For those dismayed by the evergrowing crowds in Yellowstone, a sane alternative is the far northeast corner of the park and beyond where the mighty Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains soar to great heights. In particular, point your compass toward that spectacularly rugged and beautiful land enveloping the rustic old mining town of Cooke City, Montana. I’m not the only one who's had an affair with this isolated mountain kingdom. The late, great writer Ernest Hemingway was similarly captivated by the lofty peaks and narrow alpine valleys, spending a fair amount of time during the 1920s and 1930s drinking, writing, fishing the Clarks Fork River and hunting endangered species to the brink of extinction. But beware. This is not an amusement park. There are things out there that will eat you - alive.