I stopped at a roadside parking area and joined fellow travelers waiting for the sun to set behind the mountains. We discussed our travels, the majesty and beauty of the mountains, and the ever present wild fires that summer. There had been fires and fire danger warnings in every state I had traveled, starting in Michigan. Everywhere I went, I was surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, but that beauty was tempered by the ever present smoke and danger of wild fires, some naturally occurring, but more often a result of human carelessness.
I left Yellowstone and headed out on a narrow, winding road that seemed to climb forever. I drove on and on, stopping several times to admire the view, until I reached a small campground that seemed to float among the clouds on top of the world.
My campsite was near a beautiful alpine lake and like all campsites it came with grizzly bear warnings. I sat on a boulder near the lake watching the evening sky change the tall grass to golden amber, as a young family hiked up a hillside trail for a weekend backpacking trip.
Being the anti-social person that I am, when I see a crowd. I go the opposite direction. That was my game plan for visiting Yellowstone National Park, last September, and it served me well on a memorable hike. Even in the fall, Yellowstone is crowded, so instead of visiting the most common sites, I took a nature hike along a long boardwalk, in a quiet area of the park. I had the walk to myself, with the exception of a curious badger who lived next to the trail.
It has been nearly three months since I last updated my blog. The last time I wrote I was trapped in a campground in Montana, surrounded by curious cows. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I escaped the cows. Since then, there have been a lot of changes in my life, including a move to Austin, Texas and a new grandson! Before I write about my move and the new direction I plan to go with my blog, let me bring you up to date on my travels.
After leaving the cow camp, I headed west to Glacier National Park. When I left Michigan I had a lot of Canadian coins with me and since there was zero chance of spending them in Texas, I decided to drive north through the park, cross into Canada and do a little shopping. Along the way the skies, full of smoke from wildfires in Idaho, produced some eerie and surprisingly beautiful views.
Now, my grandfather was a farmer; along with other animals, he raised cattle. So, I'm familiar with cattle and normally I wouldn't feel compelled to write about them. Today though, I had a unique bovine experience. I had just set up my camp next to a lovely lake in the Nelson Reservoir Recreation Area, in Montana. I was admiring the view when suddenly the campground was invaded by cattle. They seemed to be in high spirits as though out on an adventure. (I was going to say they were on a "field" trip, but I think that's something they do every day.) The most amazing sight was watching them stand patiently in line at the outhouse. A fine example of "cowoperation".
One of the features I really like about Van is that when the top is up, I can unzip the windows and screens, and shoot pictures from inside, using Van as my mobile photography blind. It's especially helpful when I'm in camp and an animal wanders by. If I went outside to shoot, usually the animal runs off. When I'm inside, I'm protected by the gift of temporary invisibility.
Other times, the extra height I get from shooting inside Van, gives me a better angle, allowing me to remove unwanted clutter from the scene, as I did while shooting these pictures from my campsite at Badlands National Monument.
I've lived most of my life in Michigan and because my mother's family lives in the Upper Peninsula, a large percentage of my life has been in the U.P. Most of my visits included camping and much of that camping was along Lake Superior and at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Until recently, I thought I'd seen just about all there was to see at the park, but now I know, I'd seen nothing.
I had never seen the lakeshore from the water. This trip I did what I should have done on my first visit---take a cruise. The two and a half hour sunset trip showed me examples of the awe inspiring beauty and power which made Pictured Rocks worthy of its National Park status .
I stopped at a roadside parking area and joined fellow travelers waiting for the sun to set behind the mountains. We discussed our travels, the majesty and beauty of the mountains, and the ever present wild fires that summer. There had been fires and fire danger warnings in every state I had traveled, starting in Michigan. Everywhere I went, I was surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, but that beauty was tempered by the ever present smoke and danger of wild fires, some naturally occurring, but more often a result of human carelessness.
