21 June ’06, Wednesday
This morning we were out of the campground at Lewis and Clark by 8:30am. The sun was shining, but being up here in the higher altitude, it was cool. I had met a man and his 15 year old son from Alaska last night who were camping in their tent right next to us. They are bicycling from Kalispell Montana to the Mexican border, following the Continental Divide as close as they can. When we awoke this morning, they had already left, but about 45 minutes into our drive we came across them as they were just cresting this 3 mile, 7 degree climb. We honked as we went by and wished them a safe journey. A few years ago their whole family had taken their travel trailer and covered 46 of the lower 48 states in 6 months. Most of our drive today was heading south towards Yellowstone Park but before we got there, we came upon Earth Quake Lake. On the early morning of August 9, 1959, this area suffered a major earth quake that still shows a lot of the devastation. In a small way, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Most of the tourists hadn’t arrived for their day journey to Hebgen Lake, for picnicking and hiking the many trails or swimming and boating in the lake. When the earth quake hit, the side of a mountain slid down and across a valley, “tilting” the lake. Half of the lake rose double in height, while the rest of it dropped to a puddle. There is much more to this story, but you will have to find it by going to your own sources. Louise and I were totally taken with this mammoth change in geology of the area and how you can see the changes now starting to come back through nature again. About noon, we entered the Yellowstone Park, and headed in to find a campground for a few days. It was a little surprising to me as to how far we were from the mountain peaks, but then again, we are over 7,000’ above sea-level and I can really feel the change in my breathing. It will take a day or two for us to get used to this altitude, but with a few hikes, it will get there. There is no doubt, but this is one of the natural beauties of America. The way the rivers gently curl and twist around and make all these patterns through the grasslands the valleys. Then there are the rolling hills of grass that are ringed with trees to create the perfect pasture for the animals here in the park. We are parked right on the banks of a HUGE lake, the Yellowstone Lake. It is much larger than any lake that we have been on so far, and we understand that the fishing is great. Well, the animal sightings for the day are: deer, elk, bison, pronghorn antelope, grizzly bear, and squirrel.
This morning we were out of the campground at Lewis and Clark by 8:30am. The sun was shining, but being up here in the higher altitude, it was cool. I had met a man and his 15 year old son from Alaska last night who were camping in their tent right next to us. They are bicycling from Kalispell Montana to the Mexican border, following the Continental Divide as close as they can. When we awoke this morning, they had already left, but about 45 minutes into our drive we came across them as they were just cresting this 3 mile, 7 degree climb. We honked as we went by and wished them a safe journey. A few years ago their whole family had taken their travel trailer and covered 46 of the lower 48 states in 6 months. Most of our drive today was heading south towards Yellowstone Park but before we got there, we came upon Earth Quake Lake. On the early morning of August 9, 1959, this area suffered a major earth quake that still shows a lot of the devastation. In a small way, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Most of the tourists hadn’t arrived for their day journey to Hebgen Lake, for picnicking and hiking the many trails or swimming and boating in the lake. When the earth quake hit, the side of a mountain slid down and across a valley, “tilting” the lake. Half of the lake rose double in height, while the rest of it dropped to a puddle. There is much more to this story, but you will have to find it by going to your own sources. Louise and I were totally taken with this mammoth change in geology of the area and how you can see the changes now starting to come back through nature again. About noon, we entered the Yellowstone Park, and headed in to find a campground for a few days. It was a little surprising to me as to how far we were from the mountain peaks, but then again, we are over 7,000’ above sea-level and I can really feel the change in my breathing. It will take a day or two for us to get used to this altitude, but with a few hikes, it will get there. There is no doubt, but this is one of the natural beauties of America. The way the rivers gently curl and twist around and make all these patterns through the grasslands the valleys. Then there are the rolling hills of grass that are ringed with trees to create the perfect pasture for the animals here in the park. We are parked right on the banks of a HUGE lake, the Yellowstone Lake. It is much larger than any lake that we have been on so far, and we understand that the fishing is great. Well, the animal sightings for the day are: deer, elk, bison, pronghorn antelope, grizzly bear, and squirrel.