain the city gets an average of 17.3 inches a year, in August the average rain fall is 1.5 inches, so we could see some rain. 

This will be our destination and jumping off point for the week.  We are situated in a spot where we can get to a lot of great things and should have some awesome pictures.  I think the weather will be good and I hope we dong get rained out.

A Little Bit About Montana

Montana which comes from the Spanish word for mountain, montaña,  is a very large state that borders Canada in the northwestern United States.  In fact it is the fourth largest state in America.  However it is not that populated it only ranks as the 44th most populus state.  So a large state with not a lot of people, sounds like my kind of place. 

Montana is the 41st state in the Union being added on November 8th, 1889.  Its highest point is Granite Peak at 12,807 ft.  The state is 255 miles wide and 630 miles long making for 147,165 square miles of places to explore.  There are two National Parks that are partially or completely inside Montana.  Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  Lewis and Clark also blazed their trail through the state and the state was the location of the Battle of Little Bighorn otherwise known as Custer’s Last Stand. 

All in all sounds like there are a lot of historical things to explore and some of the most beautiful scenery.  I think this week will not be long enough for us to explore everything but their will be some great pictures posted here.  To get there we will leave Arizona, driving through Utah, Idaho, and possibly Wyoming depending on what route we take. 

So keep coming back for updates and beautiful pictures as I make my next week of my life public.  This blog is dedicated to my lovely Wife who will not be going with me but inspired me to write as I go along.