West Yellowstone, Montana: After a very restful night camped next to My Brother Rick - it was so dark - we woke and had coffee together. Rick was leaving this morning, going into West Yellowstone to do laundry and hit the grocery store, before moving to a different fish camp. His fishing buddy was right behind him.
Rick and Dave had told us to be sure to stop at the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center on our way to West Yellowstone. 65 years ago there was a 7.5 earthquake in the middle of the night (August 1959) along the Madison River just northwest of West Yellowstone, Montana. The massive quake was felt all the way to Oregon, and the entire face of a mountainside fell off and crashed into the Madison River, blocking it completely and killing many people fishing and camping along the river while they slept. It is amazing and frightening when you see the collapsed mountain.
The force of the rock slide caused 100 mph winds. Not that there is any cell service here now, there was no communications at all in 1959. By daylight, the Air Force had landed passenger helicopters and medics were parachuting in to help survivors. Within days, the Army Corp of Engineers were digging a spillway to return the flow to the Madison River - it went completely dry below the slide. The river caused a lake above the landslide, which is now called Earthquake Lake (Quake Lake to the locals). The fear was if the new Quake Lake burst through the landslide, the devastation below the earthen dam would be catastrophic - and there was a dam up-river from the landslide that could also be compromised. Now the river is flowing again and within 200 years, geologists/scientists feel the Madison should return to her previous path.
One of the most curious aspects of this earthquake (to me) was the changes it brought to the geysers, mud pots, and other geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park. I found this report interesting, maybe fascinating? This all happened during my lifetime.
obviously in fly fishing (no waders!) territory.
The Visitor Center - has a short video explaining everything that happened that night, with amazing photographs of the immediate aftermath. They have bathrooms, a gift shop and lots of RV parking. There is no entrance fee. Please go to this interesting place if you are in the area. The Earthquake Lake Visitor Center is located 27 miles northwest of West Yellowstone, Montana on US Highway 287. It is 44 miles south of Ennis, MT and 99 miles southwest of Bozeman, MT.
We continued to West Yellowstone, Montana, but were too early to check into our reserved campsite... so we had lunch at the same place we had lunch two years ago when we visited Yellowstone National Park - The Buffalo Bar - and we ordered the same thing we ordered last time, a Bison Burger. Even if we split this, we can't eat it all.
When we left Rick's fishing camp, I was wearing long pants, a wool sweater and a jacket. I was freezing. By the time we toured the landslide visitor center and reached West Yellowstone, I was warmer (plus we found the heater in our dash for the first time), and we decided to eat outside at the Buffalo Bar. By the time we left the restaurant, the jacket had been abandoned. By the time we checked-in to our campsite, I had to change into much cooler clothing. It was a beautiful day in West Yellowstone.
Our campsite is one specifically for smaller rigs, back-ins only, and satellite TV reception is not guaranteed, due to lots of tall trees. These sites back-up to the national forest and are very quiet. We were able to put our little RV into the back of the campsite - yet in perfect access to the patio and picnic table - and the satellite TV locked-on. Giants still lost.
After settling in and the game was over, DT went on an epic bike ride and I started the laundry at the onsite laundrette. Later, I went for a non-epic walk and he finished the laundry. We should be good for the week now. It was nice to have a little down time, especially as it finally felt so warm this afternoon. Fresh sheets, clean towels, empty laundry basket, we had cocktails outside deciding if we should walk into town for dinner, have a pizza delivered, or just pop some corn. All good options. We decided to walk into town and went to Pete's Rocky Mountain Pizza Company, less than a mile walk from our campsite. There was a line, but we scored an outside table for two within 15 minutes and just ordered a 10-incher with red sauce, cheese, green pepper and olives. It was really good! Such a good decision.
Tomorrow, we explore the park. Until my next update, I remain, your Rocky Mountain correspondent.
Campground Information: Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park - This is the best commercial RV park (in my opinion) to camp in to explore the park. We paid $121 per night with a senior discount for a full-service gravel back-in with picnic table. Laundry, bathhouse, playground, gift shop, ice - and you can walk to town to a large variety of tourist shops and restaurants. The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is less than two blocks away.
Welcome to our backyard! My husband grew up within 30 miles as the crow flies of YNP and we live in the same area where he grew up. In 1959 he was 14 years old and slept through the earthquake. His parents were on a horse pack trip into the mountains with a group of teenagers (they owned a dude ranch) and camped at a lake with a huge cliff rising above the lake. When the earthquake happened, rocks began to roll from that cliff causing sparks in the dark night. Mike’s father told me he had one heck of a time holding onto horses and those teenagers who were frightened out of their minds. Enjoy the Park and the wonderful weather we are having!
Janna: I found the entire story fascinating and have no idea how this has escaped me for so long. There must be thousands of stories about this massive quake.
Our physician, Dr. Edgerton, his wife and another couple named Woods from our small valley town of Coalinga, CA were killed in that quake and landslide. The whole town mourned the loss of this family physician. He was not immediately listed as expired so we deluded ourselves into thinking he was still alive and tending to those injured. Sad memory.
Thank you, Margi.