"Have you done Beartooth?" they ask.

"Oh, you've got to do Beartooth," they say.

"Beartooth is THE most scenic highway in America," they say.

So we did Beartooth.

Beartooth Scenic Highway starts in Cooke City, MT and ends in Red Lodge, MT. It has 20 peaks that are 12,000 feet high....scenic heaven...above the clouds...glaciers...lakes... sweeping alpine vistas, snow-covered mountains, stunning.

But on this particular day that we decided to drive America's most beautiful pass, a typical summer day, we hit construction...lots of it. We couldn't decide if they were replacing guardrails, or installing them for the first time. Regardless, there were no guardrails on a pass that is one of the highest elevated in the lower U.S.

So, needless to say, it was a one-way trip for these gals. Which leads to this page of Scenic Highway 296, an alternate that also goes from Cooke City to Red Lodge, which are both in Montana. But the 296 dips down into Wyoming.

It is also spectacular, on a lower, and seemingly more safe, plain.

On the summit of Beartooth Pass where there is a scenic overlook.