dan vs fat: Rest Day: Glacier National Park

You may have noticed that yesterday the title included the words "rest day" and "Logan Pass" - an ostensible contradiction in terms. Today would *actually* be a rest day. No alpine summits (by bicycle anyway)... No thunderstorm-terrorized hike/runs. Just some shorter hikes and (hopefully) good photography.

One dent in the "good photography" hopes was failing to get up for sunrise (which is unspeakably early that far north in mid-July). I actually did wake up for it, but it was extremely windy, so I ~~quickly~~ groggily deduced that any photograph including a lake would provide no reflection... and any photograph including a flower (or for that matter, a whole meadow of them) would prove quite difficult on account of movement. Also, from the tent... there didn't seem to be much color in the sky... (perhaps because it was, in fact, before sunrise).

And with the prevailing thought of "meh *grumble grumble* probably not worth it"... I rolled over and fell back asleep.

It was probably spectacular.

Anyway, by the time we were up and rolling, the sun was high enough in the sky that dramatic landscape photographs are difficult. If you've never thought about this... almost every good wide-angle landscape photograph is within an hour or two of the sun rising or setting. Rare exceptions prove the rule. Don't believe me? Check out this site: http://www.marcadamus.com/ ... soak in some of the amazing photography, and then let me know how many seem like they were taken in the mid afternoon.

Since a sweeping vista was no longer a viable photographic option, we decided the theme for the day would be moving water... since there still smaller things to focus on, different patters, and the water can render an otherwise static photograph relatively dynamic.

So we explored a bit, went to a few spots we had been before (Lunch Creek, Siyeh Bend) and also spent some time on a short hike to Red Rock Falls. While not spectacular or necessarily majestic like other places in the Park, Red Rock Falls were still pretty cool. Here are a couple shots I made:

above Red Rocks Falls

the edge of Red Rock Falls

Of course, we also had lunch at the Park Cafe... and I successfully made it 3 for 3 - I was batting .1000 for my "pieces of pie consumed to days in the park" average. Blueberry this time.

mmmmmmm... pie.

Since the above photos don't really do Glacier National Park justice... I thought I'd post a few more of my favorite photographs from the Park. It really is the greatest place on Earth.

(All photos are from 2006, 2008, or 2012... I have no idea what happened in 2010)