Sep 16 2007
A little drive into Idaho
Sunrise this morning over Yellowstone. We are about 6 miles west of the park and the horizon in this picture is inside the park.
The aspens and other hardwoods have really started changing colors in our week here. These are just down the road in Idaho.
We took a scenic loop that goes over the old highway to Yellowstone. It’s east of the highway used today and goes through some very pretty country. Though the smoke from western fires limited visibility a bit, we could still see the west side of the Teton Mountains. This image has been enhanced to improve the view of the Tetons.
Lower Mesa Falls as viewed from the Grandview Overlook built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The falls are 65 ft tall.
Wild flowers still in bloom, despite temperatures that are resulting in fall colors in a lot of the vegetation.
Big Falls Inn - Built around 1915 by Mesa Power, company officers planned to harness the power of the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and Mesa Falls to produce electricity. A license to produce power from the plant was never obtained and the property was eventually sold to Montana Power in 1936. It may have started as a a combination office and residence for workers, but became a popular spot along the old highway to Yellowstone. With it’s spectacular location, it also became a spot for dances and social gatherings for locals, sportsmen and tourists. After it was sold to Montana Power, it was used as a company resort. Over the years, it was also used as a restaurant and dance hall, boy scout lodge, and retreat/meeting hall. In 1986, the Forest Service acquired the lodge in a land exchange. It has since been renovated and serves now as a visitor and interpretive center.
The inside of the inn is just beautiful.
Dried flower near the inn. Karen got some seeds, though we don’t know what it’ll look like when it blooms.
Upper Mesa Falls in a composite image created from several photos. The falls are 114 feet high, dropping over a ledge of 1.3 million years old compressed volcanic ash.
Karen at one of the overlooks.
The falls are so large that at the overlooks, the only way that I could get it all in was to create a composite image using several photos.
The area to the falls is a Forest Service fee area.
