Saturday, May 7, 2011

Images from the Past, Part 3 - My Grandmother's 1915 Yellowstone Journal

Yellowstone Transportation 1915
June 15, Tuesday, 1915

Started for Canyon 7:30 a.m.  Stopped at Apollinaris Spring and saw a Cinnamon Bear, Obsidian Cliff, Roaring Mountain, Twin Lakes, Bigah's Spring, and Frying Pan.  Saw two black tail deerVirginia Cascades, Wedded Trees.

Snowstorm about 5 miles from canyon.  Highest altitude 8,221 feet.   Arrived at Canyon Camp 12:15p.m. for lunch.  Had ridden 25 miles.  Saw Canyon Hotel.  On drive saw Upper Falls 112.  Followed Yellowstone River most of the way to Lake Camp (20 miles).  Went thru Hayden Valley.  Saw elk along way.  Saw Antelope Creek and hill, Green Gable, Mud Geyser.  Saw a grouse and many pelicans, hot pools and hot streams along the road.  Drove along high mountains and deep valleys.

Lake Camp 1915
Snow capped mountain in distance.  Snowstorm in mountains.  Saw herd of 22 elk about 50 feet away.  Arrived at Lake Camp about 6:00 o'clock.  Helped do dishes after dinner.

Marguerite Hutchins far left.  Lake Camp, Yellowstone 1915
Went over to Lake and Lake hotel.  Saw four bears.  Had 24 dudes tonight.  (just wanted to clarify that this means tourists... Her job was to help prepare for their arrival and help in the kitchen.  In today's "language" this could be misunderstood!  :)

Elk behind Lake Camp, Yellowstone National Park, 1915
Behind Lake Camp, Yellowstone 1915.  You can see the lake and mountains in the background
* * * * *
My Notes:  


This day seems extremely long to me!  After all that travel, she started her job, helping with the kitchen work and preparing the tents.  "Dudes" are vacationers (or tourists).  She never mentions HOW she travelled.  She didn't ride on horseback all that way, and it wasn't by train nor car in 1915.  So, the photo I had of the carriage being pulled by 6 horses might be this trip...  I had to take a guess as it wasn't labeled.  


I love the last photo because my guess is the scene is vastly different today.  Horses aren't quite as needed anymore.  I wonder what it looks like today.  


I also wonder what that tall pole is on the right hand side.  Does anyone know?


The flickr site "HERE" has beautiful "wild" photos of animals that made Yellowstone their home then and now.


As I add more of these journal entries, the whole sequence of these "Images of the Past" can be found on my sidebar.  


This is linked up to a fascinating blog:  Sepia Saturday.  Click HERE to check out other images from around the globe.

20 comments:

Brett Payne said...

I think it's an early telegraph pole. Thanks for sharing the diary and these wonderfully evocative images.

TexWisGirl said...

Brett stole my answer. I was going to guess telegraph pole as well. :)

Thanks for sharing these with us. Wonderful memories and photos!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Wow! Your post is fantastic. Thank you for all of your hard work and the links too. It really stirs my imagination on the great adventures.

You got me to thinking though, about cars. I found this website ... they could have traveled by automobile.
http://www.earlyamericanautomobiles.com/ I guess you'll need to copy and paste it, I don't know how to link it in the comment section.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Kathy M.

John's Island said...

This is really fascinating. One of my favorite bloggers, texwisgirl, saw your post here and mentioned it to me since I have just posted a couple of entries on my blog about Yellowstone in the early 1900s. How neat it is for you to share this rare old journal with the photos! I've been collecting YNP memorabilia for years and it is uncommon to find such good photos taken by private individuals. You are correct about the tour being on the stagecoach. In 1915 the only ways to see the park were via horseback, stage, or walking. I doubt if many walked. :-) Often, the tours started at the rail depots near the Park's north and west entrances. I have some photos on my blogs that will show you the scene. I could go on and on, but anyway, this is just a great post. Hope you will stop by and check out my blog. John

Log Cabin Studio said...

Thank-you for sharing your grandmothers journal and wonderful photograghs.
Caroline

North County Film Club said...

I was reading along and enjoying your post about your grandma's trip. Then I read "had 24 dudes"!! Wow I thought, your grandma was really something. Til I read that dudes were tourists. Oh that explains it.
Nancy
Ladies of the grove

Justine said...

wow what a fantastic post! I love these images.

Little Nell said...

Thank goodness you explained what 'dudes' were. A great series of photographs.

Bob Scotney said...

Dudes had me worried as well. A fine collection of photos.

Margaret said...

!! I so realize "I had 10 dudes tonight" is funny, but that is what she wrote. Dudes means "tourists" as I said above. When I was a teenager, I remember her using the word "gay" (meaning happy). I did always wonder why the "Dude Ranches" were thus named - now we know.

Mike Brubaker said...

A great collection. The number of people visiting the park then would be quite small compared to modern times. It must have seemed more wild then we see it now.

JL Dodge said...

Oh how I love the photographs, they are just wonderful !
Is there more to come... hint hint !
great post !
JL&B

Christine H. said...

I would love to have been there at that time and experienced all that. The pictures are amazing. It's still beautiful today, but not the same adventure.

Anonymous said...

I love this personal history. :) I'm going to be going over family journals and photos with my grandmother over the summer. I can't wait. ;-)

Pitterle Postings said...

Love the history and the old photos. What a wonderful thing to share!

Alan Burnett said...

Astonishing documentary photographs about events that we know so little about over here in Europe, events that seem to be from some wild west film. I suspect reality was so very different.

Postcardy said...

Her journal and photos are fascinating.

MuseSwings said...

It's WAY too late for me to say telegraph pole, isn't is. I really enjoyed the post and the wonderful old photos!

Tess Kincaid said...

I adore vintage photos, as well as journals. Wonderful post!

Meri said...

I was so relieved to read your explanation of the "dudes" comment -- because, for a minute, it was pretty jarring.