July 12th, 4:30PM
odometer start: 3277.6
now: ~3317
Well, I'm finally out of Gas God Natl Park. While I eat my pie, here's a list of complaints about it:
Guess that should be enough to jog my memory. I'm beginning to think I should write a report on this trip and send copies of it to every interesting place I've been. It would be a good way to show the Glacier Park people why the Cascades were so much more impressive and show how poor Yellowstone fares compared to almost anywhere else.
[2024: Apparently I'm not the first person to gripe about Yellowstone. Rudyard Kipling had the misfortune to be in Yellowstone in 1889. He was sent to the US to get him out of India for a while and away from the people he had been annoying there. He wrote scornfully about Montana and Livingston, and then "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead."
His attitude completely turned around "by the light of the eyes of the maiden from New Hampshire," and ultimately he "wondered why he had never come to this amazing place before." Almost exactly 46 years ago I had the good sense to move to New Hampshire.]
I'm now in Cooke City which is where I was planning to stop today, but it's so early that I ought to keep going for a while longer and at least cross Colter Pass (8000'). After that I have about 1500' down then 4000' up. A drive-in here has topos of the area on a big sign in front of their place - they deserve a thank-you note for that! They also have mileages to campgrounds and cities - a very useful sign indeed.
Last night I had to dash over Dunraven Pass to get to the Tower Falls area. It turned out to be a pretty easy ride, but I had to pass up a chance to take pictures of the alpine meadows. I think I'll find some more around Beartooth Pass, though.
Finished 2 rolls of film since last letter - been giving that camera a good workout. I don't have any more film but haven't shot too much of the roll in the camera. Guess I'll get a 20 exp roll and be generous.
I'll be in Billings on Sunday and take bus or train back so I'll be home next week. I'll call on Sunday and tell you all this after I get schedules straight.
Another day, another theme. I spent the night at the Tower Fall Campground next to Tower Creek. Tower Fall is just downstream, and soon after the fall (not falls?) the creek joins Yellowstone River. However, I'm out of the Canyon area and am about to cross the river, entering the Lamar River Valley and follow that upstream to the Park's northeast entrance.
[1974 point of view] Upstream from the Canyon area, the Yellowstone River went through the Hayden Valley. The road is part of the main loop in the park, so quite a bit of traffic and a moderate pitch for a river that size. The Lamar valley has much less traffic and is much flatter. As the photos will show, it has a feel of an area that only recently lost its glacial cover - little tree cover, several glacial ponds that are gradually filling to become part of the valley floor, etc. Also, the volcanic influence is all different. No thermal features and a much easier to read history of several small eruptions since the massive upheaval of the last supervolcano event that created the caldera and impacted areas far beyond the Park.
[2024 point of view] It turns out this area is outside of the caldera so it has a very good reason to have a different feel about it. However, there's no escaping the ash and lava from that eruption and later events. Also, there seem to be a lot more references to the Lamar valley since I was there. It seems to be referenced as much as the Hayden Valley now. I also see references to it as "America's Serengeti." Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone there (maybe elsewhere too?), pronghorn, bears, and bison are there, I see bison in Google Maps. I guess it's been discovered!
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Written 2024 June 24, last updated 2024 July 4.