Blessings in Disguise: My Family's Yellowstone 1959 Earthquake Miracle

On the morning of August 17, 1959 my grandparents and great-grandparents, along with my uncle who was a toddler, were staying in a campground in Yellowstone National Park. They already spent the night there with plans to stay another night or so.

But that morning my uncle suddenly got really sick so my grandparents decided to head back to Riverside California, a long drive, leaving my Granny and Gramps to stay another night at the campground.

The 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake struck at 11:37 pm on August 17th, with a magnitude 7.2-7.5, depending on sources, striking Hebgen Lake in Southwest Montana. A huge landslide caused the fatalities of 28, a campground was covered, and a river was dammed forming Earthquake Lake. New hydrothermal structures sprung up throughout the park. Old Faithful's geyser eruptions became erratic, shifting the 61.8 minute eruption to the now 93 minutes.

Unfortunately I don't know the full details with this part of the story as my grandparents have passed, but according to my Grandma she and my Grandpa heard about the Earthquake the next morning, unsure of what had happened to my great-grandparents. With no way of contacting them, my grandparents continued driving towards Riverside, fretting all the way. My uncle wasn't sick for long and was completely well. 

A little time or so after reaching Riverside my Great-grandparents arrived, having left Yellowstone a couple or so hours after my Grandparents, not wanting to stay that night in the campground without them.

When I first heard this story my Grandma said they were staying at the campground that was covered in a mudslide. (A few years ago I found sources on this campground, but can't find it now, so this information might be wrong). A few years later, and after doing research, I asked her if she knew the name of the campground they stayed in, but she couldn't remember, so it's hard to know if that was the specific campground they stayed in, though my Mom remembers her saying that they did stay on the end of Yellowstone where the mudslide happened. (Yellowstone spans Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.) It's hard to know, but one thing is certain, regardless of where in the National park they camped, that would have been a horrible night. (I never asked my Grandpa!! How could I have forgotten to ask him??)

If they had died that night my Mom would have never been born, and I wouldn't be here now typing this blog post.

It reminds me of a camping trip I did many years ago with my brother, sister-in-law, and kids up north. My niece was supposed to join us on a canoeing adventure, but she suddenly became sick out of no where. The rest of us went, and just a few minutes canoeing with my sister-in-laws sister, myself in the back and she in the front, we hit the base post of a bridge and capsized. I lost my glasses. It would have been devastating if my niece was with us. After reaching where we were sleeping, my niece was completely well. She wasn't sick long.

Sometimes unfortunate things happen to us, out of no where, sudden, messing up plans and creating disappointments, but sometimes these unfortunate moments are protecting us from greater tragedies. They're blessings in disguise.

Sarah :0)