RED LODGE -- It was rain that brought mudslides last spring, closing a section of the Beartooth Highway just before the summer tourist season, and prompting a whirlwind $13.55 million repair effort.

And it was raining Saturday in Red Lodge as boosters celebrated the seasonal opening of the road.

But a little drizzle and temperatures in the high 30s were not enough to dampen the spirits of those who turned out to herald a return of traffic on what has been called "the most beautiful roadway in America."

Gateway communities Cooke City, Mont. and Cody, Wyo. sent groups over the highway to Red Lodge in new biodiesel-fueled yellow tour buses operated by Yellowstone National Park.

"Tell me again why this area is called Sunlight Basin?" asked a joking Lee Haines, gazing out the bus window at what would ordinarily be a picturesque canyon view, but was instead an endless fog bank Saturday.

Haines, public relations director for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, was with a group traveling the Chief Joseph Highway from Cody to the Beartooth Highway east of Cooke City and down into Red Lodge.

"We may experience all four seasons in a 3-hour trip," said Gene Bryan, director of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce.

Such a trans-seasonal journey is not uncommon on a road that traverses 4,000 vertical feet across 67 miles of rugged mountains, climbing to nearly 11,000 feet at Beartooth Pass, its highest point.

Near Gardner Lake, around two dozen cars were parked along the side of the road as skiers and snowboarders made the 15-minute hike to take a run down the Gardner Headwall, a steep incline still covered in snow.

"This is the last chance to ride till next season," said Dave Sucher, a snowboarder from Big Sky who came with a group of friends to camp and ski during the holiday weekend.

Driving three hours to hike 15 minutes for a 5-minute ski run might seem odd, said Sucher, who has made the trip the last three years. "But working for it just makes it better," he said.

Nancy Glaser of Red Lodge said she loved the high mountain passes along the Beartooth Highway -- a sharp contrast to the roads in her native Florida.

"It's absolutely beautiful," she said."

The Beartooth Highway crosses miles of unique territory, said Dr. Charles Preston, curator of the Draper Museum of Natural History at the BBHC.

"It's one of the only areas in the U.S. where you can get up close and personal, and actually look down on the alpine tundra," he said.

The highest country along the road is treeless, said Preston, because the median July temperature reaches only around 40 degrees. Some flowers barely have a chance to bloom, with as little as 10 days for pollination.

Though the Beartooth Highway sees less traffic than some other roads offering easier travel, it's an important route feeding tourists to communities around Yellowstone National Park, said park spokesman Al Nash.

"We're awfully glad to be part of the celebration, and we recognize how important the Beartooth Highway is to Red Lodge, Cooke City and Cody," said Nash.

"It's always a celebration when this road opens," he said. "But this year has extra meaning because of what happened last year."

"Expectations are high this year with the road opening," said Beth Steen, co-owner of the Village Shoppe in Red Lodge. Gift shops and hotels saw business drop by 25 percent or more, she said, though her business fared better.

"We did see a lot of local support from nearby," said Steen. An increase in visitors from Billings and Bozeman helped, she said, and communities like Cody routed more traffic to the area.

The road, built in the 1930s with federal funding meant for creating and maintaining "approach roads" to national parks, is truly an "orphan road," said Steve Iobst, chief of maintenance for Yellowstone Park.

No single entity claims the road, so Montana and Wyoming, along with Yellowstone Park, the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Highway Administration all have a hand in maintaining and administering it.

But an environmental study has found the road in need of improvement, particularly in easing curves and widening tight sections, and it is unclear how those fixes will be funded.

Speaking Saturday to a group in Cody, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal expressed reservations about maintaining or taking control of a highway already in need of repairs.

"The question remains about the extent to which we can participate without being asked to assume full responsibility for the road in perpetuity," he said. "But we will take a look at the role of the state in all this."

U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming has requested $5 million in funding for reconstruction of sections of the road from Highway 296 east to the Montana state line, said Karen McCreery, a field representative for Enzi.

The section includes the 600-foot bridge over Beartooth Ravine, she said.

Iobst said discussions are continuing between parties about a plan for rebuilding and maintaining the road. "We're proud to take care of it," he said. "We just would like a little help."

Contact Ruffin Prevost at rprevost@billingsgazette.com or (307) 527-7250.