National Parks again

What a week!

I just spent a week in Glacier National Park (and a few other parks along the way.) It was a week filled with fun and food and huckleberry mead. And singing. The Pocahontas soundtrack ended up being the soundtrack for the trip. Fun times.

We hiked to Iceberg Lake. Rode a shuttle to the top of Logan Pass. Hiked to Hidden Lake Overlook. Hiked to Avalanche Lake. Swam in the Snake River. Saw several moose. Saw several bears (from a great distance.) Saw a herd of bison. Saw practically ever geyser and geothermic pool in Yellowstone. We even managed a shower partway through the week.

It was quick, and there was a lot of driving and setting up and tearing down of camp, but it was awesome.

A few days prior to us leaving, a fire started at one of the main entrances to Glacier. It closed the main pass through the park. Luckily though, on the day we were planning to head southward, the pass opened up from our side to the top and we were able to take a shuttle and experience the amazing views.

We ended up cutting the trip short by one night. Which was great because it allowed us all a recuperation day before work. But someday we have to actually hike in the Tetons instead of just taking photos of them.

Speaking of which- have some photos (in no particular order):

My friends and I and South Falls, Yellowstone.

South Falls.

Morning mist on the Snake River.

Milk thistle and the Grand Teton.

Hidden Lake and Bearhat Mountain.

Great Prismatic Pool.

Tetons.

Running Eagle Falls.

Fireweed up the trail to Iceberg Lake.

Iceberg Lake.

A moose friend, just off the trail.

Crystal clear up Going to the Sun road.

Wildflowers and Clements Mountain.

The escape.

It's finally, officially Autumn! It was a great transition, on the night of the 12th, after work, my boyfriend and I left the city. Early that week, it was hot, like 90s hot. Starting on the 11th it had begun raining rather intensely. So we left. Took our long awaited trip to Glacier National Park. We left behind the recent heat and the deluge. We found refuge in the north and returned to a wonderful Colorado Fall. Here are some highlights from our trip. 

After driving out of Wales (er, Colorado) we slept in the car off the side of I25 in the middle of Wyoming. The next day we drove through the rest of Wyoming and essentially all of Montana. On Saturday we hiked around 9 miles (round trip) to Iceberg Lake. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

 Glacier National Park.

hiking to Iceberg Lake.

yes, my feet in the water with an iceberg.

seriously, a lake full of icebergs.

very fun-shaped icebergs. 

Because of the way the cliffs face, this spot hardly ever gets sun. Perhaps an hour or two in the height of summer. So the snow and ice melts very slowly and hangs around in the water. It's absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

We also hiked to St. Mary's Falls. 

St. Mary's Falls

After driving Going-To-The-Sun Road over Logan Pass, we hiked through some western cedars up Avalanche Creek to Avalanche Lake.

Avalanche Creek

Avalanche Lake

After leaving the Park, we visited Flathead Lake. A lake famous for being crystal clear even when it gets really deep. We didn't get to go out on it, but even from the shore (which was just smooth stones, no mud) we could tell that they weren't lying to us about the clearness.

Flathead Lake.

Hungry Horse Reservoir at daybreak. One of our camping sites.

We left Montana and headed south back down through Grand Teton National Park. These are mountains that I love immensely. They are striking in their shape and beauty and the fact that they spring up out of nowhere as the tallest thing for many miles.

Our last morning was a foggy one, I ended up with a really neat shot:

It was an amazing trip. I want to go back and stay in that area for months. I want to backpack and get lost for days in Glacier. Alas, we left the animals here and had to return. Oh and the whole job thing.

Next year.

This weekend was spectacular. It was a lot of driving (I personally did only a couple of hours of it), but the experience was well worth it.

We left after I got off work on Thursday. I work until 6, so we didn't leave Denver until at least 8pm. I napped a bit, assuming that I'd be driving later that night or early in the morning. But we didn't get that far. It's quite hazardous to drive past Lusk, Wyoming after dusk. Way too many deer. Like whoah. So we slept in the car on a pullout of I-25 until dawn. Then drive pretty much solid up to Canada. By the way, Wyoming, Montana and Alberta are very flat and boring.

"What is that?!"

But the fun began as we entered Waterton Lakes National Park. We saw a lovely little friend.

We camped in Canada and then headed back across the border to check out Glacier National Park. As far as shared parks go, the US got the better end of this deal. The Logan Pass road it epic and the views are indescribable.

We camped and hiked in Glacier and it was awesome. We found a hiking buddy too.

Hello there Mr. Mountain Goat.

I really dig the Tetons.

After spending ample time in Glacier, we headed southward toward Yellowstone and Tetons National Parks. We'd been to them last year, so we skipped all the tourist things at Yellowstone in order to more fully appreciate Tetons. I love the Tetons. They are amazingly pointy. That's all I can say.

Early morning mists over the Snake River.

So that's the trip. It was awesome. And now I've just moved in with Liam and I'm busy unpacking.