Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier National Parks2012-02-06T11:12:31ZTom Schindlertas246@wpi.eduCopyright 2012, Tom SchindlerSPHPBLOGGreat Vacation.. gotta come back. It is nearly impossible to represent an entire trips worth of sights in just a few pictures, i have made my best attempt here. As the title states.. this has been an incredible trip... i have had an incredible time-- too many sights and scenes have gone un-mentioned in this journal. This will be my last entry, i have many more pictures, and many more stories to tell. If you are intrigued at all by any of the postings here, i'm sure there is a story behind them-- feel free to ask. Without further adieu....
I'll start with a photo i took last night... we are situated in a room which faces the ski mountain. I decided that a star shot over the mountain would look pretty cool.. it did:
This morning we decided not to set an alarm... incredibly nice.. we woke up around 7:30 am... and were ready to head out the door shortly after that. We decided that a trip to Idaho was in order for the day, and since Idaho (or the section we saw) was incredibly boring... i have but one picture to show:
After leaving Idaho, where we *almost* purchased a potato but decided we had no use for it, the car was in need of fuel... i think that Wyoming is the only state you will see a forklift at the gas pump:
After fueling, we headed towards Teton Village and up into the park. The road from Teton Village to the park is an incredibly narrow... the trees looked like birch trees, but i think they were actually aspen trees. Here is a pic of the trees with the mountains in the backgrond:
Once fully into Grand Teton National Park, we stopped at an overlook which had an incredibly view of the mountains... I set up my tripod and took a 360 degree panorama of the mountains and plains. there is a bit of overlapping/ghosting in the panorama, but i think it came out really nice:
In case you don't have quicktime, here is an image of it:
We then headed over towards Jenny Lake... one of the major lakes in the park. We tried to park in the regular parking lot, but apparently Jenny is popular, and the parking lot was full... We drove around towards the boat launch, parked there and hiked back towards the main lake area.
On our way towards the boat launch, we saw a small deer... normally this wouldn't be a huge occurance around here, except for the fact that he was hopping around... i managed to get a nice picture of his "hopping":
The lake is a cool lake, views of the mountains, teamed with a boat shuttle service for hikers to bring them to the trailheads on the other side of the lake make it a very interesting combination of hikers and tourists.. I stopped along hte side of the lake to take another cool panorama of the views there.. I've realized now that i'm doing a lot of panoramas, i guess this is a testimant to the fact that there are a lot of incredible views out here that cannot be captured with one photo...
And again-- i include the JPG just in case you don't have quicktime...
I decided that i'd include another photo of the mountains that i took today, just because i really like the photo...
and another...
We continued on through the Tetons, and on our way back, we saw another Moose... this time i was able to get a good shot of it:
We are heading Back home tomorrow, our flight goes though Dallas... I guess we'll be home sometime by late evening... Thanks for reading ya'll... i may or may not have one more post with our trip home's images...
--Tom
]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050806-2211542005-08-07T00:00:00Z2005-08-07T00:00:00ZI looked outside my window, and what do you think I saw... Started the day early in West Yellowstone, MT. We headed into Yellowstone and sought out some random wildlife. Within 5 minutes of entering the park we had seen a bald eagle sitting up in the tree:
We then headed over towards the "grand canyon of Yellowstone" to view some of the scenery around there. Some incredible views ensued. Of the many lookout points, I was able to take a few great panoramas. I've been doing this journal as an attempt to make everyone "feel" like they are on the trip with us. Well... I’m kicking it up a notch here... If you have QuickTime installed www.quicktime.com -- then you can click the link below, then use your mouse to click and drag your way around the scenery... use the shift key to zoom in, the control key to zoom out...
Around the same time we were viewing the lookout points near the "grand canyon of Yellowstone", we encountered a rather large herd of buffaloes, just walking down the street and across a bridge. It was rather hilarious seeing the way people react to these large animals, and how bold some people are with how close they get to them... Keep in mind that these huge animals can run at 45 mph... Well we took a few (OK a lot) of pictures... here are a few of the best:
They caused a "buffalo jam":
A few other random pictures:
We came upon this guy was using an incredible lens to take close up pictures of the buffalo... It's the sigma 300-800mm ultra zoom lens... retails for about $6200... He allowed me to put my camera body on his lens and take a few shots... amazing how close you can get to animals with that thing!
We continued on towards the Grand Teton National park, leaving Yellowstone once and for all. We were back in the land of the giant mountains again. I decided to take another few panoramas... See the links below:
Well today we are headed back into Teton National Park... I guess we are looking to do some scenery viewing as well as exploration of some of the trails in the area... Tomorrow we fly home through Dallas... Look for an update tonight of today's findings!
]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050806-0809552005-08-06T00:00:00Z2005-08-06T00:00:00ZYellowstone... We had been staying at the Kelly Inn in West Yellowstone, MT:
We headed into yellowstone to look at some of the geological activity in the area... some of the geysers and steam vents are pretty amazing:
While looking at this kind of activity, there is a lot of other random cool things you see. Now normally i don't like spiders or spider webs, but my dad saw this one and it caught my eye... It is a spider web which has the morning dew outlining the web:
We continued north on the park loop road toward Mammoth Hot Springs. We took a short walk on the boardwalks at this place, and some of the mineral deposits from the bubbling water made the rocks brilliantly white and red...
We continued east on the park loop road past Mammoth, and took a drive on a short one way dirt cut off road... prime time for spotting wildlife. We saw only one animal on the road here, and it happened to be a baby bear... He was running across the rolling hills and up towards the trees. I hopped out of the car and got a few photos of him from a distance before he made it to the tree line:
The park loop road is closed because of a rock slide in that direction, so we were forced to turn around and head back the way we came. But that’s not to say we didn't see good scenery on the way!
After numerous wildlife jams on the road on the way back, we had the scary moment of the day.... A few cars had stopped in the road ahead of us, so we naturally assumed there was an animal in the woods. As we approached we saw a large SUV that had gone straight off the side of the road, over some boulders, and down a 20-30 foot embankment straight on into a tree. We stopped the car; i called 911 and got the emergency crews on their way.
I then headed down the steep hill to the car. The tree they hit was where the engine should have been... the bark was touching the broken windshield. The lady inside was wedged in between the door and the steering wheel, and the guy who was in the passenger seat was stuck between the dash board and the seat. There was also a kid who had made it out and up to the road. Myself and another guy wrenched the driver door open to give this lady some room to breathe, and then the guy was complaining he was wedged in there too tight, so we ended up breaking the passenger seat to give him room to move... very scary moment, but the emergency crews arrived in no time flat, and we let them take over the operation.
Scary.
We continued on and went to the most beautiful place i have been in Yellowstone-- Midway Crater... I can't really explain it, so here is a panorama:
and another shot
It was getting late by this time, so we stopped by Old Faithful, and watched it go off again. Then headed back to our hotel. We saw a nice young bald eagle in the nest too!
After getting back, we grabbed some pizza and called it a night.
Headed to the Tetons today, staying in Jackson Hole. WY tonight.]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050805-0745242005-08-05T00:00:00Z2005-08-05T00:00:00ZTravel Day...Wednesday August 3rd..
We had stayed in East Glacier, MT - at the Glacier Park Lodge, also known as the Big Tree Lodge.
They even had on of those elusive white bearded montain goats!
We hopped in the car and headed southward towards southern Montana and Yellowstone. Being on the east side of the mountains, it was very interesting terrain - Lots of rolling hills, farms and other homesteads on the side of the roads... Some very beautiful pictures with the mountains rising up in the background, it would have been nicer if it was a but sunnier, but it was beautiful anyways. We were more or less driving in the country Lewis and Clark were in when they were exploring.. it was intimidating in a car!
These pics were taked while driving at about 65mph on a 2 lane road.
It was a long drive, we guess about 500 miles to get from Glacier to West Yellowstone, so there was a lot of this:
Once we arrived in Yellowstone, we headed out to find some food. We walked around the area for a bit, found a nice place called "bullwinkles". Good food! After that we went to watch the IMAX movie about yellowstone, but they had a 2 movie special going on, so we watched one about Lewis and Clark as well. We ended up liking the Lewis and Clark one better!
We then headed into the park to look for wildlife. We ended up seeing a few mule deer and a bunch of elk:
Elk:
Deer:
We then saw some more of the geological activity in the park as seen by this bubbling hot spring:
And a beautiful sunset:
I took some more nighttime pics, but there was too much ambient light for any long exposures:
]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050804-0718002005-08-04T00:00:00Z2005-08-04T00:00:00ZThe Bear Went over the Mountain... We started off bright and early to see the sunrise... i got up, went out and saw the pretty redish glow on the mountains, then went back to sleep for a bit. Once we finally got moving we decided to go to Canada for part of the day. We headed up into the vast wilderness of animals and people who speak funny. After making it through customs we spotted a moose right off the bat... but due to our car speeding to a hault it ran off.
We then headed up to see a small town on the Canadian side of Glacier National Park. They had a nice hotel there, so we walked around the town for a while. We then headed up a long windy road to Cameron Lake, which is on the US/Canadian border. On the way, we spotted a bear on the side of the road... Incredibly cute, he was just hanging out eating berries:
We then headed back in the the US. We are at a hotel called Glacier Natonal Park Lodge... which is in East Glacier, Montana. This place is downright incredible... they have 40 wood columns holding up the main lobby.. but these "columns" are full trees with bark and all... each about 3-4 feet in diameter, and about 40-50 feet long... amazing!
We are here for the night, then headed down towards West Yellowstone tomorow...
More pics later]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050802-2043312005-08-03T00:00:00Z2005-08-03T00:00:00ZGlacier National Park... We started the day to this:
From there, we went north from Kalispell, MT, towards Glacier National Park.
Once we entered the park area, we began traversing the world famous "going to the sun highway"... it's about 50 miles long, and traverses the mountains.
A few random pics i took on the road:
At its highest point (Logan pass), the road passes above 6400 feet, which is a bit higher than the top of Mount Washington in New Hamphire.
We ended up stopping here for a hike to Hidden Lake. This short hike is more or less a highway of people going up and down, but it is still enjoyable anyways.. About halfway up we started seeing a few Big Horned sheep... and then we saw our first white bearded mountain goat. Walking further we came within a few feet of them a bunch of them. They are very bold around humans, yet very cautious at the same time. It was amazing to see how this huge animal can be so light and nimble on its feet.
And for all of you out there who want the "cute" factor in this entry...
After the hike we continued along hte going to the sun highway, stopping at the many lookout points along the way. This road is incredibly narrow.. at points the cliffs on the wall overhung the road and made it difficult for taller vehicles to get through. Due to the hairpin turns and switchbacks some larger vehicles are not alowed. The road is closed de to snow and avalanches October through June.
We continued on down the highway and ended up at Many Glaciers hotel. This is a historic hotel that was built in the early 1900's. This hotel is also closed during the winter. It is situated right along a small lake, with incredible views of the mountains all around.
This is a panorama i took standing on our porch...
After it started to get dark out the Montana "big sky" really showed through... an incedible amount of stars and shooting stars.. I took a few pictures of it while sitting on our porch overlooking the lake:
We crossed the continental divide multiple times, only one of which i was fast enough to get my camera out for as we buzzed by doing 80...
We then stopped by my mom's cousin's house, they live in Stevensenville, MT... Chatted with them for a few hours, lived the "montana lifestyle" hanging out on the porch with the shaggy dog... Here is a picture of that (sorry i'm not in it.. i'm taking the shot)
And.. i had a request for a picture of my mom hugging a bear-- so i have fulfulled said request:
We are heading into Glacier National Park today.. Staying at a historical hotel called Many Glaciers Hotel in the heart of the park... I may not have internet access (heck i may not even have power)... so i'll be updating when i get back to civilization...
]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050801-0718302005-08-01T00:00:00Z2005-08-01T00:00:00ZOn the road again... Back to the road, we are about 45 miles east of Missoula, MT
Updates later]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050731-0945202005-07-31T00:00:00Z2005-07-31T00:00:00ZFirst day in the mountains...Well our trip to the parks here started out with a bang... in the emergency room. After about an hour and a half or so of waiting, it was determined that i have an infected belly button. Beautiful. So it hurts when i move the wrong direction or press on my stomach. Oh well, they gave me some medicine for it and it seems to be going away.
While i was at the hospital, i confirmed that it was Dick Cheney who was in town, as a secret service agent walked up to the desk at the hospital to deliver something. Apparently they set up a base of operations at the local hospital wherever he goes just in case he has "the big one". While i was walking out of the "restricted area" of the hospital, i saw they had a station setup with the white house emblem on it.. it had what looked like a live feed of Cheney in some kind of vehicle. Cool!
Moving right along, we headed North up towards Tetons National Park, which is absolutely spectacular. We were spending another couple of days here later in the trip, so we kind of zipped right through, taking a few pictures along the way.
We continued North through Tetons towards Yellowstone on the John D. Rockefeller Parkway... After entering Yellowstone we took the scenic route north through the park, as we were stopping here for a couple of days later as well. We decided to make a few stops at obligatory observation points such as Old Faithful. We arrived at the parking lot, grabbed our cameras and walked over. within 15 seconds of arriving the geyser began erupting... impeccable timing!
We also began to see tons of wildlife... We passed a few deer, a large grizzly bear which was rummaging around in the middle of a field, a HUGE elk that was really close to us, and a bald eagle nest that had 2 eagles in it. Here is a picture of the Elk:
Continuing North, We went through that area that had massive fires a few years ago... as far as the eye could see was fire damage. But it was amazing how fast the area was recovering... Trees were beginning to fill in, here is a pic of some of this regrowth:
Heading to Glacier National Park, went all the way North through the park... we exited at the North Entrance of Yellowstone onto a two lane (two ways, one lane going each way) road not unlike many back home, except the speed limit was 70.... it just seemed wrong to be going that fast (only in Montana do you feel uncomfortable going as fast as the speed limit)...
We stayed in Livingston, MT last night, where there was a delightful little bar in our hotel serving $1.50 bud pints... it was just like being back in Copenhagen, yet cheaper!
Well we are heading up to Kalispell, MT tonight, which is just outside Glacier National Park.. Look for more updates later!
]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050731-0546132005-07-31T00:00:00Z2005-07-31T00:00:00ZMost Beautiful Airport... I think this is the most spectacular airport _ever_...
check this out:
Oh and we were delayed in our landing, the airport was closed, we think it was because Dick Cheney was landing... we saw his jet...
Time to head to the mountains]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050730-1155132005-07-30T00:00:00Z2005-07-30T00:00:00ZAt Dallas Fort Worth Airport.. This is the hotel we stayed at last night:
This is where we are now:
and this is where we will soon be:
Our plane just arrived.. Talk to ya'll in Wyoming.]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050730-0651182005-07-30T00:00:00Z2005-07-30T00:00:00ZSalt Grass... so... no line dancing tonight :( maybe next time i'm in texas..
We ended up getting into the hotel and hanging out for a bit.. then we took their courtesy shuttle over to the restaraunts area... our shuttle driver was a real riot.. the guy could talk about anything. I doubt he was too smart, but it was interesting listening to his stories. We talked about everything from insurance to gardening to travel to shopping and fertalizers...
We ended up going to a nice place called the Salt Grass Steakhouse.. but we found this guy on the shuttle named Robert who was a real nice guy. We invited him to join us eating since he was alone. We ended up eating some good food and talking about funny times we have had. He actually bought us a round of beers too!
Well its bedtime.. up early tomorow morning to fly to Jackson, WY.
Hasta luego!]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050729-1954572005-07-30T00:00:00Z2005-07-30T00:00:00ZAt the airport proof:
Its about 1 o'clock-- and our flight is at 2. We have half an hour or so before boarding begins.
Hopefully our plane will stay in the air (until the airport in dallas) :)
Wish us luck... more later]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050729-0958112005-07-29T00:00:00Z2005-07-29T00:00:00ZMorning of Departure Well our flight leaves Bradley International Airport at about 2pm or so, so we should be heading to the airport around Noon.
I just figured i'd get this site working before i headed to the airport to allow people to follow our journey again.
Look for entries soon!]]>http://www.tomschindler.net/west/index.php?entry=entry050729-0453052005-07-29T00:00:00Z2005-07-29T00:00:00Z
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)