1131 September 9, 2024 Scenic Ride Trifecta
I went for my morning walk in downtown Cody.
When I got back, we packed the Jeep and we were on our way.
As we drove through town, three bucks walked across Main Street at a crosswalk.
We stopped at Rawhide Coffee for a cuppa.
We took Route 296 to the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. When we were at Yellowstone, at a pullout, we met a guy from Bozeman, Montana. We chatted for a while. We asked him what we should see while we were in this area. He said the Chief Joseph Highway should be mandatory. He went on to say that every American should drive this drive. That is how we found ourselves here.
We entered the Sunlight Basin. This is supposedly Wyoming’s best kept secret. The hills are rugged and the mountains jut skyward. There are meandering creeks and valleys and gorges. Free range cattle dot the countryside and graze along the guardrails.
There is extraordinary beauty around every twist, turn and switchback.
We stopped at Dead Indian Hill Summit. It was here that we learned the story of Chief Joseph.
Chief Joseph was a Nez Perce Indian Chief. He led 600 people, mostly women and children, through the Rockies and was fleeing to Canada. The United States government broke a treaty with his tribe over gold rich land. The calvary pursued the band of Indians and many lives were lost in multiple skirmishes. Chief Joseph continued to evade the calvary because he was well aware that the army intended to leave no survivors. Chief Joseph finally surrendered just a short distance from the border. He and his people were placed in prison camps. AS he lay dying, Chief Joseph said “I will fight no more forever.” To stand on the same path that these brave people walked and fought for their own survival is sobering. I’m not sure if the man who told us to come here wanted us to see this beautiful place or to learn the history and remember the cost of settling the west.
At the end of this highway, we turned left onto the Beartooth Highway, another national treasure. Charles Kuralt called this “the most beautiful roadway in America.”
We continued on through Cooke City, “The Gateway to Yellowstone” and then, through Silver Gate.
Tim had read about this little place called Wooka’s Wild Eats. He was intrigued by it and we were hoping it would be open but it wasn’t.
We took the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone National Park and traveled through Lamar Valley.
There were lots of people stopped along the roadside at steep cliffs. They were watching sheep or goats but they were not visible to us with our binoculars.
Along the Lamar River, there were several buffalo herds. A bull crossed the road and we could hear him snorting as he walked by.
A mama buffalo crossed in front of us and her calf followed. They both lay down in a dusty depression and frolicked there. The baby was trotting around and spinning in circles. He seemed to be delighted! It was so fun to watch the pair.
There were so many fishermen, flyfishing in the river.
We saw another large herd, hundreds of buffalo.
There was a single antelope, curled up and resting in the high grass.
We found a nice lunch spot.
More pretty…
We reached Tower Junction where they are constructing a new bridge.
We turned back and rode through the valley once again. This is Soda Butte, a travertine mound.
It was afternoon and we began to think about where we could spend the night. We had no cell reception. We looked at an information kiosk for the Gallatin National Forest and it looked like we were not going to be able to camp in our tent at most of the campgrounds because of grizzly use. In addition, many of the campgrounds had closed for the season on Sunday.
We went back through Cooke City and still had no service. We went to the Visitor Center and it was there that we found Pat. Pat was old and grizzled and a little disheveled. He was very calm and spoke very slowly but he was to the point and knowledgeable. When Tim asked him about dispersed camping and Pat’s eyes lit up. Lily Lake was where he sent us.
We took Beartooth Highway north until we found the dirt road on the left. We took that to the end and found the perfect site. We had a partial view of the water. We had tall pines surrounding us. There were stone steps down to a lower terrace and there was a stone fire ring.
We spent the early evening, sitting and listening. We could hear the wind in the trees. Occasionally, there were small birds or noisy ravens calling. We could hear chipmunks and squirrels chittering. The weather was mild and we were content to be there…in the moment…
We had omelets with grilled sourdough for our dinner. We were warmed by a nice fire as the sun sank below the hill behind us. The water was still, the wind had stopped, and we could hear some animal calling. Tim saw an osprey flying low and then we heard a splash.
We had a fabulous day! Thank you, Pat!