Cody, The Chief Joseph & Beartooth Highways & Yellowstone

We left Moose Point Lodge early Wednesday morning, August 16th, on our way to Cody.

It was a very foggy morning.

By the time we reached the Grand Teton National Park, we had driven out of the inversion and it was a beautiful day.

At Signal Mountain Lodge, we spotted this huge bull elk working on removing the velvet from his antlers.

We were told at breakfast that this elk was named Hollywood. He didn't mind posing for photos.

Our view at breakfast from Signal Mountain Lodge.

Up at Colter Bay -

Taken from the Jackson Lake Dam -

At Oxbow Bend -

We drove through the Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone, turning east at Fishing Bridge, heading to Cody for one night.

It's such a beautiful drive.

We had a libation at Irma's in Cody before heading to dinner at the Cody Steakhouse, which was outstanding and our new favorite place. (Cassie's just wasn't as appealing to us on this trip.)

After dinner, we headed to the Cody Rodeo!!!

Norman, the brahma bull was letting people sit on him for $10.00 a pop. We opted to skip this little bit of excitement and head toward the Buzzard's Roost, where our seats were located.

Heading to our seats, we caught a glimpse of some of the bulls that would be bucking off cowboys later in the evening. They didn't look so menacing. The flag corp did a little number. The horse in the chute below in the photo on the right was ready to get the party started! He didn't make it over the top of his chute, but he sure did try.

Cowboys getting ready to ride -

Patriotic Salute -

And . . . they're off! Quite literally!!!

None of the bronc riders stayed on long enough to record a time. Tough night!

Next up was calf roping -

Even the cowgirls got into the action, just not quite as successfully as the cowboys.

Youngsters on smaller, less dangerous (ha!) bulls!

And finally, barrel racing. One of my favorite competitions at the rodeo.

Early the next morning, as we left Cody, the sky was smoky from the Canadian fires.

And the haze hung in the air almost the entire drive from Cody, up the Chief Joseph Highway.

The Chief Joseph Highway -

The view from Dead Indian Pass -

We stopped at the overlook for the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River and ran into this cutie.

The Chief Joseph Highway ends at an intersection with the Beartooth Highway (if you turn left) and Yellowstone National Park (if you turn right). We decided to drive part of the Beartooth Highway, so we turned right at the junction.

No Canadian smoke here!

Beartooth Falls -

Beartooth Lake -

Beartooth Rock - [not really ; ) ]

Long Lake -

We pulled over and a very friendly marmot greeted us. It was very cooperative and allowed us to get lots of photos, but I'm afraid it was disappointed that we didn't pay with a food reward. It's illegal to feed wildlife and not a good idea for so many reasons. But, I'm sure it didn't care about all that. It performed well . . . and we stiffed it.

Still a little snow left on the top of the world -

Views of the road leading us to the top -

Another marmot. This one was kind of standoffish. Bad news travels fast. Must have heard we weren't rewarding anyone for photo ops.

Once on top, we turned around and headed back down the Beartooth Highway, retracing our route.

Pilot Peak (l) and Index Peak (r) below -

These are historical landmarks that pioneers and explorers of the last few centuries relied on as they navigated their way. These peaks are in the northern part of Wyoming's Absaroka Range which is wild and rugged. According to ancient stories, from the north these peaks align to resemble the sight on a mariner's sextant. This image is looking West, North is to the right. (The Absoroka Range forms the eastern edge of Yellowstone National Park and contains prime grizzly bear territory across every inch of the range.) - theflatirons.com

Eventually, the Beartooth highway takes you to Cooke City, which is exactly where we wanted to go!

And, as usual, we stopped at the Beartooth Cafe for lunch. (You may remember I reported earlier in the year that this cafe had closed, for good, after the epic flooding in and around Yellowstone last year. But, it was just too early for them to open the first time we came through in 2023. Fortunately, they are still open and as good as ever!)

After lunch, we headed into the Park. YAY!

Saw lots of bison -

The rut was in full swing and most of the bull bison had paired up with lady bison . . . and they were VERY protective of their girls. They followed them around and sometimes even prohibited them from going where the girls wanted to go.

As we drove through the Lamar Valley, we spotted a bison kill, but there wasn't anything on it. We planned to head back there at first light the following morning to see what might be feasting then. We drove into Gardiner for dinner at the Wonderland Cafe and a restful night at the Absaroka Lodge.

Early the next morning, we headed back toward the Lamar Valley and that bison kill.

Saw more bison along the way -

When we finally reached the Lamar Valley, there was the kill. With a grizzly bear on top of it!!!

Road construction at the new Yellowstone River Bridge had held us up for quite some time and we were late for breakfast. This guy was finished eating, for now, and left the carcass in search of a comfy place to nap.

After a little rest, the grizzly bear got up and climbed down into the river for a drink, re-emerging on our side.

Not long after, a coyote showed up -

The coyote stopped and politely asked the bear for it's permission to feast on the bear's bison kill. The bear naturally granted it permission and the coyote carried on. NOT!!! The bear had eaten way too much and was now very sleepy, so the coyote probably didn't say anything at all about the dead bison on the other side of the river. It did not stop to ask for directions and it certainly didn't ask for permission.

Keeping a close eye on the bear, the coyote made his way (in a very round about fashion) to the kill.

Meanwhile, a couple of Sandhill Cranes made their way past the resting bear. They didn't linger!

At last! The coyote weaseled it's way toward the bison kill.

And had breakfast -

After watching the bear rest for most of the morning, we left to see if there was any other action in the Lamar Valley. When we returned some time later, the bear was stirring and made it's way to the river . . .

. . . sat down and cooled off in the water,

before heading to nap a little longer.

Further down the road -

We spotted one pronghorn. The winter had been especially harsh on deer and pronghorn and a large percentage of them didn't survive. We were glad to see this one.

The Lamar Ranger Station and Yellowstone Institute's Buffalo Ranch.

The Lamar Buffalo Ranch was created to preserve one of the last free-roaming American bison or buffalo herds in the United States. The ranch was established in 1907 when 28 bison were moved from Fort Yellowstone in another part of the park. The herd was maintained as a semi-domesticated source of additional bison to enhance the park's natural herd. The ranch supported bison ranching until the 1950's, but as the ranch herd increased in size, it was released to the open range and it interbred with the wild herd. - Library of Congress

Another lone pronghorn.

The Hayden Valley -

Back in the Grand Teton National Park -

And just south of the Park, at Sawmill Pond (aka the moose pond) on the Moose-Wilson Road, we spotted a mama moose and her two calves!

Spotting moose is the perfect ending to a wonderful trip!

We're heading back to Yellowstone later this weekend. Who knows what we'll see! So, stay tuned. But, in the meantime, we spent last week on the Oregon coast and played golf at Bandon Dunes. That blog is coming up next.

Love, Barbara