Traveling the West

Words seem unnecessary in the face of this wonderful 1904 view looking south down into Yellowstone National Park from Gardiner, Montana. Sponsored by the Northern Pacific Railroad, this view defined the West -- and this park in particular -- as a destination. The railroads were successfully kept out of the park itself; instead, horse-drawn wagons carried passengers from the railroad station south into the park, toward the hotels and tourist sights. Yellowstone Lake is at the upper left and Old Faithful is at the upper right. The image may be somewhat disorienting, because the viewpoint is from the north, looking south, rather than the (more traditional) other way around.

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