Dead Indian Pass With Gary

Before LCs brother returned to Minnesota we all took a drive on what is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful highways in the United States.

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Highway_296 

Although this climbing and winding highway, filled with mountain views and endless awesomeness continues almost to Cooke City and the north gate of Yellowstone National Park, we would not travel that far on this day.

The trip was a spur-of-the-moment adventure that occurred late in the day.

We would only travel as far as Dead Indian Pass:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Indian_Pass

It was a cool and breezy late afternoon when we set out, and we brought jackets with us just in case.

We would be climbing from 5000 feet in Cody to over 8000 feet at Dead Indian Pass, and the unsettled weather had the potential to be unwelcoming, even this far into summer.

I always think of Dead Indian Pass being a long drive but it's less an hour from town.

And as we drove out of Cody on Highway 120 LC and I were shocked at how green and lush the terrain around us was.

We had never seen it like this before.

We had seen green of course. 
But the green was usually gone by June 1, only to be replaced with various shades of brown.

With the cool temperatures, consistent rain in spring and early summer, and occasional rain throughout June and July, the growth and lushness was astonishing.

And unbelievably beautiful.................

No matter how many times we visit this place I am always in awe.

We have been to Dead Indian Pass when the sun was shining so brightly and the sky was so impossibly blue, that it felt as though the entire world was glistening.

Bright, shiny and extraordinary beyond measure.

We have driven all the way up to the pass late in the fall only to turn around after a few minutes and head back to Cody because the wind was so strong and cold that it felt as though it was going to rip our heads off.

And we have visited many times when it was cloudy.

"The mountains make their own weather Pilgrim".

So said the Mountain Man in the Jeremiah Johnson movie.

He was right of course.

More often than not the sky has been dark and cloudy.

And somehow it never matters.

Always breath-takingly beautiful................

LC and brother Gary looking out over forever...................

While LC and Gary continued to share a set of binoculars, Kory and I wandered..................

There are multiple information boards at Dead Indian Pass.

This area is steeped in history.

Tragic history.

American history.

History standing side-by-side with unparalleled natural beauty...............

May your dreams be larger than mountains and may you have the courage to scale their summits................Harley King