peaks

The drive along the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass in Glacier National Park (USA) is spectacular.  The pass itself is the highest point in the park reachable by car at 6646 ft. (2025m).  The following photos are from a hike to Hidden Lake. 

Clements Mountain (8760 ft / 2670 m) along the trail is majestic.

 

In late August of 2011, there was still snow on the path.

Mountain goats (see 2 above) and bighorn sheep can be seen along this path.  In fact, we were just a few feet away from mountain goats at one point.

Along the path...The sky is an ever changing panoply of blue and white and gray.

mountain goat

stunning!  Reynolds Mountain (9125 ft / 2781 m) and Hidden Lake


LINKS:
Clements Mountain 
Reynolds Mountain 
Logan Pass National Park Service
photo of Logan Pass Visitor Center
2 minute video of Hidden Lake and Highline trails

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is "P." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun! 


photos by me  © 2013   all rights reserved

signs

I've come across in my travels...

Lots of bears--both black and grizzly--roam the Canadian wilderness in Jasper and Banff National Parks.  This sign is on a large trash bin.

sign in Castries Market in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.  I wrote about this market HERE. Of note is that this market made National Geographic's "World's Best Top Ten Food Markets" list at #3!

more Castries Market

This bear sign is in Glacier National Park in the US.  I saw 13 bears on my last trip here, some of them fairly close.

 

I'm including this just because I like the photo and this path.  This walking/bike trail is 75 miles long and goes through 5 counties and 11 cities/towns.  There are a number of connector trails and more are planned.  It's not far away from where I live.The slippery bridges have now been paved over and so are much safer.

parking lot at the post office/gift shop in the tiny town of Hell in Grand Cayman


LINKS:
past post on signs 
past post on the bike trail
Little Miami Scenic Trail
Loveland Bike Trail
National Geographic Top Ten Food Markets 

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is "S." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun! 



photos by me © 2010, 2011, 2013   all rights reserved

vacation vignettes

vignette:  a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression ...


celebrating the quieter, more contemplative moments of vacation...

The iconic Pitons are viewed through the trees as we climb the hill (by car) to snorkel at beautiful Anse Chastenet in St. Lucia.

Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Lake Tahoe, California, USA

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

 Grand Cayman, Caribbean


LINKS:
Anse Chastanet 
many photos of Pyramid Lake
facts about Lake Tahoe (2nd deepest lake in the US, 10th in the world)
Glacier National Park 
Glacier National Park webcams

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is "V."  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!
 


 


photos by me © 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013  all rights reserved

journeys

I love to explore new places, to immerse myself in the beauty of this wonderous Earth.  Today I share with you a few photos of favorite places to which I've journeyed.  

Ophir Pass, Colorado, 11789'

Ophir Pass is near Telluride in Southeastern Colorado.  The road is dirt, narrow, rocky, and often with steep drop offs.  The view is magnificent!  The path climbs out of aspen groves littered with wildflowers, and ascends into fields of gray, green, and maroon talas.  I was there in late September of 2007 and 2 days later the pass was closed due to snow.  See the San Miguel Mountains in the distance?  To get to Ophir Pass, we took US Highway 550 North from Durango.  Between Silverton and Ouray 550 is known as the "Million Dollar Highway."  The scenery is absolutely breathtaking!

Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, Montana

The sweeping vistas in the mountains are so majestic!  Beauty abounds in the smaller things as well--colorful rocks, wild animals, gorgeous flowers.  Breathe the air and let joy fill your spirit! 

Sint Maarten, Netherland Antilles

Oh how I do love St. Maarten!  The beaches are gorgeous.  Some are small; some are long.  Some are crowded and busy; some are secluded and serene.  There's always something to explore here...and time to let your soul simply be alive.  

LINKS:

description of Ophir Pass drive

Hidden Lake trail 
St. Maarten beaches 


LINKS to my past posts:

Glacier National Park:

escape  one of a view along Ophir Pass; most are of Grinnell Glacier
Majesty  Hidden Lake near Logan Pass
along the Hidden Lake Treail with some fun questions asked of Park Rangers 
Glacier Skies  Hidden Lake Trail

St. Maarten:

Cupecoy (one of my favorite photos)

Sail Away  Cupecoy beach with a poem by John Masefield
maps + a couple photos
sunset and sunset (Cupecoy)
Baie Longue  
Pointe de Bluff 

I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock, as we work our way through the alphabet.  Please do go visit the other students, for you never know what gems you may find--humor, poignancy, information, visions of far away places, stuff you've never even dreamed of!  Check it out HERE.  You may even wish to join in yourself!  This week our letter is "J."


photos by me © 2007 and 2008  all rights reserved

derriere

Lost and lonely, this bighorn sheep was wandering the parking lot at Logan's Pass in Glacier National Park.  Finally, he found the edge and is peering over.  He seems to be scanning the view for something familiar.  

Do you ever feel like you've lost your way--even momentarily?

I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock!  See others' completed homework assignments HERE. Come join in the fun!  This week our letter is "D."

photos by me © 2008    all rights reserved

jagged

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

Lake McDonald

a sculpture in Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Cincinnati, USA

 a "drive by shooting" In January 2011,  probably in Kentucky

LINKS:
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park

Laocoon sculpture by Alexander Liberman (welded steel, 1982)

Glacier National Park

I have Jovially Journaled a Jaunty Jumble of Jagged Js!  Just for Ms Jenny's class on the letter J.  Come on over and visit some more Js.  You will have a Jolly good time!  HERE

I'm joining up with SkyWatch Friday as well.  hosted by Wren, fishing guy, Sylvia, Klaus, and Sandy.  Come join in this awesome meme, and see skies from all over the world. HERE 

photos by me © 2008-2011

best wishes for a wonderful New Year!

Glacier National Park

A traveler am I and a navigator, and every day I discover a new region within my soul.
~ Kahlil Gibran


photo by me © 2011

Fog

fog high in the mountains of Glacier National Park

enveloping fog

secreting the world away

a lone tree remains

Here we are in the midst of another round of a favorite meme, Alphabe-Thursday!  Come and join in the fun!  You will be charmed and perhaps even enlightened!   See more entries HERE.  This week our letter is "F."

photo by me © 2008                                                                                                            

haiku by me © 2011

Bears!

While hiking in Glacier National Park in Montana this August, we saw these signs posted on most trails.  Do you see the small print?  "There is no guarantee of your safety while hiking or camping in bear country."  YIKES!

Did we see bears?  YES!  But thankfully not on trails near us.  Bears are very busy in the Summer eating and eating and eating in preparation for Winter.  Can you imagine how much vegetation a 300 pound bear must eat a day?  
The closest we came to a bear was a juvenile black bear on the side of the road.  Of course cars were stopped and cameras were clicking.  A park ranger, with help from bystanders, clapped hands and threw rocks to scare it away.

mother black bear with 2 cubs

INFORMATION:

◄ Black bears (Ursus americanus) are North America's most common bear, typically living in forests. Despite their name, black bears can even be brown, cinnamon, or blonde.

◄ Being opportunistic eaters, their diet consists mostly of grasses, roots, berries, nuts,and insects. They will also eat fish and small mammals.

◄ Black bears historically ranged over most of the forested regions of North America, including all Canadian provinces, Alaska, all states in the contiguous United States, and significant portions of northern Mexico.  They are found only in heavily forested areas in the US now.  In Canada, black bears still inhabit most of their historic range except for the intensively farmed areas of the central plains.  In Mexico, there are only a few remnants.  It is estimated that there are about 600,000 black bears in North America.

 mother black bear

You will want to know if we saw grizzlies, and we did!  We saw 13 bears in all--most were very far away.  We saw a mother black bear and her 3 cubs about 70-100 yards away.  (photos above)  They were happily munching away on plants.  Black bears are easily scared away.  But don't be aggressive towards a grizzly!  When we were hiking in bear country we had to make nose almost continuously even when other people were not that far away.  No bears want to attack humans; you must let them know of your presence so they can move away.  And always carry bear (pepper) spray when in bear country!*

 eating

LINKS:

black bear facts   
North American Bear Center Den Cam  (Thanks,Sarah!)

  cub pausing while eating

I'm participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Come and join in the fun!  You will be charmed and even enlightened in a delightful way!  See more entries HERE. This week our letter is "Y."  Y is for yellow--as in yellow sign!  and YIKES!

There are better photos of bears on the internet, but these are mine! 

photos by me © 2011 
* I'm adding more information, because I can see from the comments that some people might actually be out in bear country.  First of all, I'd say educate yourself thoroughly.  Black bears and grizzlies behave differently when encountering humans.  There are lists (which I am not recounting here) of what one should do if one encounters a bear.  Keep the bears away in the first place!  Carry bear spray and know how to use it!  MAKE NOISE!!!  not those little bells that people attach to themselves.  Clap hands.  Call out "Hey Ho!" or "Hear Bear!"  LOUDLY!  Know that if you are going around a corner, or up hill, the bears may not have heard or smelled you.  They don't want to encounter you either!  Don't assume that because there are others not far away even on a well-traveled path, that the bears are staying away.  There are reports to the contrary.  Stay safe!  Educate yourself!  

October 10:  linking up to Erika's It's a Wrap Party on Artful Rising.  Come on over and link up your favorite post from last week.

Grinnell Glacier Lake

destination of a hike in Glacier National Park (Montana) in August this year--This is upper Grinnell Lake below Grinnell Glacier and Salamander Glacier.

"...a man who keeps company with glaciers comes to feel tolerably insignificant by and by."

~Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad 

Grinnell Trail is 7.6 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 1600 feet.  First we took a boat across Swift Current Lake, hiked a short distance to Lake Josephine and took a boat across that lake.  This trail had just opened a couple days before our hike, having been closed due to bear activity.  (grizzlies!) 

This is an amazing hike!  Stunning are the vistas of the surrounding mountains and alpine lakes.  Yellow, pink, violet, and creamy white wildflowers abound against the iron-and-chloride-rich red, green, and buff-colored rocks.  Milky turquoise lower Grinnell Lake nestles startlingly into the surrounding mountains below cascading waterfalls.  Bears, mountain goats, and big horned sheep graze contentedly.

 

Grinnell was at its largest in1850 at the end of the Little Ice Age, measuring 710 acres.  Today it's probably around 400 acres or less.

Around the world, a few glaciers are increasing in size, but most are decreasing.  This is an indication of climate change.   A number of organizations monitor glaciers using photography (on the ground and aerial), remote sensing, and on-glacier surveying. 

LINKS:
◄Glacier National Park information

◄Shawn Coggins' site (information and photos)  including USGS photos from 1938 - 2006 showing the melting of Grinnell Glacier.  Predictions say that most of the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone by 2030.

I'm participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Come and join in the fun!  You will be charmed and even enlightened in a delightful way!  See more entries HERE. This week our letter is "W."  W is for WATER!




photo by me © 2011 

Mist

soft blanket of mist

clothing the mountains in dreams

mysterious veil

This photo was taken in Glacier National Park, USA, one of the most gorgeous, sublime places on Earth.

LINKS (previous Glacier posts): 
Majesty  Hidden Lake near Logan Pass  
along the Hidden Lake Trail
Glacier Skies Hidden Lake Trail
escape includes a couple photos of Grinnell Glacier up close as well as links to Glacier National Park and glacier information.

I'm participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Come and join in the fun!  You will be charmed and even enlightened in a delightful way!  See more entries HERE.  This week our letter is "M."

photo by me © 2008 and poem by me © 2011

Glacier Mountains: SkyWatch Friday

The beauty and majesty of Glacier National Park, Montana, USA  

100 years ago on May 10, 1910, Glacier became the United State's 10th national park.  Located in the Northern Rocky Mountains, native Americans called Glacier the "backbone of the world."  Encompassing more than a million acres, it is home to a great diversity of animals and plants.  In 1932, Glacier with Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park, became designated as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.  Together, in 1995, they were recognized as a World Heritage Site.
                                
LINK to Glacier National Park

This post is for SkyWatch Friday hosted by Wren, fishing guy, Sylvia, Klaus, and Sandy.Come join us in this awesome meme, link up, and meet folks from all over the globe. 


photos by me © 2008

Earth Day 2010

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

LINKS to my past posts on Glacier:

Glacier Skies

Majesty  
(includes links to Hidden Trail information and Ken Burns' PBS series) 
Along the Hidden Lake Trail

Escape

(several of my photos, as well as links to Glacier National Park and information about glaciers.  See what a glacier looks like close up--fascinating!)
photos by me © 2010