WY, MT and SD

Picking up the thread, we were at Christian Pond in Grand Teton Park, and on the way back to the car, we had to walk across a fairly long bridge over Christian Creek (there was a sidewalk for pedestrians), and I managed to get this shot of the Tetons while trucks were going by making the bridge sway. 

           View from the bridge 

From there it was up to Yellowstone NP. We went through an area which had been hit by forest fire years ago. 

        Remnants of a fire

We went to our favorite place, Roosevelt Lodge, and although the cabins there were totally booked up, we ate an early supper there before driving up to Red Lodge. 

   The dining room at Roosevelt Lodge

We then drove over what has to be one of the most amazing highways in the country, if not the world:  the Bear Tooth Scenic Highway, going over Bear Tooth Pass. It goes up to over 11,000 feet, and is an engineering marvel. Photos cannot do it justice, but here are a few:

The "bear tooth" that gives this highway its name is that little spike at the top. 

  Just one of many spectacular views

      Another overlook

       And another

We stopped at an old country store in Cooke City

         Ye Old Country Store

We stayed in Red Lodge Tuesday night,  as I mentioned, and today drove over US 212, from Billings, MT to Gettysburg, SD. This is another amazing road, not because of mountains, but because it goes on for miles and miles with hardly a sign of a human dwelling. It goes through endless grazing land, wheat fields, sunflower fields and some corn and soybeans. But mostly just empty range land. And virtually no traffic. Again, photos do no justice, but here is a taste:

      Grazing cattle .....

      .... sunflowers ....

       .... Wheat.....

      ... and baled hay ....

We stopped in Ashland, MT,  looking for a museum of American Indian Schools, which we had seen a billboard for. We never found the museum, but we did find the St. Labre Catholic School which serves Crow and Cheyenne students from nearby reservations. 

Down the road at Faith, SD , we stopped at King 's Drive-In for a bite to eat. Ellen got an All-American grilled cheese sandwich and a root-beer float. I had a fishwich and a small banana shake. Next door was a sign proclaiming Faith the home of "Sue," and claiming Faith "the T-Rex capital of the world." Wow !  We never ran into Sue, but we learned later that the largest T-Rex skeleton ever was found near Faith in 1990. 

 

 The All-American grilled cheese sandwich 

(White bread, of course!) 

Tonight, we are in a motel in Gettysburg. An old-fashioned motel, but a nice one. Our bed has a small window over it and it actually opens! Cool fresh air is wafting in as I write. I like it !