Following the Madison River to West Yellowstone

Thursday
Before moving on once more we watched the spectacle of railway workers (?) arriving on their little commuter vehicles, quite amusing really. They even bring a portajohn with them!
On leaving the campground we followed the Jefferson River for a while before turning south towards Yellowstone. As we traveled we again found ourselves surrounded by mountain ranges - Tobacco Root Mt to the right, Spanish Steps to the left. After a short climb we dropped down into the Madison river Valley, another fork of the Missouri, this wide valley looked very much like it had been shaped by glaciation. The road was again a good road and we passed through several small villages, finding very little traffic. When we arrived at Ennis we stopped and had a stroll up Main St before stopping at a diner for a drink and a slice of Lemon Meringue pie before moving on towards our destination tonight. Just before arriving we passed what is called a 'Geological Point', of which there are quite a few in Montana. We decided to stop at this one. Rather that the usual information board this was a complete visitor center! It was there to provide information about Quake Lake and how it was formed in 1959.
On August 17th 1959 a very powerful, 7.4 magnitude, earthquake struck very close by causing a lot of ground movement. The bed of a reservoir nearby actually tilted, with the northern shore dropping 19ft and the southern shore lifting, providing 1000 acres of new land. The main effect though was to produce a landslide at the entrance to a narrow valley, blocking the Madison River and causing it to flood. Unfortunately there were some 250 people camped in the valley, as it is very close to Yellowstone. As a result 28 people died. The blocking of the valley has now caused a new lake to be formed, called Quake Lake. This was a fascinating geological event which has happened in our lifetime.
We traveled on to our campground, which is a Forest Campground with hookup just outside of the Yellowstone Park called Rainbow Point. Unfortunately at this moment Sally felt quite ill and has spent all evening being sick, not sure if it is a bug or something she ate, but praying that she feels better by morning.