Pouring rain in Red Lodge, Montana, where I’m tucked into a delightful Airbnb-style studio apartment at the Chateau Rouge.
Today was a great day, sad for leaving James, Adela, Blu, Hitchcock, and Charlie (the single-minded, play-with-my-ball, German Shepherd) but almost the perfect motorcycling: A mix of sunny highway, beautiful national park, mountain road, and, hysterically, my zoom voice-over class at the end of it all.
I got to Yellowstone’s Gardiner entrance up in the Northwest corner around one. It wasn’t horribly crowded, but all the holiday makers were quickly transfixed by a bison herd, so I had the road to myself for about twenty or thirty miles to the Northeast gate.
An exceptional ride.
Yellowstone’s Northeast Gate dumps out onto 212, which is the most amazing road of all. It runs through deep forest and then up Beartooth pass.
I got in a long line of traffic and the passenger in the Ford Explorer in front of me dumped their drink out the window. So, I gave them the finger and passed them. Well I guess they didn’t like that, because they jumped into the fast line right behind me and the chase was on, right up the mountain.
Obviously, they couldn’t keep up, but not for lack of trying.
Beartooth pass is an alpine moonscape that just keeps going further and further into the heavens.
Tomorrow is the last day. A long one, mostly on the interstate. I was planning to get out early, but I’m not sure about the rain. I’ll peer out the window at 6:30 and see if its drying out.
Onwards! 