This trip we decided to do things a bit differently. To start with, we camped at the Canyon campground, the first time we’ve camped there. This was our campsite. It took a bit to get the motor home somewhat level. We drove around the entire campground looking for the best sites (meaning level, table and firepit close to the motor home, not close to the bathroom or main roads). Maybe we’ll remember to look at the list the next time we go to Canyon to camp.

The campsites were nicely equipped with a good table and fire ring. There was a lot of space between campsites as well. We were generally surrounded by foreigners … on Monday and Tuesday evening they were mostly German-speaking. We took two different fire starters with us. Nina had saved a bunch of dryer lint and I brought a bag of shredded paper. Dryer lint worked MUCH BETTER. Shredded paper clumps too much, doesn’t burn well, and scatters everywhere. I had to get down on hands and knees to pick up the remnants.

The nights were cool, but pleasant. We retired into the motor home around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. each night. I’d do some reading … Nina would record the events in her journal. There are many, many journals that she’s kept over the years. Something for grandkids to look forward to, I’m sure!

Usually we drive around the Park visiting our favorite sights. This trip, however, we decided to drive the Beartooth Scenic Byway on Tuesday. We drove out the Northeast Entrance and about 80 miles to Red Lodge, Montana and back. This was a very fun and interesting drive. We drove past beautiful mountains, up and down hefty switchbacks, past glacier-carved lakes, and tundra above the tree line. The byway definitely ranks in the top ten drives in the United States.

The Beartooth Highway was under some significant construction, which started literally at the Northeast Entrance. The rest of the road in Wyoming seemed to be under construction with sometimes lengthy waits for a pilot car to lead us through. We passed lots of motorcycles coming through the construction, a fairly dangerous road for a motorcycle. We also passed a number of bicyclists making their way through the construction as well. The pass is over 10,000 feet above sea level. Those were some hardy folks on bicycles.

This picture was taken at what seemed almost to be the top of the world. Glacier-carved lakes abound. We were at the top of the mountain before heading down into Red Lodge, MT. The switchbacks getting here are visible below. This was a beautiful drive. Red Lodge was also a very interesting town. We didn’t stay very long as we had a five hour drive getting back to the campground after a five-hour drive getting there. Red Lodge is the county seat of Carbon County, Montana, and got its start as a coal mining town, The mines are now all closed, but the town lives on as a tourist destination (there’s a fabulous candy shop in Red Lodge). One claim to fame for the town is that the Butch Cassidy gang (including the Sundance Kid) attempted to rob the bank but were foiled. Tracked down and arrested by the Carbon County Sheriff and his posse, they were sent off to jail (from which the later escaped).