Today wasn't the most interesting day. We did a bit of driving this morning, and explored the town of West Yellowstone. Well, I guess the morning was boring to be more precise. The afternoon was really fun, as we stopped in the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum. Plenty of Yellowstone history to regale you with!
These next pictures I took after I finished posting last night.
Today, we stopped to let Timber run in a large, grassy turnout along a river.
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Dad's favorite mutant dandelion. (It's really big)
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What is this?
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| All Timber knows how to do is leap... |
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| And smile! |
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Timber is as happy as can be!
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| This may not be the official sign for the entrance to the park, but it was the first. |
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| Yay! |
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| Dad, you better watch out or Old Snaggletooth is going to attack you! |
Old Snaggletooth was a bear at Yellowstone, characterized by his right canine tooth which was crooked, and hung out of his mouth. This was back when people fed the bears. Snaggletooth was shot by poachers who were later apprehended, but the shots proved fatal. Snaggletooth currently resides in the Yellowstone Historical Museum where he greets visitors and shares his story.
Another interesting thing I learned about was the August 17, 1959 earthquake in Yellowstone. This earthquake was originally recorded as a 7.3 magnitude earthquake, but new evidence shows it was actually more like a 7.5-7.6 magnitude. Either way, it is the largest earthquake recorded for this region of the Rocky Mountains. It has also been called the Hebgen Lake disaster. It created Quake Lake, and tested the strength of the Hebgen dam. A large landslide created the lake and buried 19 people in less than a minute. A total of 28 casualties was recorded, most from the landslide. Apparently, these earthquakes keep the geysers of Yellowstone functioning properly by releasing pressure. This area is earthquake prone due to its location on an active hotspot.
Tomorrow, we will enter Yellowstone, so look for the history of our nation's first national park, and pictures.
Hi Amy! Yippee it's Saturday so I'm posting much later than usual as I just woke up an hour ago. I aways thought I wanted to visit Yellowstone until I saw the picture of the skeleton head (I'm with you - WHAT IS THAT?? and HOW DID THAT HAPPEN???)and then learned about the earthquakes. I'm not a fan of those either. As you point out though, on the bright side, all that sesmic activity makes the geysers work and I certainly can't wait to see pictures of those! By the way, for my fellow readers, the definition of "regale" is: "to entertain by providing a splendid feast; to delight with something pleasing or amusing". I am going to sign off now so I can go regale my friends on the beach and by that I mean bring my pictures of Tom Brady and show them around! Talk to you soon!!! Love, Auntie Pam <3
ReplyDeleteAmy and Karen,
ReplyDeleteI was recently given the secret password to your blogs and have spent the past two hours catching up on your travels. Lucky for me I had taken the day off. Thanks for a glimpse into your trip. Your photos and videos are bringing back fond memories of the cross country trip Grandma, Grandpa and I took 19 years ago. However, I think that was before the advent of blogs so we had to wait until we returned from the trip to share our stories and photos. As you well know sometimes the photos and videos just do not do justice to God’s beautiful landscape!
I look forward to your future updates! I am especially looking forward to the rest of Yellowstone and the views of Lake Tahoe which were two of my favorites on the trip.
Love,
Uncle Chris