BILLINGS, Mont. - This Memorial Day weekend, residents of Red Lodge and Cooke City have reason to celebrate.

The Beartooth All-American Road will officially reopen after a catastrophic closure last summer caused by 12 highway-damaging mudslides.

"We do have a lot of very big things planned," said Denise Parsons, of the Red Lodge Chamber of Commerce.

Events kick off Friday at the Pollard Hotel in Red Lodge with a cocktail party and narrated PowerPoint presentation about the highway repairs. On Saturday, a live band will play at the Beartooth Ranger District's office in Red Lodge and food will be cooked up as the road officially opens for the summer season. Yellowstone National Park biodiesel buses will bring folks from Cody, and Cooke City to join in the Red Lodge festivities.

"This is the biggest celebration for the highway's opening ever," said Kim Capron, project coordinator for the Friends of the Beartooth All-American Road. "We're just trying to draw attention to the fact that it's open after last year's nightmare."

The Beartooth Highway is no run-of-the-mill road. It climbs to 10,947 feet while passing through an arctic tundralike landscape. The 4,000-foot climb from the valley floor offers jaw-dropping views of the surrounding mountains and the many alpine lakes that dot the landscape. The drive around tight corners and next to sheer drop-offs gives flatlanders and those afraid of heights a white-knuckled experience.

Completed in 1936, the highway is undeniably one of the most beautiful in the United States.

"The uniqueness of this road is pretty amazing," Capron said.

More than that, it is also a pipeline that funnels thousands of visitors through Montana and Wyoming communities, most of whom are on their way to or from Yellowstone National Park.

When mudslides hit last spring, some businesses posted a 50 percent decline in seasonal revenue. But hopes have been renewed, partly because of the speed with which the roadway was repaired.

Teamwork on the part of Montana's congressional delegation, the Montana Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration enabled the Beartooth Highway to be refurbished by October, much faster than many believed possible. The $13.55 million in repairs came in under budget and early. That alone seems reason to party.

Out of the calamity caused by the natural disaster, some good has sprung.

"We made a lot of good partnerships," Parsons said, with agencies such as Travel Montana, the National Park Service and companies like Yellowstone concessionaire Xanterra. In addition, the communities of Red Lodge, Cody and Cooke City have united in their advertising efforts.

Last year, as tourism plummeted, business people in Red Lodge and Cooke City struggled to stay optimistic.

"There's going to be some good come out of this," Bev Chatelian, of Big Moose Resort near Cooke City, predicted back then.

This Memorial Day weekend, the good is coming.