DEVIL'S SLIDE / YELLOWSTONE 2
On our recent journey to Chico Hot Springs and Yellowstone National
Park, we stopped along the way to see a landmark known as the Devil’s
Slide; it is a sight to remember. The beautiful view over the years
has inspired some interesting stories about how it was created.
Located on the side of the Cinnabar Mountain, and listed as part of
the Gallatin National Forest in Park County, Montana, it was first
known as Red Streak Mountain that is until August, 1870 when the
Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition discovered and named the location.
The first recorded photograph of the site is from 1871 and was
captured by William Henry Jackson.
There are several tales about how the rock formation received the
unusual name but I will leave that to your imagination; some visitors
to the area enjoy the stories and some find them frightening and most
of the local residents do not think that the red in the formation has
anything to do with the occult. The distinctive formation was created
by limestone, sandstone and quartzite that continue to erode and
display the bright red coloration.
You can view the rock formation from Highway 89 for free and there are
several places to park and safely take photos and enjoy the colorful
landscape. According to Wikipedia, "We had seen many of the
capricious works wrought by erosion upon the friable rocks of Montana,
but never before upon so majestic scale."
Oxidized iron is the reason for the red color of this formation and
the stories you hear are entertaining, but on to Gardiner and to one
of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.
Gardiner, Montana claims to be nature’s favorite entrance to
Yellowstone National Park. Gardiner is the northern entrance to the
park and is also the home of the historic Roosevelt Arch, which was
dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and is a popular
place for posing for photographs.
Gardiner is advertised as a full-service town with no big box stores,
instead it is home to boutiques, grocery stores, auto repair shops and
souvenir stores galore. We enjoyed shopping there on our way into the
park and when we were leaving the park after our tours, and sadly, a
few days after we got home, a devastating fire destroyed several of
the shops that we had enjoyed perusing.
The longest free-flowing river, the Yellowstone River, can be accessed
in Gardiner and the town claims ten million acres of public land that
is filled with wild animals to include grizzly and black bears, sheep,
elk, wolves and bison. We were lucky to see a small herd of elk
napping under the large trees near the visitor’s center in town.
One of the catchy phrases from their website is; "Let us take you out
of the ordinary and into the wild" and I can promise you will see
wildlife and breathtaking views from this beautiful little town with a
population of nine hundred residents that welcomes and serves millions
of visitors.
Brenda S. Brown
