Image: Gardiner, Montana and Yellowstone's North Entrance. The "new" road is in the center. The "old" road that washed out in multiple places ran through the deep canyon.
Things look a little differently today than they did last year, when historic Yellowstone floods obliterated the north entrance to Yellowstone and cut off our community from the rest of the world for a few days, and from the park and our neighbors in Mammoth Hot Springs for an entire season.
The community came together to help each other respond to the flood in the face of devastating economic loss, and many of you contributed to fundraising efforts to help community members who lost housing and/or their livelihoods in the wake of the flooding. Thank you!
The park accomplished a heroic effort to restore access to the park from the north entrance. The Yellowstone Community Fund, for which Jenny serves on the advisory committee, has provided almost $500,000 in financial support to Gardiner, Silver Gate, and Cooke City residents and businesses impacted by the flood to help them stay here and keep our community going.
Today, Gardiner, Montana and the north entrance are looking much like things are back to normal, and we are grateful.
What we called the "old road" is now a spectacularly beautiful, if incredibly curvy road that gives us access to the park which sustains our hearts and souls.
We can walk along the newly "old" road to the first of a series of catastrophic washouts along the Gardner River and reflect on the forces that shape this landscape. So much has changed, yet the enduring spirit and wildness of the park remains the same.
Thank YOU for being a part of our community, and for following along with the stories and adventures and highs and lows of loving a place like Yellowstone, as well as wild places and animals everywhere.
