Leaving Yellowstone via the NE exit, there are lots of small state forest campgrounds. However, the first one we checked, just outside of the town of Cooke City was full. Since it was already dark and we hadn’t eaten, we decided to stay at a cabin in Cooke City. We had a king-sized bed, a full-sized bathroom and a large kitchen with dining room. It felt quite luxurious after being in the van for 10 weeks!
Cooke City closes up very early for dinner, so we ate take-out in our cabin kitchen. In the morning we brought in our breakfast from the van. All in all, it was a welcome break — but oddly the van felt more homey once we were back on the road.
The park exit is the start of the scenic Beartooth Highway. It was too late to really appreciate the scenery the previous day, so we backtracked a few miles and started to route over. I originally assumed that the “bear teeth” were the ridge of mountains that rise about the road, and look sort of like what one would imagine if looking at the bear’s molars from inside its mouth. However, from a viewpoint later along the road, the real reason for the name is apparent – a huge incisor!
tooth 
Summit 
Switchbacks 
The highway takes you from Wyoming into Montana, back into Wyoming, and then back into Montana go over Beartooth Pass and into the town of Red Lodge. The switchbacks up and down the pass are so tight that they look from above like complete loops.
Red Lodge is another cute touristy town (with artistic metal trash cans, each with a unique scene).
We stopped there briefly before heading to a KOA just outside Billings. We spent 2 nights there doing laundry and generally reorganizing after Yellowstone before heading out again. The campground was nice, but totally overrun with grasshoppers. We did not visit Billings itself.
Since this is a short posting, I am going to add some of our wildlife photos here. The Clark’s Nutcracker is mine; the rest are Chuck’s.
Golden Eagle 
little gray bird (LGB) 
Clark’s Nutcracker 