Glacier II

 With my back up camera in hand I was happily able to continue shooting with my new lenses. I gave Kristi my old Canon P&S, which still takes really good landscapes.  I wouldn't have been totally out of commision, if I hadn't had a back up.  We stayed outside the park the night before, and we were both up early to get going.  Entering the Many Glaiers section of the park we were treated to the rising moon over Lake Sherburne.  I chose an infrared filter when processing this image to amplify the contrast of the moon on the bright blue sky behind.   


 We didn't get too much farther before the moon repositioned itself just over this tree in the valley with wild flowers.   It doesn't get much better than this, we pulled over immediately and got the shot.  

Just when I was rapping up, one of the cool busses that operate through out both Waterton and Glacier National Parks drove by.  They are old Ford busses that were originally built for the park, but recently resored by Ford Motor Company. They retrofitted them to run a more emission friendly propane.   Each passenger has thier own door, and the roof canopy rolls back to give passengers unobstucted views. 

Next up was Swiftcurrent Lake.  We arrived just in time for the first ferry to break the glassy water of the lake. I waited until I thought the ferry was out of view and the waves calmed down a bit to get this reflection shot. There was a nice water fall from off the dam that we hiked a short distance to get to.  There were bear and mountain lion sightings posted all around.  Our awareness was heightened in fear of discovering surprise wildlife.

Glacier was having a heat spell at the time, and was suffering from a high pressure system, so clouds were rare.  We wanted to hike around Swiftcurrent Lake and to some other lakes close by, so drove to the trailhead just up the road. Big horn sheep were rumored to be seen in the area, and we were on the look-out.  The dogs had to stay in the van, but before we left, we sprayed them down with the water spigot there in the parking lot.  We hiked along the chain of lakes and further up the creek.  With all the rapid run-off  the ground was squishy, and some drifts still lingered.  We decided to hike up another spur to get more photos of waterfalls, but soon came to a rushing creek with a washed out bridge. We had to retrace our steps and return the way we came.

Just before we hit Swiftcurrent Lake there was a rustling in the bushes.  I could hear people up the slope, and figured it was them. Then pow, before I could even raise my camera a big horn sheep crossed the trail, and disappeared into the thicket.  The people off the trail and up the hill were trying to get a shot of them, but failed too.  I was left with nothing but a blurred memory of a blond rump.  The last half mile we crossed Swiftcurrent creek and I grabbed a couple of photos of the creek and mountains. They were a bit unamazing, but with a little photoshop prowess, made for a nice couple of black & white infrared photos.