Dude Ranches - Big Horn Mountains

Experimenting here. In April, 1925, a railroad company published a travel brochure for those who wanted to visit the Rocky Mountain area of the US and see what life was like on a ranch. Only 15 thousand copies of the brochure were printed and it's hard to say how many are still around today, especially in good condition. One of them is here in the collection and we thought it would be fun to share it here on the Island. Rather than giving a few clips here and there we've scanned the entire brochure for you to enjoy. The reason this is a bit of an experiment is that it's hard to say what is the best size for publishing here. We'll see how it works out on various sizes of screens.

Here is Dude Ranches in the Big Horn Mountains, published by the Burlington Route in 1925.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Snow Moon over Two Union

According to space.com the full "Snow" moon occurred on February 14th. It's still looking pretty full as it glides over Two Union Tower here this morning (February 16th). Full moon names date back to Native Americans, and, according to the article at the link above, the story behind Snow Moon is:  Usually the heaviest snows fall in this month.  John doesn't think too many folks from the eastern US would quible with that given recent weather.

Overnight, here in Seattle, we had heavy rains with gusty winds, but the temperature has remained fairly mild in the mid 40s (F). Some large breaks in the overcast allowed our morning photo. Today's sunrise will be about twelve minutes after seven.

Have a good Sunday. As always, thank you for stopping by John's Island.

The Road to Yellowstone US 287

US 287 - Canada to Gulf of Mexico

Glacier Park and Yellowstone

Teton Nat'l Park and across Wyoming
Near Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park in Colorado

Across the Panhandle of Oklahoma

Across Texas to the Gulf of Mexico

A great road trip!
Thanks for stopping by John's Island.

Really Old Pics of Yellowstone - Part 2

We continue to share some scans of a few of the photochroms in our collection. Photochrom prints are colorized images produced from black-and-white photographic negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography, a broader term that refers to color lithography in general. All of the photos below were originally created over 100 years ago.

Castle Geyser
Yellowstone National Park
by The Photochrom Company
1898

Liberty Cap, Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

The Giant Geyser
Yellowstone National Park
by Detroit Photographic Company

Old Faithful
Yellowstone National Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Inspiration Point
Canyon of the Yellowstone
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Morning Glory [Spring]
Yellowstone Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Above is a postcard, not a photochrome. Morning Glory Spring is one of our favorite YNP features and we couldn't resist including the card for comparison purposes. The postcard view is by Haynes Photo; F. J. Haynes was the early Official Photographer of the Park. The card dates from approximately 1910 - 1914. Note that the color saturation is greater in the photochrome, which was several years earlier.

[Upper Falls of the Yellowstone]

Emerald Spring
Yellowstone National Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Looking at these photos it is easy to see why Yellowstone is often called "Wonderland." The earliest explorers had a really hard time convincing folks who hadn't seen the area with their own eyes that it actually existed.

To be continued in our next post.  Be sure not to miss Part 1 of these photochrome views here.

Thanks for stopping by John's Island.

Really Old Pics of Yellowstone - Part 1

What you see below are some very old photographs of Yellowstone National Park.

Riverside Geyser
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

The Lobby, Old Faithful Inn
by Detroit Photographic Company
190? 3 or 5?

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone from Rest Point
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Silver Gate and the Hoodoos
Yellowstone National Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Old Faithful
Yellowstone National Park
by Detroit Photographic Company

Along Gardiner River
Yellowstone Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1905

Castle Geyser
by Detroit Photographic Company

Fountain Geyser
by Detroit Photographic Company

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

Jupiter Terrace
Yellowstone National Park
by Detroit Photographic Company
1902

John collects memorabilia related to Yellowstone National Park. If you are thinking they did not have color film just after the start of the last century, you are correct. The photos above are called Photochroms.  Wiki describes them:  "Photochrom prints are colorized images produced from black-and-white photographic negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography, a broader term that refers to color lithography in general." The Detroit Photographic Company developed the process and printed the photos above.  These are a real treasure to collectors. They are quite rare and difficult to find in good condition. We will be sharing more of our collection in our next post.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

A Town Named Bearmouth

From the collection, postmarked Bearmouth, Montana, 1910

Real Photo Postcard

Enlargement

Travel brochure, 1928, Northwest

All the Round Trip Summer Excursion Fares -- 1928

Note From Chicago to Bearmouth, $65.35!
Some 18 years after the postcard was mailed,
wondering how much Bearmouth had changed.

Message side of the card.

Bearmouth location today on Google earth
Pretty much in the middle-of-nowhere.

Rock formation along side I-90 at Bearmouth
Could this be the source of the name?
[photo by John]

Thanks for stopping by John's Island.