Mike and Jenna were starting later and riding farther than we had planned, so we bid our new friends goodbye for an easy 40-miler to W. Yellowstone. After a short but nasty uphill, we passed Quake Lake. In 1959 an earthquake caused the whole side of a mountain to slide down into the Madison River, damming it and creating a large lake upstream. Sadly, there was a campground along the river there, and about 25 people lost their lives.
The quake did not destroy the dam farther upstream, but the large Hebgen Lake above the dam tilted so that new waterfront property was created on one side, and docks to nowhere were left on the other.
At the large town of West Yellowstone we found our new wheel waiting for us at the bike shop there, along with a bike computer we'd ordered to replace one lost a few days earlier. We stayed at the 100-year-old rustic Madison Hotel. Our search for a wifi or computer connection was fruitless, so the blog fell another day behind as we enjoyed a good afternoon's rest.
The pictures include our helpful bike shop mechanic, Melissa. In the shot of Quake Lake, you can see the landslide, the dam it caused in the river, and the lake that formed. There's a buried campground at the bottom of the lake.
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