Beyond Yellowstone

Today we took the advice of a guy Fred met here in the RV park (from Cape Coral no less) and went to see Earthquake Lake just north and west of West Yellowstone.   What an interesting and unique trip that was.  All along Route 287 there are pull outs with pieces of the story about what happened when there was a 7.5 earthquake at Hebgen Lake on August 17, 1959.  High tourist season in this area.  One of the first stops was at "the Lake that Tilted"....an intriguing title don't you think?  Evidently the earth shook so hard that the lake actually shifted 19' and seiches (like a tsunami) washed away buildings and actually moved them across the river.  They are still there and it's called "Ghost Village".  They are in shambles, but amazing that before the quake they were on the other side of the river and a popular camping cabin resort.  I wont give you all the details, but if you are ever up this way you really need to take the time to see this.  There's a wonderful Visitor Center overlooking the huge landslide that blocked the river and caused massive flooding.   You can watch a film that explains all that happened, but on the way, stop and read every one of the sign posts.  It's so moving and detailed about the people who were there and lived through it.
On the way we pulled off at Campfire Lodge Resort, W. Yellowstone, Montana.  If you have any interest in fly fishing you will go nuts in this little shop!  AND, if you are one of those people who absolutely LOVE a large, incredibly delicious breakfast you MUST stop here.  Unfortunately we had eaten before we left home, but we settled for a homemade cinnamon bun big enough for two.  YUM.  The waitress was from So. Calif. so she told us about the dirt road to Ghost Cabins and how we could get back to Yellowstone by going all the way around in a circle.   So glad, because we would have missed the visitor center and some incredible scenery along the way.
As we pulled out of the Visitor center we saw a big horn sheep standing right in the middle of the road!  It stayed right there licking salt (we guessed) off the center of the road.  We got some AWESOME pictures of him.  It was SOOOOO exciting.
I'm having a little trouble uploading pictures so I can get them on the blog.   Will get them posted as soon as I can.  I've fallen in love with the buffalo, they are so YELLOWSTONE!  Have yet to see a bear or moose so for me the symbol of Yellowstone should be the Buffalo!