Nestled approximately an hour south of Billings, MT is the town of Red Lodge. Full of history and a lively downtown area, Red Lodge is a fun place to visit with excellent restaurants, gift shops and a museum. This town sits in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains known for its awesome views.

We stayed just north of town at a great KOA and found out upon arrival that there was a motorcycle rally in town and they pretty much filled up the campground. All brands of steel horses everywhere! It was the 31st Anniversary of the Beartooth Rally.  Our neighbors, Tyler, Whitney, Lindsey, Ben, and Brad were all motorcyclists and we hit it off with them right away.  They just wanted to make sure we were not psycho killers or motorcycle haters. Although they did hear rumors that stripers were moving in next to them. We hated to disappoint, but they indicated that they were still thrilled to have us there. The main attraction in this area, especially to motorcyclists is Beartooth Highway.  The magnificence of this highway with its twists and switch backs makes it for a wild ride. Even in a car.   We chose the 64-mile trek from Red Lodge to Cooke City & Silver City / East entrance to Yellowstone N.P.   Along this ride, you crossover from Montana to Wyoming and there is not a more beautiful scenery in America then on this roadway.  The pictures we took don’t do it justice and the adrenaline rush on the switchbacks lacking guardrails “entertains” the driver and the passengers! The steady assent to high of 10,514 ft. is an adventure and you completely understand why motorcycle enthusiasts love this road.

Another day trip we chose was to Cody, WY approx. an hour from Red Lodge. Cody is well known for its Rodeos and the Buffalo Bill Dam. We visited a famous dam and it was magnificent. I wasn’t able to walk out on the bridge to really see the dam because of the heights, but Kevin got some amazing pictures. We then found our way to downtown where we had a nice lunch and was able to grab some fresh Montana beef at the local butcher there.  The return trip took us on another road excursion on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway…simply more amazing views and twisty swirly heart racing turns.

The motorcycle rally was winding down and our neighbors were planning to depart, but not before they invited us to a rodeo. It was a special type of rodeo and sounded like such fun. What made this event so unique? Well, it didn’t involve horses but rather STEEL horses.  Yep, motorcycles.  We met up with our new friends at the rodeo. As with these events it started out with the presentation of the flag and the national anthem.  The flag was unfurled by an all-veteran team, which of course made for a very joyful moment. Then we were off!  The events consisted of the barrel roll, the obstacle course, the slow slow slow race, the tire pull and more.  There was even one young lady participating and she did an amazing job. Hopefully the pictures will depict most of these events so explanation is not really needed.  We had such a great time and thanked our new friends for letting us know about this event.  The next morning, we said good bye our cyclist friends as they headed back to Colorado.  In the next few days, we too would be heading off to our next destination Gardiner, MT