Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

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Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby jss06 » Sun Aug 17, 2014 3:20 pm

I am back in town. I developed stomach problems from the antibiotics I was on right before I left and had to cut my trip short. I had intended to be gone another week. Luckily I had some prescription meds for when I travel that took care of the problem long enough for me to get home.

Day 1 was highlighted by a severe thunderstorm outside of Clarendon, TX. 60 mph wind gusts and quarter inch hail. Luckily I just caught the southern edge and only had to deal with the wind and rain. The Cherokee handled beautifully even in the 60 mph side wind gusts.

Day 2 was through the OK panhandle and most of Colorado. Had dinner with my aunt and uncle in Loveland, CO then went to the campground. Uneventful day overall.

Day 3 was through Wyoming up to Hardin, MT. Another uneventful day with some amazing scenery.

Here is my campsite in Colorado on the morning of day 3:
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And stopped in Wyoming. The Bighorn Mountains are in the background.
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Day 4 was spent driving through Red Lodge, MT and over the Beartooth Highway into Yellowstone. I would consider this one of the must drives in the US. The Pass tops out at just over 11K feet:
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The rest of the pics from day 4 are here:
http://www.hudsonhawk.net/beartooth/index.html

Day 5 and 6 were spent in Yellowstone. I loved the park and the scenery is amazing. But the tourists are worse than Disney World. In the 2 days I was able to see everything in the park that I wanted to see. To get this particular picture I had to climb up to a ridge overlooking the Middle Geyser Basin.
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The rest of the Yellowstone pictures can be found here.
http://www.hudsonhawk.net/yellowstone/index.html

It was on day 6 that the stomach problems started and I decided to head for home instead of continuing on my trip. 3 more days of driving and I decided to stay in hotels instead of campgrounds just in case the issue got worse.

On day 7, I ran into another severe storm in Wyoming. The Jeep handled the weather without any issues.

Days 8 and 9 were uneventful and brought me back home.

Total distance driven was 3103.1 miles:
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby KCStudly » Sun Aug 17, 2014 4:17 pm

Sorry you had to cut your trip short, but judging by the great pics you were able to get, it seems like you had a good time of it while you were at it! Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby mkitchen » Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:01 pm

Even with the shortened trip, it sounds like you had a good time. Nice pictures, thanks.
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby S. Heisley » Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:21 pm

The trip may have been short but you packed in some beautiful scenery while you were on it. At least, you were able to see Yellowstone National Park! That's a not-to-be-missed spot!
Thanks for sharing! :applause: :thumbsup:
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby jonw » Tue Aug 19, 2014 10:19 am

I recently drove the Beartooth Scenic Hwy when leaving Yellowstone, coming home from the IRG. It was a great road with spectacular views. In early July there was still snow near the top (not on the road).

Looks like you had a nice time...

Here's a slideshow of my trip, the second half of which includes Yellowstone and the Beartooth
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby Gold5one » Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:44 pm

Looks like a great place to visit. I tried to go to Yellowstone in 2007, but we got stopped in Cheyenne by an early June winter storm that dumped 12" of snow up in Yellowstone, then the 50- 70mph winds kept us stuck in a campground for 2 days before it was safe to pull my 5th wheel back out on the highway. Then I got my vacation cut short 3 days later, by a call to return to work immediately :x - which took me 3 days and 2000 miles of hard towing. Some vacations just don't work out! ( I retired 17 months later)
I see you have a new Jeep Cherokee- how did the new 9 speed transmission do? Was it able to go into overdrive pulling your camper?
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby jss06 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 4:15 pm

Gold5one wrote:Looks like a great place to visit. I tried to go to Yellowstone in 2007, but we got stopped in Cheyenne by an early June winter storm that dumped 12" of snow up in Yellowstone, then the 50- 70mph winds kept us stuck in a campground for 2 days before it was safe to pull my 5th wheel back out on the highway. Then I got my vacation cut short 3 days later, by a call to return to work immediately :x - which took me 3 days and 2000 miles of hard towing. Some vacations just don't work out! ( I retired 17 months later)
I see you have a new Jeep Cherokee- how did the new 9 speed transmission do? Was it able to go into overdrive pulling your camper?

Wow. sorry to hear about the messed up vacation.


The Cherokee did a great job. It is hard to answer the question about overdrive. The 9 speed had 4 overdrive gears. Everything above 5th is overdrive. That being said on the flats I spent most of the time in 7th, small hills was 6th. I only had to go below that for the long steep hills. The 3.2l v-6 has plenty of power even in the mountains.
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby Gold5one » Sun Oct 26, 2014 4:28 pm

Glad to hear your Jeep has the power- you see, I retired from Chrysler (Kokomo Transmission) and they are building that new transmission in Tipton, IN. The 3.2L and 3.6L are Hemi engines, which for some reason they don't advertise to the public. My 2014 Dodge minivan will set you back in the seat with the 3.6L engine when you floor it.
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby working on it » Sun Oct 26, 2014 5:22 pm

Gold5one wrote:Glad to hear your Jeep has the power- you see, I retired from Chrysler (Kokomo Transmission) and they are building that new transmission in Tipton, IN. The 3.2L and 3.6L are Hemi engines, which for some reason they don't advertise to the public. My 2014 Dodge minivan will set you back in the seat with the 3.6L engine when you floor it.
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Re: Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park

Postby Gold5one » Sun Oct 26, 2014 9:08 pm

working on it wrote:]You Mopar guys...I wish I could join your club, since I want an older XJ. But since it will be old and tired (much like me), and might need a powertrain transplant, I dream of dropping in my old Mouse motor (327+ Chevy), or the big Rat motor (427++ Chevy). For sure, they'll pin you back in the seat. Of course, the EPA and DOT won't approve, nor the TXDOT, but it would be fun. My third choice is the old 4.0 Jeep I6...legendary, even to us GM guys.

Maybe, I can have General Lee pay you a visit! :)
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