Out of Yellowstone

We left Yellowstone this morning. We drove from Lake north to exit via the northeast entrance and the Lamar Valley. I wanted to leave early in the morning while the wildlife might still be active. Well, we had to stop for three (lengthy) bison jams. Several of the Hayden Valley bison decided to park in the middle of the road. And several reckless tourists got so close that we were uncomfortable.

The drive out the northeast entrance was very nice. It features some rolling hills and some rocky mountains. Then we drove across Bear Tooth Pass along US 212. This is advertised as the most beautiful scenic byway in the country, and it was certainly breathtaking. Plenty of great, panoramic views of forests & mountains. The road is only open for a few months every year, and as you can imagine, that means that road repair has to occur during those few months. Fortunately we were again blessed with great timing since we were leaving the park on Sunday, and road construction was not scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays. We still had two very short delays on one-lane sections of the road, but nothing major.

Our drive to Sheridan, Wyoming traveled through several national forests and another mountain pass. We encountered a lot of light rain and some very heavy winds.