Next stop, Red Lodge and the Beartooth Mountains (2 nights)...a 5 hour drive from Missoula. I was a bit sad not to stop in Bozeman but we decided that due to our unexpected delay in Umatillo, we needed to push on.
We made a brief stop in Anaconda, MT. Here the Washoe Smelter was completed in 1902 and processed 15,000 tons of ore a day at its peak production during World War II. It had the tallest smoke stack in the world at 585 feet, completed in 1918. In the pioneer days this was a vibrant cosmopolitan city which drew hundreds of workers and their families from all over the world.
Onward to Red Lodge..... Pulling into the town, we were pleasantly surprised by the charm of the downtown area. We stayed at Perry's RV where we met grandma Judy and Jerry. They have been coming to this area for years and were excited to show us the beauty. We were shocked to see the amounts of snow that fell two days before. Although we love snow we were happy not to have to drive in just yet.
We took a beautiful drive on the Beartooth Highway to the border of Wyoming. The views were breathtaking. We were sad to discover that the highway was closed at the border due to the massive amounts of snow, however, we made the most of what we could see. We decided to have a picnic lunch in a snow field at 9,500 feet - absolutely awesome! Our polar bear, "Sandie" was in heaven to be back in the snow. Did you know that the rocks in Beartooth Mountains were created over a MILLION years ago and are some of the oldest rocks on earth?!
We had a great visit with grandma and grandpa. We decided to push out a day early to explore the Big Horn Mountains outside of Buffalo, Wyoming.
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