Hi: I enjoyed
your page. Back in the 1950's when I was a young child, my family
paid several summer visits to a friend of my Daddy who owned
a motel there in Cooke City. The man's name was Jimmy Beavers,
and the motel, I think, was called Beaver Lodge. It backed up
to the river, as I recall, and we always stayed in one of the
end units that looked back across the mountain. There was a restaurant
next door to the motel, and the owners had a little girl about
my age. We played down by the river.In the mid-70's, my husband
and I and our then-only son visited Cooke City again, but we
didn't stay there that time. At that time, I thought I found
the place where we used to stay, but I think only about half
of it was still there, and I was told there had been a fire years
before.As a child, I was fascinated by the general store in Cooke
City, because of all the different kinds of items it offered.
I think that was just across the street, maybe a bit catty-corner
to the motel. The man who ran it at the time wrote my name in
calligraphy. Being from a small Texas town, that was the first
time I had ever seen anyone do calligraphy. I have many happy
memories of visits there, but as you can tell, time has faded
the details. I just feel a pleasant glow when I think about it.
The whole area is so beautiful. I was in awe of the Beartooth.
The first time we drove over it, my Daddy let out an audible
gasp, at one point, having just gotten his first glimpse of Pilot
and Index Peaks. It seems he had had a picture, actually of the
very scene he was then looking at, on the wall in his office
because he thought they were so beautiful, but he had never really
been sure where they were. I would like to visit again someday
soon. Do you know anything about the Beaver Lodge, or if any
part of it is still standing today? Is there another lodging
of some sort in that approximate location? I would love to stand
by that river and look back at that mountain again. Or maybe
I've just put that image together in my head! I'm sure it's all
changed after all these years, too, but it is such a pretty picture
in my mind's eye.Thank you for your time in reading this note,
and for the time it took to put this page together! Marcy Porter |