For the second time in August I took a trip over the Beartooths. The reason: Pig Races by Red Lodge, Montana!! Andrea and I set off from Mammoth on a Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago and headed for The Top of the World. Yes, there really is a place on the Pass called Top of the World which consists of some cabins and a store. We stopped at the store and picked up a couple of sandwiches and snacks and matching t-shirts with Beartooth Pass written on the front.
This was Andrea's first trip over the pass, and though I had been over it a few times in the past, we both enjoyed the scenery. We stopped at a small mountain lake and had a picnic....a very short picnic since we were soon covered with ravenous mosquitoes. We had a moment of laughter when we crossed over into Montana on the pass and saw a sign that said "Speed Limit 70 mph". Yeah, right.
The pig races were fun. Though there is an opportunity to bet on them (a fundraiser for local kids for education. They have already raised over $90,000!) we were too afraid that we would lose our spot so we stayed put and watched 4 of the races. Since we were camping in the Custer National Forest south of Red Lodge we left while there was still light and headed back to the campsite.
While Andrea and I spent our time shopping in Red Lodge and watching pig races Patrick was at the campsite setting it up. We spent the evening popping popcorn, watching the fire and strategically placing our bear spray in areas of the tents for easy access. No bears showed up but Patrick did need to chase off a deer that circled our campsite and showed no fear of humans.
The next morning we went back to Mammoth via the Pass and made one last stop in Cooke City for funnel cake. It was quite a weekend. Beauty of the mountains, the thrill of watching adorable little pigs run in a circle and gaining the knowledge that I can warm up an egg and sausage burrito on a log by a campfire.
