Oh. My. God.

Beartooth Highway has the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever seen. There are sections of it that are literally breathtaking.

It’s a challenging drive, especially on a motorcycle, so I didn’t take very many pictures. The old “drive one handed while working the camera with the other” didn’t fly too well here — I kinda needed both hands on the handlebars, especially during the switchbacks.

And those switchbacks… Whoa. There were sections of road where I would look straight up the mountain and see a car 40 feet above me going the same direction, which meant it had gone through two switchbacks to get where it was. It was hairy.

Anyway, here are a few shots I pulled into pulloffs to take or managed the one-hand method during less adrenalized sections of road.

Just entering Beartooth Highway. Switchbacks starting already.

More switchbacks. It’s hard to make it out, but in the center are two stretches of road. The switchback linking them is hidden behind the trees at the bottom.

There’s a huge, broad expanse of meadows and lakes when you reach the top. It’s what I’ve always thought Alaskan tundra might look like. Turns out it is tundra.

One of the lakes up top.

On the way out, Pilot Peak dominates the view.

I put in another long day on the bike — 381 miles today, 8 1/2 hours in the saddle except for stops for gas, picking up a to-go lunch at the end of Beartooth, and in Yellowstone when I stopped to eat it. After nearly 700 miles on the Road King, I can see why HD riders do so much long distance riding — that Harley was smooth as silk and riding it was like gliding. My Road Star is nice, but the Road King just has a little something extra. This rental has turned out to be a 693 mile test drive — I will have one of these one day.

These last two days have been fantastic. This was the best weekend away from home I’ve ever had.