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06-13-2022, 12:55 PM
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#1
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Administrator
Trailer: Argosy
Posts: 2,259
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Yellowstone National Park Temporary Closure!
The park has been temporarily closed at all gates due to flooding and rock slides. No inbound visitor traffic will be allowed into the park until conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities. This includes visitors with lodging and camping reservations.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/220613.htm
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06-13-2022, 05:21 PM
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#2
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Member
Name: Biker
Trailer: 2018 Bigfoot 21' 25B21FB (PREV: Casita 17' Spirit Deluxe)
North Carolina
Posts: 92
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Wow. The video from the referenced website is discouraging. Imagine that will take some time to reconstruct/repair.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellow...7668680150793/
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06-13-2022, 08:01 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Name: John
Trailer: Bigfoot 25 RQ
Ohio
Posts: 350
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Having worked for the NPS for 30 years, I have never seen weather events this extensive and intense. It will change how these parks are used.
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06-13-2022, 10:30 PM
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#4
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Member
Name: Mike
Trailer: In the Market
Alaska
Posts: 77
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Whole park should close to cars in summer anyway. It's way too crowded. Hopefully $15 gas will fix that.
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06-14-2022, 06:10 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1988 16 ft Scamp Deluxe
Posts: 25,790
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The damage is sad, but perhaps this is Mother Nature's way of saying Yellowstone needs to rest. It's overrun by tourists who are often NOT NICE to the environment. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if the park was closed completely for an entire year.
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward - 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Double Yolk - 1988 16' Scamp Deluxe
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06-14-2022, 09:31 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Name: Kenneth
Trailer: Scamp
Wisconsin
Posts: 1,965
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News from the area
Quote:
Originally Posted by Janet H
The park has been temporarily closed at all gates due to flooding and rock slides. No inbound visitor traffic will be allowed into the park until conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities. This includes visitors with lodging and camping reservations.
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I listen to KBHB (am) on line for news from the area. Mostly ranch news but they are covering the weather for the 5 state region. https://www.kbhbradio.com/
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06-14-2022, 09:59 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Name: Jack L
Trailer: Sold the Bigfoot 17-Looking for a new one
Washington
Posts: 1,562
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna D.
The damage is sad, but perhaps this is Mother Nature's way of saying Yellowstone needs to rest. It's overrun by tourists who are often NOT NICE to the environment. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if the park was closed completely for an entire year.
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Death Valley NP had flooding in 2015 and was closed for repairs for over a year. The Yellowstone flood pictures look just as serious, maybe worse.
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06-14-2022, 01:02 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Name: JD
Trailer: Scamp 16 Modified (BIGLY)
Florida
Posts: 2,465
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when you look at those nice rivers and the adjoining flood plains and the valleys that they are in you have to assume that one day, perhaps not tomorrow or next year or in ten years, there will be a flood that washes everything clear.
If you drive around San Marcos, TX and you look at those nice little houses on the banks of those pretty little streams and the wide bridges that are 1/2 mile long over that little river you think how nice!
But there is a reason the bridges are 1/2 mile long to get from one side of the real riverbed to the other. Anything down there is temporary.
That region has the highest flash flood losses in the country.
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06-14-2022, 01:28 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Name: Dave
Trailer: 2013Escape 21
Iowa
Posts: 1,251
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Then you go down the hills on each side of the Missouri River at Omaha that are a mile back from the bank or better or the Mississippi in many places up and down the whole valley and remember the term floodplain from school. Floods and flash floods are not new but they have been magnified by flood plain development, concrete runoff, tiling, storm sewers etc.
No real reason one single factor including climate change which I feel is very real. The “call to action” may eventually be accelerated by a better managed society with regard to threats to life and property. This includes forest fires, mudslides, severe weather shelters in campgrounds and on and on.
Might as well throw out the terms “100 and 500 year flood” , to my way of thinking. I’ve been through several in my short life. (In the grand scheme of things).
It’s never been enjoyable to me to be able to say , “I was here before the flood or what year was it when they had the big fire”.
Iowa Dave
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06-14-2022, 08:43 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Name: John
Trailer: Bigfoot 25 RQ
Ohio
Posts: 350
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I worked in a park along the Cuyahoga River in Ohio in the late 80’s. There were 3 100 year floods in 5 years. Before that the last flood took out the Ohio and Erie Canal in early 20th century. Of course all the development around the top of the valley removed the vegetation and forests that used to absorb and dissipate the water. No macro development plans for the water shed etc. Nature bats last.
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06-18-2022, 11:11 AM
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#11
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Member
Trailer: 16 ft Casita
Posts: 76
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They will be opening limited areas next week .
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06-18-2022, 07:33 PM
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#12
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Member
Name: Ervin
Trailer: Moby 1 Teardrop
Oregon
Posts: 45
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Recreation.gov already canceled my reservation for Mammoth campground in mid Sept. Had the best spot in the whole campground. Bummed, it was going to be a celebratory trip for my retirement. Yet I am safe and healthy. The road from Gardiner to Mammoth will take years to fix. And given how narrow that canyon is, I read that the engineers are looking at alternatives for road placement given the likelihood of it happening again.
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06-18-2022, 08:38 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Name: Michelle
Trailer: Casita
Washington
Posts: 324
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I received this email from someone who lives in Montana:
I’m sure you have all heard of the massive floods that hit Yellowstone last week and that the park is currently closed. I wanted to provide some updates here as I have a little bit of insider intel (just a little) that might help.
- They are aiming to open the southern loop on Tuesday 21st, this will be dependent on fixing the major damage in the south loop just south of Canyon which should be complete on Monday, but you know how construction projects go.
- There is a possibility that the northern loop will open this year, this is from Norris to Mammoth to Tower to Canyon. They are still inspecting the condition of roads and bridges, but this loop seems to be largely unaffected besides some cleanup.
- The north entrance will likely be closed for a long time, potentially years. This of course is where the most damage occurred. Roads were completely gutted and will need to be re-routed, not rebuilt, it’s a massive effort.
- Lamar Valley and the entrance through Red Lodge/Cooke City will also be closed for a very long time. The road was completely washed out in 6 spots and will be another massive effort to rebuild.
- When the southern loop is opened next week they will be implementing a timed entry/permit system to limit the number of people in the park since it can’t handle full visitation. The details of this have not been worked out and I’m not sure they will have it in place next week, so it may be a free for all for a little bit. During this time they are advising people to stay away as you will be on your own, there will be no food/lodging, potentially no gas, rescue efforts will be delayed, etc. Basically don’t go unless you really know what you’re doing.
- CUA holders will be allowed to enter the park at any time when it is re-opened, no entry permits are needed. So if you are leading a workshop or you had a trip planned with a guide, everything should still be a go if you’re only working in the southern loop. (Madison to Canyon to Grant to Old Faithful). Those with reservations at the hotels or campground will not need a permit either, with a big caveat.
- The hotels are going to be a major issue this year. The hotels in the park are all supplied by vendors delivering from the north entrance. It’s likely they will have major issues getting supplies as everything will have to come through the west entrance now, a major detour for drivers. NPS is currently discussing with Xanterra to figure out what their plan is and it sounds like they may do a 50% reduction in capacity to handle this, so there will be major cancellations. Xanterra is horribly mismanaged in the best of times, so this will likely be a complete disaster.
- If you had planned on visiting Yellowstone any time soon, you might reconsider unless you are very self-sufficient (bring lots of extra gas, food, water, first aid supplies, satellite communication, etc.), as it’s going to be the wild west for a while.
Considering the logistics involved in repairing washouts on roads near large cities with asphalt plants and roads durable enough for dump trucks, cement trucks, etc. I don't see the North entrance being available for entry any time soon. I'm not an expert, but I'm willing to bet it takes a few years to get anything fixed. It's 84 miles to Bozeman, and I'm hearing that road took a beating, too. It's not just that Gardiner is remote...there's no money in the Yellowstone budget for what really looks to be a massive rebuilding/rerouting/ operation.
While I agree that Yellowstone needs the rest...last year they had almost 4 million visitors-I feel sorry for the folks around the Park that depend on tourism to make a living. But tourism has always been a dicey way to make a living.
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06-18-2022, 11:11 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Name: Kenneth
Trailer: Scamp
Wisconsin
Posts: 1,965
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Buffalo Bill Dam (Yellowstone area)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Janet H
The park has been temporarily closed at all gates due to flooding and rock slides. No inbound visitor traffic will be allowed into the park until conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities.
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https://mybighornbasin.com/watch-buf...-has-in-years/
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06-19-2022, 10:47 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Name: Jerrybob
Trailer: casita
Washington
Posts: 780
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We visited the park earlier this year...two weeks after they opened the Northern entrance near Gardiner. It was beautiful....very few people.....lots of snow still on the ground.....lots of elk...deer...bison and bears....nothing like seeing Old Faithful in the snow....that's the good news. The bad news....the road we took in between Livingston and Gardiner is severly damaged. Friends in Gardiner tell us the town is suffering.....tourism is gone and they expect this summer and the reat of the year to be economically devastating. The town is still cut off and their infrastructure has been damaged very seriously. This is a real tragety......lots of people will be hurt finanically. The pics all over the news of the road that has been wiped out in many places is the road we were on less than two months ago....a real shame.
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06-19-2022, 11:00 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Name: Dave
Trailer: 2013Escape 21
Iowa
Posts: 1,251
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It always bothers me to learn of devastating weather events even if no one was hurt or killed. This is especially true if it’s an area I’ve visited and even more so if it’s some place I’ve returned to several times. I usually don’t go back even when I can. I like to remember things in a positive way. We’ve visited Yellowstone several times in the past 50 years. Had some good experiences there and have a wealth of photos. Floods, Fires Tornadoes, Hurricanes all leave devastation in their wake. Sadly we must get used to it. New construction, infrastructure investment and especially insurance will continue to experience rising costs it will affect us all in the coming years.
Iowa Dave
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06-19-2022, 07:39 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2009 17 ft Casita Freedom Deluxe
Posts: 857
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They have announced that the south loop will reopen June 23. To limit crowding, they are implementing an add/even day system based on license plate. I haven't seen anything about the campgrounds.
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