Yellowstone --> Spokane, WA

Road Trip Day 14 (June 26): Yellowstone, Beartooth Highway, Montana, Idaho, & Spokane, WA

Before leaving Philadelphia, I would often bump into a friend who would ask me what I was planning to do with my summer before beginning med school. Most would light up when I would tell them I was going to be roadtripping across the US and would begin giving me helpful suggestions for parts of the country where they had been. Logically, their next question would be, “who are you doing it with?” When I would tell them that I was going to be traveling alone, many simply could not hide a puzzled, almost troubled expression. To be sure, I have been doing the driving alone (which I actually enjoy), but one of my major motivations for doing this trip was to see some of my closest relatives and friends who are scattered across the US in cities that I most likely will not be able to visit very often once I begin school. I’ve already blogged about visiting my Aunty Malini, Uncle Pankaj, and cousin Sangeeta in Chicago and my sister Anjeli and her husband Avash in Denver. The next person I had planned to visit was Anish, one of my oldest friends (we’ve known each other since before I was able to form memories) and a program manager at Microsoft just outside Seattle. I was also hoping to meet another high school friend Trevor, whom I had not seen in quite some time. My plan was to reach Seattle on my 25th birthday, Thursday, June 27, so that I could spend the day with Anish, his sister Ashima, and her husband Neel, and then stay the rest of the weekend. Considering that today was June 26th and I was in northwest Wyoming, it wouldn’t be that hard to make it to Spokane tonight and then over to Seattle by midday on June 27. However, as I have learned on this trip, when roadtripping, nothing goes according to plan, and I think that is absolutely the best thing about it.

After grabbing breakfast and chatting with the cashier, a fellow Penguin fan, about whether Norris Trophy nominee Kris Letang deserves the type of money he was demanding, I drove north from Yellowstone Lake, climbing to altitudes of 9 or 10 thousand feet as I passed Roosevelt Tower, then turned east, descending into Lamar Valley, where I was able to view the local wildlife. Soon after leaving Yellowstone Park and entering Montana, I came to the beginning of the Beartooth Highway. I really had no idea what to expect, particularly because I was not able to look anything up about it since I had no internet access. I had met a guy at Yellowstone who had told me that he had traveled down through the Beartooth Mountains and raved about the banks of snow and beautiful views. Seeing the genuine wonder in his eyes, I decided this was something I could not pass up, even though it was out of my way.

The Beartooth Highway, which I later found out is considered one of the most picturesque drives in America, is unlike anything I’ve driven before. A road is carved out that winds up the side of a mountain, with banks of snow higher than my car on the side of the road. I later read that the road is only open from May until October because of dangerous conditions and that snow and lightning storms are not uncommon even in the summer months. When I got out of the car near the top of the mountain, the wind chill was probably about 40 degrees F and the air was so dry and the cold wind so strong that my upper lip began to bleed. When I got back into my car and started the engine, my car stalled, stuck on a rock. Ohhh no. I was stuck up here, with no cell phone service, and even if I could call one, it would take a tow truck forever to get up here. I got out and pushed a little, then started the car up again and phhhew, thank goodness I got it to budge.

From what I have heard, the Dakotas and eastern Montana are some of the most boring parts of the country. The same cannot be said for traveling on I-80 northwest from the Wyoming border through Montana. Traveling up and down the beautiful rolling hills, I passed by several mountain ranges and lakes. Additionally, because we were at such a high altitude, the clouds and sky also provided natural beauty. Sadly, the camera was not able to authentically capture this beauty. Finally, I reached Bozeman, a relatively large town by Mountain West standards, lined with shops and restaurants. I stopped for lunch at MacKenzie River Pizza Co (-->)

, where I met Chris, a Montana State grad who was waiting tables while he set up his company that planned to provide Americans a web application through which we can learn about worldwide history on a parallel timeline to American history (chronterra.com). Chris and I talked while I ate and after I was done eating, he gave me a cookie and a Coke for the road on his own dime. I hit the road, driving through northwest Montana and across Idaho. Northern Idaho is interesting because it is pretty much straight downward. Once I got to C’oeur d’Alene, which is about 30 minutes from Spokane, I was at only about 2,000 feet above sea level. Since it would be my birthday at midnight, I had decided that Spokane would be the one place where I would stay in luxury – the Davenport Hotel. Because it was in Spokane, it wasn’t very expensive, and it was well worth it!


Spokane on Dwellable