Ahhhh Brooks Lake

Every time I drive over Towgotee Pass I have to take a detour up to Brooks Lake in Shoshone National Forest. Back in the summer of 2007 when I took a NOLS backpacking course, (National Outdoor Leadership School), we finished the 34 day trip by coming out at the picturesque Brooks Lake. Not only is Brooks Lake sentimental to me because of that course but the scenery is stunning in every direction. Some of the pictures look smoky from the nearby Cub Creek forest fire.

Beartooth Mountains

There are a lot of really cool places within a 4-5 hour drive from where we live. For example, the Beartooth Mountains. This mountain range sits upon the larger Beartooth Plateau, the largest true high elevation plateau in the United States. Almost 400 species of plants have been discovered and the Beartooths are considered to be the most biologically unique mountain range in North America. The region is also one of the few remaining with sizable populations of Grizzly Bears outside of Alaska and Canada. Black Bears, mountain goats, Bighorn Sheep, elk, moose, wolverine, mountain lion, and lynx are also found here. The Beartooth's are composed of Precambrian granite and crystalline metamorphic rocks dated at approximately 4 billion years old, making these rocks some of the oldest on Earth!