Museum closed.
My heart sinks as I read the sign. I’m a little bit north west of West Yellowstone, searching for what used to be Blarney Stone Ranch, my great grandfather Emmett’s property. In 1959, an earthquake ripped through the area. Landslides washed out entire sides of mountains, forming a dam and creating a lake permanently changing the area’s landscape. Apparently, the epicenter was in the middle of Blarney Stone.
Believing the quake to be a sign from god, Emmett sold the property a few years later and none of my remaining family had ever been to, or knew the location of, the property. All we had was a map consisting of the local fish distribution from 1960. A single dot marked the approximate location of Blarney Stone.