The Eagles Nest Motel is no more
On June 13, 2022, everyone around here who ever said, “come hell or high water” had their bluff called. The combination of lingering winter snow accumulated in the high elevations around Yellowstone National Park, and in particular, the Absaroka and the Beartooth mountain ranges, warm early summer temperatures, and heavy rains, unleashed Biblical-sized floods in the greater Yellowstone region. Melting snow added to exceptional rainfall rushed into key, normally well-behaved waterways, including Soda Butte Creek, the Lamar River, and notably, the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, and Rock Creek on the far side of the Beartooth Range, sweeping land, trees, and many man-made structures such as buildings and roads, with it.
Miraculous, no one was injured in the little Armageddon.
The flooding has had numerous serious repercussions in the towns surrounding Greater Yellowstone’s northeastern and northern quarters, halting economically critical summer tourism, sometimes short-term, and in many other cases, not yet as of this writing (September) restored.
One hard-hit area is the small town of Red Lodge, Montana, through which the beautiful river-sized Rock Creek flows. Rock Creek overflowed Red Lodge’s main road as it departs the town and rises sharply into the Beartooth Highway, one of America’s most spectacularly scenic by-ways and a main access to Yellowstone’s northeast entrance.
Amazingly quickly Red Lodge rallied the resources to clear massive debris deposited by the creek as it retreated to its banks and to stabilize the roadway to allow safe passage up and over the Beartooths. Some buildings and businesses cannot be restored, and bridges, sidewalks, and other structures remain unusable for the time being.
Here are a few photos of the damage as seen in August of 2022. I was able to drive over the road slowly, but safely, to make my way into the Beartooth mountains.
The Eagles Nest Motel is no more
On June 13, 2022, everyone around here who ever said, “come hell or high water” had their bluff called. The combination of lingering winter snow accumulated in the high elevations around Yellowstone National Park, and in particular, the Absaroka and the Beartooth mountain ranges, warm early summer temperatures, and heavy rains, unleashed Biblical-sized floods in the greater Yellowstone region. Melting snow added to exceptional rainfall rushed into key, normally well-behaved waterways, including Soda Butte Creek, the Lamar River, and notably, the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, and Rock Creek on the far side of the Beartooth Range, sweeping land, trees, and many man-made structures such as buildings and roads, with it.
Miraculous, no one was injured in the little Armageddon.
The flooding has had numerous serious repercussions in the towns surrounding Greater Yellowstone’s northeastern and northern quarters, halting economically critical summer tourism, sometimes short-term, and in many other cases, not yet as of this writing (September) restored.
One hard-hit area is the small town of Red Lodge, Montana, through which the beautiful river-sized Rock Creek flows. Rock Creek overflowed Red Lodge’s main road as it departs the town and rises sharply into the Beartooth Highway, one of America’s most spectacularly scenic by-ways and a main access to Yellowstone’s northeast entrance.
Amazingly quickly Red Lodge rallied the resources to clear massive debris deposited by the creek as it retreated to its banks and to stabilize the roadway to allow safe passage up and over the Beartooths. Some buildings and businesses cannot be restored, and bridges, sidewalks, and other structures remain unusable for the time being.
Here are a few photos of the damage as seen in August of 2022. I was able to drive over the road slowly, but safely, to make my way into the Beartooth mountains.