Corkscrew Bridge, Sylvan Pass on Cody Road, Yellowstone Nat. Park, Wyo.

Publication

Corkscrew Bridge, Sylvan Pass on Cody Road, Yellowstone Nat. Park, Wyo.

Description

CORKSCREW BRIDGE, SYLVAN PASS, ON CODY ROAD INTO YELLOWSTONE PARK. By no means the least colorful part of a visit to Yellowstone Park is reserved to the last, if we leave the National wonderland by the road leading to Cody, Wyo., distant 55 miles from the Eastern Park Entrance. From lake Junction we climb the western slopes of the Absaroka Moutains, catching glorious glimpses across Yellowstone lake of the distant peaks of the Tetons. Presently we pass secluded Sylvan Lake and then come to Sylvan Pass (elev. 8,650 ft.), where we cross the crest of the range between towering peaks whose precipitous sides are covered with vast slides of loose rock which seem to have been deposited there by some herculean stone crusher. The road winding eastward down the pass is a marvel of engineering skill, as is well attested by the "corkscrew" bridge which we see before us. At this point, in order to keep the surface of the highway at a practicable grade down the steep gorge, the road has been constructed to as to literally turn itself in a complete spiral. At the Eastern entrance we pass immediately into the Shoshone National Forest Reserve. The existence on every side of the Park of this and other Forest Reserves, having game protection, accounts in large measure for the almost perfect safety enjoyed by the wild animals in the Park itself. Winding on down the North Fork of the Shoshone River we find ourselves for iles among fantastic rock formations, such as Chimney Rock, The Turtle, Window Rock, Thor's Anvil, The Wooden Shoe, The Goose, Mr. Punch and the Playground of the Gods. These extend almost to the Shoshone Reservoir. (View looking S. E. Elev. 8,300 ft. Lat. 44° N.; Long. 110° W.)