9-2-97
| I spent Labor Day in Red Lodge, Montana since I didn't want to fight
the crowds at Yellowstone that day. Red Lodge was having an Arts
Festival with some great entertainment. I watched the Country Rockin'
Cloggers from Powell, Wyoming perform some mighty fast footwork.
I spoke with the leader of the group, Nick Bailey, about the art of clogging.
It originated as Irish step dancing or what's popularly known today as
River Dance. It was originally a dance for the men to entertain the
women. In the US, it started in the Appalachia Mountains and spread
all over the country. The taps on their shoes are pretty impressive.
Heavy toe and heel plates. Cloggers range in age from five to very
senior citizen. It's never to late to start.
I camped on the banks of the Rock Creek River, an offshoot of the Yellowstone River. What a terrific sound to fall asleep to. There's a lot of history in Red Lodge. On September 18th, 1897, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, and the Wild Bunch rode into Red Lodge after escaping from jail in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and attempted to rob the bank. They botched the job and took off empty handed. Sheriff John Dunn captured them after an 80 mile chase and returned them to Deadwood, South Dakota, where they promptly escaped again. |
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The road from Red Lodge into Yellowstone National Park is known as the Beartooth Highway. The late journalist Charles Kuralt once called it the most beautiful road in America. Anyone who has ever driven it would definitely agree. Just thinking about it puts a big silly grin on my face. It takes about two hours if you drive straight through but there are so many places to stop and look, it usually takes a lot longer. The panorama is from the top of the Clay Butte Lookout fire tower in the Shoshone National Forest. near the end of the highway. This is what they mean by 'Top of the World'. |
| Yellowstone National Park is a world full of wonders. 125 years
ago, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the act that created Yellowstone
National Park. It was the worlds first national park. The park
is presently in the recovery stage from the 1988 forest fire that burned
nearly a third of the forest. There's a lot of dead trees but new
ones are starting to spring up in their place and the park is rebuilding
itself. There are boiling mud pits, lakes, rivers and geysers everywhere.
The wildlife is abundant and has the right of way. They are not domesticated and can be dangerous. There have been a lot of buffalo attacks from people getting too close. Old Faithful was erupting right on schedule despite the rainy weather and still drew big crowds. There are over 10,000 geysers, hot springs, steam vents and mud pots making this the largest intact system on earth. Exiting south out of Yellowstone takes you directly into Grand Teton National Park. The snow tipped peaks danced in and out of the clouds as I drove along the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway and into the heart of Wyoming. |
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