Episode 66: Getting High on Montana’s BearTooth Highway
Well frankly, it was getting embarrassing. Other motorcycle riders saying “You haven’t ridden the BearTooth Highway? “You mean you’ve ridden through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park and you didn’t ride the BearTooth? And now you host a motorcycling podcast and you still haven’t ridden the BearTooth, What’s wrong with you, Ron?” Ug… So guess what I did this past week? Oh man,,,, WOW!
MUSIC: I get high with a little help from my friends…
This past week, my brother-in-law and I got high together. No, not a chemical high through whatever means, but he on his Triumph and me on my BMW, it’s a whole different thing from the seat of a motorcycle. No hallucinations going on here at all. This is real. Climbing so high on mountain roads, temperatures dropping over by 30 degrees. Seeing for miles and miles in every direction, it gives you a new perspective. Maybe a new perspective on life. The world… is beautiful and there are lots and lots of amazing open space everywhere, especially here in the western United States.
And as I was reminded this past week, lots and lots of good people who like to ask a motorcycle rider, have you ridden the BearTooth? Now I can say “Yes I have and it’s amazing!” Maybe all of us, in some way, need to rise above the world we know and get a new perspective. Let’s go there. Stay tuned!
OPENING MUSIC
Yeah, I’ve been close to the BearTooth Highway over the years, riding through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park a couple of times and through Jackson Hole a few times too, but in each case, it was either late in the riding season and the BearTooth Highway was already closed or I just didn’t have time to go in that direction. Poor planning on my part.
So let’s back up a couple of weeks. My brother-in-law Jim brought his Triumph Tiger out from Texas and stayed with my wife and I here in Loveland, Colorado. Jim and I married sisters, Karen and Janet. Our beautiful blond Swedes.
That first weekend, he and I and my wife Karen attended the Overland Expo here in Loveland which tours the country. It advertises as the world premier event series for adventure travel enthusiasts. If you haven’t already attended one of these, it’s attended by a lot of crazy people. Just the kind of people that I like to hang around. People who are crazy about taking outdoor experiences to the extreme in high clearance campers, all terrain vehicle modifications and of course, motorcycle travel. So after attending one of these, if you’re not already excited about hitting the road, you will be.
So that’s what happened for Jim and I. First, over coffee on my back porch, we talked about great roads we had already ridden, and more importantly, roads we had not. I just had to get that monkey off my back so the BearTooth Highway was a must. He loaded up his Triumph Tiger and I loaded up my BMS GS Adventure, and with a sweet message of “Keep it under a hundred” from my wife (oh I love her!), we were off.
NEW MUSIC
Leaving my home in Loveland, Colorado our first stop for the night was Lander, Wyoming. What a cool little town, just beautiful. After we got settled into The Inn at Lander, we went downtown for dinner at Cow Fish. Now I don’t know if there is such a fish called a CowFish, or a cow called a FishCow, but Cow Fish the restaurant outside seating in the garden was outstanding. Steaks and Trout were their specialty. We sat outside in a large open space filled with people whom I didn’t expect. That’s strange? Why are all of these young people so… fit? Like everyone is a mountain climber or a runner? So many people in their 20’s and early 30’s. And yeah, in really good shape? What’s up with that.
Well we found out why. Lander is home to the National Outdoor Leadership School. I looked it up. This is a school for people interested in a career in outdoor adventure travel. From the website, it says “All of our courses, from wilderness expeditions to classroom-based wilderness medicine courses, are designed around learning by experience, mentorship from expert educators, and wilderness. Students finish their outdoor education courses inspired and empowered to act as leaders in their community.
You know what I love about that? Everything! What Jim and I observed where not only very fit young people, but also very kind folks, some with young families and their dogs, having a great time together. Nothing rowdy at all. Just conversations, laughter and even dancing to the little hippie band that played. What a great first night out.
NEW MUSIC
Onward the next morning, our intent was to ride up to Red Lodge, Montana which would be our base camp for a couple of days. We intended to ride over the most direct route, but we passed the sign for the Chief Joseph Byway. Jim recalled seeing that on the list of must-ride roads, so we took a sharp left and began to climb. I won’t even try to describe the scenery. Just Google it. Yeah, all along our ride we saw lots of motorcycles, giving the motorcycle wave hundreds of times.
There were three bikes parked on one of the turnouts. They seemed to be looking under one of the bikes, not a good sign, so we stopped to see if we could help. Turns out that one of the bikes had suddenly started making a noise around the brakes. I had seen this before. I suggested that it may be a tiny rock that sometimes catches between the brake pad and the disk. I recommended that we push the bike backward just a bit, then roll back forward again, then pressing on both the first and rear brakes while rolling. That seemed to do the trick. It was great chatting with these gentlemen, each retired Air Force. Super nice guys. Of course, I told them about the podcast. I hope you’re listening guys!
Onward and upward on the Chief Joseph Byway as it eventually tees into the world famous BearTooth Highway. So we took a right turn and began our journey over the BearTooth a day earlier than expected. Again, just Google it, it’s amazing. The BearTooth Highway reminds me of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park near my home. Well above treeline for much of the journey and indescribable views. Like riding into a painting. This, for me, is a reminder that I’m very small in this world and we are all here for such a short time compared the amount if time that it took to create these amazing peaks and deep valleys. I’m reminded that this is a precious time to be alive. A gift to be able to ride a motorcycle into such a place as this. I feel very fortunate.
So as it turns out, we road the BeatTooth Highway twice. Once in each direction. After riding it the first time, we reached our base camp in Red Lodge. We stayed at the BearTooth Inn and Cabins near downtown for two nights and it was outstanding! Such nice and helpful people at the first desk. Highly recommended.
Our return from Red Lodge, Montana took us back over the BearTooth, this time spot a mother and father mountain sheep along with their baby. These are very large animals, solid white and built to survive in the harsh conditions at these altitudes. We continued on and through the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. We’ll talk more about Yellowstone in another episode, but the highlight is seeing all the buffalo and the bubbling cauldrons, needless to say, the scenery is off the charts. We exited Yellowstone and entered the Grand Tetons National Park which has sharp peaks that just scrape the sky. Again, hard to describe how amazing these places are.
NEW MUSIC
On that trip, we spent many hours with cruise control set on our bikes. Miles and miles of literally no cars in sight. I like twisty roads for motorcycling like most people, but I must admit that it’s these wide open spaces that I most appreciate. Putting the bike on cruise and just taking it in.
I can’t possibly share all of the details about our ride, but we spent our last night enjoying Jackson Hole, Wyoming and rode about 500 miles on home, back to Loveland, Colorado. What a fantastic ride. As I get back on a plane for Dallas this coming week, this relaxing time on the road will stay fresh on my mind.
NEW MUSIC
When I travel for work in a large city and sometimes find myself discouraged by the chaos all around me, I think about Walden, Colorado, or Riverside, Wyoming and now Lander Wyoming and Red Lodge, Montana, and I know that there are hundreds and hundreds of small towns where farmers are sharing breakfast together, talking about the upcoming wheat harvest and ranchers are talking about the calves being born over the coming weeks. There are tiny coffee shops like Jamoka Joes, Howling Cow and Serenity Coffee where the baristas welcome you back and make time to ask you about your ride today.
Maybe like with Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and the BearTooth Highway, we need to sometimes have a place to go, at least in our minds, where God’s creation is beyond description. And if you’re lucky enough to go there on a motorcycle, well, how much more fortunate can you be?
NEW MUSIC
Thank you for coming along on this journey with Jim and I. It’s always good to get back home, but I’ll not soon forget Montana and the BearTooth highway. And when people ask me if I’ve ridden it, I can actually say “Yes, twice!”.
I so enjoy sharing with folks that I meet about the podcast. I love putting it together.
If you enjoy the podcast, I would very much appreciate a review on whatever streaming service that you might use. It appears that most folks listen on Apple Podcast, so reviews are especially appreciated and if you’d like to send me an email with your feedback, I’d love that too. It’s ron@peacelovemoto.com. Thank you! Until we visit again, I wish you peace. I wish you love.
Music by William_King, Oleksii Kaplunskyi , Zakhar Valaha ,Vitaliy Levkin and Ringo Starr
