A Day Away From the Park

We decided we needed a mid-week break from the car.  Instead of getting up bright and early and heading over to Yellowstone for some more sightseeing, we slept in and enjoyed a few hours at the cabin.  Feeling somewhat refreshed, we decided to head up through the Beartooth Pass and into Red Lodge, Montana.  

This was the twistiest, turniest road I think I've ever been on!  I can fully appreciate why my oldest ended up battling some serious motion sickness that night and even the next day.  Heck, when I went to bed that night, I felt like I was still on that darn road!

As you may have guessed by looking at the picture above, the road was clear, but there was still a lot of snow on the mountaintops.  Snow and ice.

The boys giving the snowbank some size perspective.  

A frozen lake that was just starting to unthaw.

We actually saw people with skis pulled over to try their luck on this slope.

Unlike Yellowstone, the wildlife here was less abundant.  We saw two badgers run across the road in front of us.  The only picture I could snap was blurry, making it difficult to spot the one I managed to photograph.  The only other animals were a pair of (female?) elk. 

One of the only ways we got the boys into the car again was by promising that today would be a fishing day.  On the way to Red Lodge we planned to stop and fish Beartooth Lake, but it was raining when we drove by.  Since the Pass was both the way to and from Red Lodge, we promised to stop on the way back to the cabin.  Lucky for us, the rain and snow mix had stopped. 

Notice the poor shoe choice...open toes!  

Fishing Beartooth Lake

The oldest child fishing Beartooth Lake.

You may have noticed that once more I was armed with Bear Spray.  I don't know much good it would have done me had a bear actually stumbled upon us, but much like a baby's binky or favorite blankie, it offered me some sense of security. 

We ended our day at another fishing hole, this one near our cabin.  We left the pavement behind and ended up on a dirt road that looked promising.  

The mosquitoes were horrible!  So much so that I refused to get out of the car.  The fishermen in the family were not as easily discouraged.  They at least attempted to put their lines in the water. 

They're braver souls than I!