Sixty-five years ago, on the morning of Aug. 17, 1959, a discussion took place between Lloyd and Amy Sandiland of Helena.
The Sandilands were camping in Madison River Canyon, several miles downstream from Hebgen Lake, with their three children. The couple were deliberating whether to stay another night at their campsite on the Madison, or to relocate to Wade Lake, which was about 12 miles away.
Mrs. Sandiland, who was in favor of moving, won the debate, and the family pulled up stakes that Monday afternoon and moved their campsite.
“We had been at the Hebgen campground a couple nights, and were supposed to meet my grandparents at Wade Lake, but Dad didn’t want to leave, because the fishing was so good,” recalled lifelong Helena resident Roger Sandiland, who was 10 years old at the time, during a 2009 interview. “But thankfully, Mom was able to talk him into going.”
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In the meantime, another Capital City couple, Joe and Jewel Hurley – who were driving to Yellowstone Park with their two young sons in the back seat of their 1959 Chevy station wagon – pulled into the same campground. But by then it was full, there were no available spaces, so the Hurleys decided to give Wade Lake a try.
As it turned out, Amy Sandiland’s stubbornness and because the site then filled to capacity might have saved the lives of both families.
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