Chief Joseph Scenic Highway
Often overlooked due to the Beartooth Pass Highway, this drive is absolutely amazing. Due to the mudslides that occurred to the Beartooth Pass in 2005, the Chief Joseph Highway became the primary route from Red Lodge to Cooke City, MT, thus, gaining its due recognition as one of the Nation's great byways! more info
After passing the turnoff to Hwy 120, we climbed a steady winding road from Cody, Wyoming I had no idea what I was about to encounter over the horizon. As we reached the summit of Dead Indian Pass I quickly pulled off the road, jumped out and got on top of the car. The Shoshone National Forest spread out before us. Its remoteness and beauty gave me the impression that I had just said three magic words, spun around, and arrived in a magic wonderland. The mountain sides were glowing brighter greens than I had ever known existed. Valleys turned into gorges which turned into ravines, that hid the tumbling and cascading Clark's Fork below.
Without looking at a sign or map it was obvious that Sunlight Basin was to our northwest. It was the only spot where the sun's rays had forced their way through the clouds to the gorge's floor. We slowly S'd and U'd our way down several switchbacks until we reached a small bridge. The length of this bridge gave no justice to the depth of the ravine it crossed. A simple and cliché feeling overwhelmed me . . . vertigo. The view gave us just a sampler of the respect that this river deserves. We continued through the gorge with rubber necks, often interrupting each other to point out a peak or a wild critter that the other may have missed. Despite the hours we spent along the road pulling off, taking pictures or just staring, it seemed to go by much too quickly. If time had allowed I would have turned around and done it again.
Chief Joseph Scenic Highway is part of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail. This byway offers opportunities to learn a great deal about Native American history. After the 1877 Battle of Big Hole in Idaho, Chief Joseph and 1,000 members of the Nez Perce tribe fled the US government east through Yellowstone National Park. The government was attempting to force the tribe onto a reservation so that ranchers would take over their original land. They headed up the Clarks Fork toward their destination which awaited them across the Canadian border. After a multi-day Battle of the Bear Paw in northern Montana, a tired and sad Chief Joseph surrendered, refusing to fight any longer. The Nez Perce were forced onto reservations in Washington and Oklahoma.
Chief Joseph Scenic Highway skirts the northeastern edge of Yellowstone National Park. From Cooke City, Montana drive east on state highway 296 and follow the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River and pass by Sunlight Basin. The highway intersects with state highway 120. Turn left and head north toward Belfry, MT. From Belfry, head west to Red Lodge. Part of the Beartooth Byway is open for travel from Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. Travel a ways down the byway to check out just how amazing and damaging these slides were.
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Crazy Horse Monument
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