[PHOTO] Do You Remember When Caras Park was a Giant Junk Yard?

Have you ever stopped for a minute to reflect on how much the world around you has changed over the years? It seems that everything is changing much faster these days than it did in the past. Or are we just living a much faster lifestyle these days?

It feels like the older I get, the more I start to sound like my father. I find myself reading billboards out loud on road trips. I complain when someone messes with the thermostat. And, I tend to point out places that are being developed and say "I remember when this was just a field full of weeds."

With Missoula's population growth and the need for affordable housing on the rise, Missoula and the Bitterroot are expanding quickly. You can barely throw a rock in Missoula, without hitting a new apartment building or giant block of storage units. Places that used to be "just a field of weeds" 25 years ago are now homes to hundreds of people living on top of one another.

TODAY we take a trip WAY BACK to the mid-70s.

A Carousel for Missoula recently found an old image of what Caras Park used to look like before it was developed into the riverside oasis it is today.

Many in the comments say that the photo must have been taken in the early 70s.

Julia Jackman-Brink says

Post 1967 because Jesse Hall on campus is in the background. Caras Park area isn't even developed yet, so it has to be prior to 1980. So I'm guessing somewhere in the mid-1970's.

Doc Sandoz speculates

It was before 1977 because by then the quonset hut was used to store and strip antique furniture and the junked cars were gone. This must have been taken before Al Bakke converted Bakke Motors to Al's Sales. My guess is this photo is from about 1970.

Bottom line, we may not be big fans of change as we get older. But, clearly, some change is good.