Page 149 - REALLY What A time Book IX
P. 149
REALLY SO WHAT
What A Time
THE GREAT WEST
would take 60 years to be recognized as true, and President
Grant made it the first national Park.
Yellowstone is huge, 3,500 square miles, 350 times the size of
Washington D.C. covering parts of 3 states, Idaho, Montana
and Wyoming. It’s the largest volcanic caldera in North
America.
Today, 2016, scientist believe it’s hot spot has migrated across
Idaho and Washington to Wyoming and is still moving. They
are reticent to penetrate the depths of the hot springs, because
it might injure the waters flow. Most of all they believe that if
it blows, it will seriously spread ash all over our country, and
world. That no one knows when it will explode has never
slowed down the visitors. After World War II tourists came to
Yellowstone in droves.
By1949 more than a million tourists visited each summer. It
was hard to believe we had gotten there before the crowds,
because our campground was full. It was at the mouth of the
Yellowstone River, where it left the lake toward the Atlantic
Ocean.
Once our camp was set up we headed toward the main
headquarters, and Old Faithful. It was 35 miles away. Every
hour on the hour this amazing geyser erupts throwing scalding
water 125 feet into the air. In between it just bubbles. We
walked up and around it to see the pool and bubbles. The
crater was an oval, 3’ x 7’. Much larger than I would have
149

