Bear Tooth Pass and a day in Cody.

Yesterday we spent 13 hours on the road and felt the effects. By the time we got in after leaving at 6am, had a shower then dinner it was 10pm.

You feeling sorry for us yet? 

Our plan was to head over the famous "Bear Tooth Pass" mountain range for a lunch at a little town called Red Lodge. About 160 miles round trip. That should kill half the day and leave us free to explore more of  Cody.

We allowed ourselves the luxury of a sleep in and arose at 7.30. The bike desperately needed some cleaning. We hit the road at 9am.

The forecast was for about 81 degrees and Thunderstorms.

It was very warm already and overcast, but were we where heading was fine, fine, fine.

This suited us fine a we would be climbing to about 11,000 feet and above the snow line should the weather turn. 

The road was outstanding. The Chief Joseph highway prior to the Beartooth proper was great. The down hill portion proved challenging due to road snakes on switchback corners and a steep gradient. Slowed down a bit here.

An example on road snakes. They are common and slippery



Then we hit the Beartooth proper. It immediately became even better quality. The road was awesome, corners readable it was great fun.

The scenery started as a steep hill with waterfalls, rocky out crops etc then after some road works we found ourselves riding through an alpine environment. This consisted of  lakes, switch backs, snow and we climbed up further and further.

We dispatched any American vehicles with ease. It is obvious many Americans are not used to sharp corners. This left us to enjoy the ride without hindrance.

The ride down the other side was constant sharp corners and steep gradient. No photos as Gerry was using the camera as a video for this portion. We will post this later.

Red Lodge proved to be a pleasant little town and a tasty fresh sandwich was enjoyed. Gerry's verdict of the Bear Tooth: The best ride EVER.

You can go to the same bank as robbed by the Sundance kid here, or visit all manner of haunts of Buffalo Bill here and in Cody. How cool is that? Cant do that in Greytown.

We where just about to ride off in hot sun when a cloud formed in about 5 minutes flat and BANG the first clap of thunder. About time to go we thought.

We took the quick direct route back to Cody. We got wet for about 5 minutes then skirted around the out side of the storm. Fantastic. Riding at 70mph (the legal limit) in hot sun watching a thunder storm unfold.

60 minutes later we visited the Buffalo Bill Museum. Very well done with high quality exhibits. We both learnt heaps about the area and its people. What a fantastic day.

Irmas Hotel. Buffalo Bill built it for his daughter

We saw a few bikes identical to Paul's today. The town is filling up with Bikers. Sturgis has already been humming, we saw photos today of the last few days there.

This area is a Republican one. The highway out has bill boards with messages such as "pray for the un named children" and " unborn children have rights too"

Its been a great stay. Tomorrow we head to Gillette.

Thanks for all you communications they are gratefully received. Love M&G