September, 2021
The little town of White Sulphur Springs is located in the western half of Montana about midway from north to south. To get there from Choteau, Montana, we went through Great Falls and then south on Highway 87 through the Little Belt Mountains and Lewis and Clark National Forest. It is some of the prettiest scenery, going over Kings Hill Pass of 7400 feet, and past quaint little towns tucked in among the forests.
On the edge of White Sulphur Springs is an RV park with a view of the Big Belt Mountains to the west. The smoke from fires in the west made beautiful sunsets in the evenings.
We were familiar with this quiet little town, having spent some time here last year. There are plenty of day trip destinations from there. One place I really wanted to see this year was the “Top of the World Drive” on Highway 212 going from Yellowstone National Park to Red Lodge, Montana.
To get to this highway, you must take Highway 89 to Yellowstone National Park, across the border in Wyoming. We ate a picnic lunch just inside the north entrance of Yellowstone NP. Then we followed the road to Mammoth Hot Springs and on to Tower-Roosevelt.
Along the way, I stopped to get a photo of a waterfall and some other scenery. Due to the smoke from the fires in the west, it was very hazy.
As we traveled through Yellowstone NP, at one point we had to stop to let some buffalo cross the road. Seeing them up close made us realize how huge these beasts are in size.
Once you leave Yellowstone NP, the road quickly ascends on its way to Beartooth Pass. This pass climbs to nearly 11,000 feet in elevation giving views of alpine lakes and epic views.
We came across some construction work on the road that had us going along a steep cliff on a temporary roadway. It must take constant work to keep this road in good condition.
I remember traveling this route when I was a kid on one of our family vacations to Indiana. My dad stopped along the road at one point so my sister and I could play in the snow and make snowballs. We never got to play in snow where we lived in the Arizona. That was quite a treat for us in August. (However, this year in 2021, we saw very little snow.)
That night our family stayed in Red Lodge, Montana. We ate dinner at a café that served all kinds of wild game dishes. I wasn’t brave enough to try any back then. After dinner, we went back to our cabin where we fell asleep to the sound of a gurgling creek out back of the cabin.
On our day trip there, I found the place where we stayed and got a photo. The place was in bad shape, but it looks like someone may be fixing up some of the units.
The town of Red Lodge is now a tourist trap with lots of shops and eateries. It also has quite a few luxurious houses surrounding it. It is still a cute and quaint little town, however, and a fun place to visit.
On our way home, I spotted this sight while going through one of the small towns in Montana. I couldn’t resist stopping and getting some photos of the evening sun on this grain elevator. It made a nice ending to our day.
