Big Sky Country

Well, I'm back. Just got back today from a two week vacation in Montana. This might have been my favorite trip there thus far. We went to Glacier National Park for 5 days, went to a cabin Cindi's parents rent for 3 days, and just relaxed when not busy. We hiked, fished, drove, sat around camp fires, saw lots of animals (Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Deer, Moose, Beavers, Pine Martens, Flying Squirrels, Bald Eagles, Gold Eagles, and Buffalo), experienced the weather of Summer, Fall, and Winter (not in that order and it kept jumping back and forth depending on the elevation and the day), shot well over a 1000 photos (but only half of them might be any good, and I think that number might be on the high side), and sat and looked at the stars, which were amazing! Living in San Diego you forget just how magnificent the stars are until you get out to the middle of nowhere. I shot the bulk of my pictures at Glacier and I really can't wait to go back there, hopefully early in the season when the snow melts create waterfalls everywhere and the wildflowers are in bloom.
This photo is the first time exposure of the stars I've ever taken (I took several more in different places, but it's hard to take a lot of them, since they are usually about a half hour exposure and it takes its toll on my battery pretty quick). It is right outside of our room in Glacier on Lake McDonald. It's amazing that you can still kind of see the snow on some of the mountains and the stones on the bottom of the lake. It was amazing to see where the stars seem to just create a circle from being far enough north to see the stars whirl around the North Pole. I think I might end up doing a lot of writing about my pictures from this trip, it was inspiring and that usually means that I then have a lot to say. It's nice to be home, but my mind keeps wandering over the "Going to the Sun" road, climbing high into exquisite glacially carved valleys admiring what George Bird Grinnell called "The Crown of the Continent". There will be a lot more to come, probably spread out over several months, since I don't want to overload you with Montana and Glacier...so stay tuned.