Nikon 24-120 f/4

Glacier National Park

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After Yellowstone and Grand Teton with friends, Ting and I drove north to Whitefish to tone down the camping aspect a notch, enjoy some time in a town (with showers), dining, shopping, and exploring. And, more importantly, making a day trip to Glacier National Park. It was a bit of a gamble, as we only had a day to spend in the park, but we decided to rise early to ensure minimal crowds. We had planned a couple of hikes, but despite the initially cloudy, rainy weather, lots were completely full even at 7am. We soldiered on through the clouds up the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass - Ting cringing with acrophobia - and managed to find literally the last parking spot at the Pass’s visitor center. Although our intended hike, to the Hidden Lake Overlook, was closed due to bear activity, we had the opportunity to hike the Highline Trail to Haystack Butte. I can’t say we were disappointed - Ting was once again apprehensive of the exposed cliff-edge hiking, but we were rewarded with breathtaking views as the morning sun partially cleared the clouds.

Tetons Deconstructed

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The Tetons and the surrounding area was so spectacular, they required a second look. True in both the sense that we made two day trips there to ensure good conditions and in that I decided to shoot frames specifically focused on the incredible light and textures of the mountains alongside those highlighting the near-fall colors of my previous post.

Grand Teton National Park

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It seems unfair that Grand Teton National Park is a stone’s throw from Yellowstone. Two of the most beautiful national parks in America in such close proximity - but we took full advantage, traveling there not once but twice. Of course, the first time we made the day trip down to the Tetons, the smoke was so bad, we literally couldn’t see the mountains. Still, that made the second trip all the more spectacular, as anticipation had built, and our desire to see the range and their surroundings was strong.

Yellowstone

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Ting, our friends Chip and Miranda, and I all traveled to Yellowstone National Park for a week. We camped at Grant Village Campground, visiting West Thumb, Old Faithful, and the Grand Prismatic Spring, while casually exploring random other areas of the park. The weather was fantastic aside from some smoke, and the calls of the elk at night and close wildlife encounters will probably enter my dreams for quite a while. The bear you see below was captured at long distance; we saw him bare minutes after commenting that we hadn’t seen any grizzlies; almost immediately after, we saw folks stopped along the side of the road, looking into a meadow. We pulled over, and I grabbed the shot. I wish dearly I had a lens longer than 200mm…

Deception Pass

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When we picked up our teardrop camper, we decided that it only made sense as a purchase if we committed to using it nearly year-’round. To that end, here we are, on Halloween weekend, enjoying crisp fall beauty at one of Washington’s best State Parks, Deception Pass.