Lake Yellowstone Hotel

This is a grand hotel by Lake Yellowstone. It was built in 1891 and has been restored to look like it did in the 1920´s. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Our room was very pretty and had a view of the lake. Plus, there was a really cute bear cub on the bed, which of course I had to bring home with me. The proceeds from the sale of the cubs helps support the Yellowstone Foundation. Too bad the cub wasn´t real.

Kent in front of a Yellow Bus. The original buses started touring Yellowstone in 1936, but they were discontinued in the 1950´s.

When the buses were sold, the Skagway Streetcar Company in Alaska bought 8 of them for its company. In 2001, they returned the vehicles to Yellowstone, and now they are touring again. We didn´t get to ride in one, but we did see one at Mammoth Hot Springs. Looking good, Kent!

Some of us in the Sun Room before dinner. I treated myself to Duck, which was excellent. Afterwards, we had drinks here with Pete and Mel, a young couple from England, while a pianist played the Grand Piano. A wonderful evening.

Arnica Fire

        When we first arrived in Yellowstone, the Arnica Fire was mostly smoke.   This photo was taken from the Lamar Valley, looking toward the fire, on Friday.  Occasionally we could smell the smoke, but it appeared to be a very small fire.  ´

        Studies have shown that small, controlled fires are needed for many of the ecosystems.  So the current trend is to keep it contained but allow it to burn itself out.  

     On Saturday, however, the winds picked up and the day grew hotter, which allowed the fire to grow.  The same weather conditions occurred on Sunday.  Roads had to be closed and more aggressive measures taken.  
     We were scheduled to go to West Yellowstone on Sunday and to Old Faithful, but we couldn´t get there with the road closures.   We ended up staying the night in Gardiner, but no one minded.   The hotel was very nice.  It overlooked a stream, and dinner was great.
      The next day we were able to get to Lake Yellowstone, pictured above.   The fire was clearly visible from there.   As we got closer to the hotel, we could see the sprinklers wetting down the trees in an attempt to keep the hotel safe.   It was an eerie sight.

    If you look closely, you can see the bucket hanging from the helicopter.   The firefighters were getting water from Lake Yellowstone to pour onto the fire.   The weather was forecasted to turn cold and snowy on Wednesday, which would end the fire.   In the meantime, the firefighters worked to contain it. 

       The fire burned approximately 9300 acres, or 14.5 square miles, according to the newspaper I bought.  Fortunately no one was injured, and the fire didn´t damage any structures.  

       The firemen said that if the rain and snow came on Wednesday, it would be a season-ending event.  That´s fireman-speak for ´´the fire will be out soon´´.    And it was.