Vacation Pics - Glacier NP Day 1 (56k warning)

First of all I would like to say thanks to all of you who provided some tips and advice in a previous thread I started on Glacier and the Tetons. The wife and I both enjoyed out trip, although we were a little dissapointed with Glacier. Not sure what it was we were expecting from the park, but neither of us seemed to find it. The weather was pretty nice, for anything other than photography. Very bright, contrasty, mostly cloudless skys, and LOTS of haze from all the wildfires in the area made photography a challenge. Despite the challenges, I did manage to come away with some pics that I'm very happy with with.

This first photo was taken in the area of Wild Goose Island.

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This is one of the many waterfalls we saw, but I don't remember the name.

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A close up section of a waterfall.

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Some wildflowers in bloom in an area of the park that had recently burned. I used the Orton Imagery technique on this one.

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A phone booth in the little town of Polebridge on the west side of the park. I highly recommend a trip to this town if you're in the area. The road to it is unpaved, and VERY rough, but well worth the effort to get there. The bakery at the Polebridge Mercantile is worth the trip alone.

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The Mercantile.

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A sign on the front of the Northern Lights Saloon in Polebridge.

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Behind the Saloon is a stage for entertainment. This was below the sound booth.

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One of the many local dogs that run free in Polebridge.

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Beyond Polebridge is another entrance back into the park. The roads in this area of the park are maintained in a "primative" condition. Very narrow, and very rough. Lots of sections are only wide enough for 1 vehicle. One road leads to Bowman Lake. I figured with roads like this, and being this far away from the main areas of the park, we would be all alone back here. Boy was I wrong!! The parking lot was full when we got there. Still a nice view, and worth the effort to get there. This is Bowman Lake.

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On the way back from Bowman Lake, we spotted this guy eating berries along the road.

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A little cabin along the road right outside of Polebridge.

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This is Sunrift Gorge along the Going To The Sun Road.

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This is Avalanche Creek just before sunset, along the Sun Raod.

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wow,let me be the first to say,you take awesome landscape pictures,very good all around,the best thing is ,whats my favorite?,all of them,they really are great gives a person a sense of being right there with you,thanks for sharing these wonderful holiday shots,you must of had a great time.last comment,(wow,wow)

Beautiful shots! :D I hope I make it out to Glacier someday myself. Thanks for sharing.

Aaron

Wow! Those are amazing shots :eek: Your vacation looked very relaxing.

Dave

AWESOME captures here Michael !!!! Glad to hear you and the wife had a good time and that you were able to get your lens back in time for the trip! I don't think I could pick a favorite out of these!

I hope I can return from my trip east with some nice shots - we leave the 19th

You say you didn't find what you were expecting from the park, and I say you came away with a lot more than you expected!!! Awesome shots, all of them. Fantastic job. You have quite a few frameable and sellable prints here!!!

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment Polarbear, Aaron, Dave, Ben & Ray.

I have only gotten through about the first 2 1/2 days of the trip with my editing. Hopefully I can post some more in the next couple of days.

Wow, I am very jealous right now! Can't wait to see the rest!

Great shots, Michael! And what great luck to see a bear! I love that Bowman Lake shot, but they are all very good.

Paul

Thanks Scott and Paul!

Paul, we saw black bears almost every day while at Glacier. This one was the first, and he was right next to the road when I first saw him in the bushes. Another foot or two over, and I would have hit him!

We didn't see any grizzly's tho, much to my wifes relief!

Michael, great images. I particularly like the ones of the waterfalls!!

Cheers,

WesternGuy