DAY RIDE: Yellowstone/Chief Joseph ByWay

Warchild

Banned
Last weekend, I was staff for an Endurance Riding event known as the Good, Bad, & Ugly Rally, held in Big Sky, Montana.

After the riders departed the Start Line at 5am, staff was free to play themselves the rest of the day. Since it has been almost a decade since I have seen Beartooth Highway, Chief Joseph Highway and Yellowstone, I though I'd quickly map out a little day ride for me, starting/ending in Big Sky Meadow Village:


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Above is ~ 425 miles of motorcycling bliss.... Yellowstone National Park, Beartooh Pass Highway, Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, and the amazing decent into Cody, Wyoming before again riding through the heart of Yellowstone Park for the second time that day before returning to Big Sky!


Below, I am at the West Entrance to Yellowstone - despite the massive tourist numbers in mid-summer, this is still one of the finest motorcycling parks in the nation....


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There are a LOT of buffaloes in Yellowstone..... best to ride gentle around these Bad Boyz... :bowdown:


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After departing the park at the Northeast Entrance, I decided to skip the heavy construction at the summit at Beartooth (with its 30-min pilot car waiting!), and went down the equally awe-inspiring Chief Joseph Scenic Highway:


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This road is simply beyond phenomenal in every way...... check out these summer colors:


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As you can clearly see, some of this Chief Joseph Scenic Highway has some serious technical curves and hairpins as it ascends:


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Here is Sunlight Bridge... one of the most awesome vistas in the country:


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After a stunningly fast descent into Cody, Wyoming, how could I *not* stop at the world-famous Silver Dollar Saloon in downtown Cody for an Angus burger.... doesn't get much more "western" than this!


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While only 425 miles in length, this ride still took a hefty 10 hours to complete, primarily due to tourists, buffaloes, and the fact that I stopped often to take in the awesomeness of this part of the West.... :beerchug:
 
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