Twin Lakes Revisited Day-Day 52

The temperature extremes were from a low of 35F to a high of 70F with the 35F being attributed to the Beartooth Pass elevation of 10,947 feet.  The weather revealed the sun most of the morning, partly cloudy in the afternoon, and then in the late afternoon rain/sleet at the top of Beartooth Pass.  Gasoline purchased was at $3.679/gallon today.  This was the what's wrong with this picture again as the 87 octane was cheaper than the 85.5 octane.  It was a fun day for me as I had wanted to return to Beartooth Pass where my brothers and I had come some 40 years ago.  Traveling up the switchbacks brought back a lot of those wonderful memories like my older brother taking snow from the side of the road and threatening to throw it at me.  I also remember that the Twin Lakes were a beautiful blue back then.  The reason being it was August time frame and the snow had melted by then.  My plans tomorrow include National Monuments at Pompeys Pillar and Little Bighorn Battlefield.
Night everyone!

The Traveller

Valley in Beartooth Plateau

This picture was taken near the Rock Creek Vista Point on Beartooth Highway, Montana.  The Mountains shown are part of the Beartooth Plateau.  Notice the switchbacks to the left of the photo, this is how one gets to the summit at Beartooth Pass at the 10,947 feet elevation.  By the time I arrived at the summit, the weather had changed from partly sunny to rain/sleet conditions.

Twin Lakes

This picture was taken on the trek up Beartooth Highway to Beartooth Pass near the Montana Wyoming border. This highway, mostly situated in Wyoming, connects Red Lodge, Montana with Cooke City, Montana.  The circular snow sheet to the left and the snow just to its upper right are what is known as the Twin Lakes.  If one enlarges the photo one can see that the upper right Lake is starting to thaw a bit.  The last time I saw these Lakes they were completely thawed and were a very deep blue in color.  This is just another of the awesome sites of this tour of the USA.

A Glacier Day-Day 51

Temperatures were again on the cool side as the low checked in at 46F at Glaciers National Park and the high rose to 65F as I drove back into Great Falls, Montana.  The two gasoline purchases were at $3.789/gallon today.  This was another splendid day as the view of Glacier National Park knocked my socks off as well as being lucky enough to photograph a grizzly bear right next to the road.  The plan is to start my trek back to the East Coast tomorrow but not to worry, I still have some sites on the list, namely Beartooth Pass and Custer's Last Stand the next few days.
Will check in again tomorrow evening folks!

The Traveller

Can You Bear This Photo

This picture was taken along the embankment of Going-To-The-Sun Road as I was leaving Glacier National Park about 4-5 miles from the East entrance at St. Mary.  This bear has a pronounced hump on the back indicating he/she is a grizzly.  As one can see in the photo, the grizzly is a digging machine with its huge paws.  This was the icing on the cake for a great day folks!

Lewis Range

This picture taken on Going-To-The-Sun Road near Sundrift Gorge over looking Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park.  These mountains are part of the Lewis Range.  Although I have been unable to drive the entire length of Going-To-The-Sun Road, this Park is becoming one of my all time favorites.

Saint Mary Lake

This picture was taken on Going-To-The-Sun Road traveling from the East entrance into Glacier National Park.  The photo shows Saint Mary Lake with the Lewis Range of the Rocky Mountains in the background.  75 million years ago powerful forces in the Earth shoved the Lewis Overthrust into the sky.  The mountains then intercepted clouds, rain, and snow and over time trapped so much moisture that snowfields became glaciers.  Growing and spreading glaciers then carved the landscape one sees in the photo.  About 12,000 years ago the last of the glaciers melted back.  Isn't it amazing what nature can do.