Glacier National park
A marmot through the trees. Fujifilm X-S20 | 600mm | f5.6
Wow, what an experience! My wife and I, along with her brother and sister-in-law spent 6 days in Glacier National Park over the 4th of July holiday. As a flat-lander (Wisconsin), every time I visit the mountains I am enthralled. This trip has etched itself into our memories as something that we will remember for the rest of our lives - the picturesque mountains, more stars than I could ever count and abundant wildlife that’s forces you to appreciate their beauty.
We had big plans for the trip, plethora of hikes, early wake-ups for sunrise and late nights for the stars, but then, reality set in…
Rocky waters… Fujifilm X-S20 | 18mm | f5.6
I woke up the morning we were headed to the airport with a fever and sore throat…great. You see, my kids recently tested positive for strep-throat and I was hopeful to avoid it. I quickly signed into Teladoc and spoke with a doctor and had a prescription sent to a Montana pharmacy.
Once we arrive in Montana, we gather our luggage and rental car and we’re off to the local Wal-Mart to pick up some Bear Spray, my prescription and a few other odds-and-ends we didn’t want to travel with. I’ve experienced this a few times in my life and it always takes me by surprise…Walking out of a store that I shop locally and when I exit, I see a range of mountains on the horizon, and Montana was no different.
Lookin’ Back… Fujifilm X-S20 | 600mm | f5.6
We spent the next few days doing small hikes and a plethora of driving, seeing the various sights and sounds that Glacier has to offer. By day three, my wife was sick and we had to get her a prescription as well. Needless to say, with a few of us sick, we scaled back on strenuous hikes. Regardless, we were all having a great time in each-others company.
For me personally, I could sit for hours and hours in certain locations that look ‘deer-y’ or ‘moose-y’ in hopes of seeing the wildlife - this is where the balance of a vacation with others and a photography vacation conflict. The needs of many outweigh the needs of the few and in this case, I was the few. On our first way up Going-To-The-Sun-Road I was asking to stop at virtually every overlook to snap a pic or two and when you’re traveling with folks that are scared of heights, parking on the side of the mountain isn’t exactly joyous…With that, I was still able to come away with some amazing photographs that I will remember for a long time.
Star filled night… Fujifilm X-S20 | 18mm | f2
We were fortunate that when we were visiting, a New Moon cycle was starting, which will make stargazing even more spectacular. We tried to stargaze one of the first evenings, unfortunately, the cloud cover didn’t cooperate and not a single star came out that night. Trying again the following evening was a truly magical moment - I don’t live in a big city, I see plenty of stars on a regular basis, including the northern lights. With that being said, the stars in Glacier National Park are something else - seeing the sheer volume of stars and milky-way with the naked eye was an emotional experience that I will never forget.
Cliffside… Fujifilm X-S20 | 265mm | f5
Glacier National Park is a truly a gem in the United States and not just photographers. I’ve been to Banff and Jasper in Canada and if I had to pick which to recommend, I would recommend Glacier, simply due to how much more accessible Glacier is to everyone. With that being said, I am not sure if I will return to Glacier - I certainly wouldn’t mind, but with my limited time to get out there, I think I’d rather visit another National Park before returning.
As always, thanks for reading.
Until next time.
-Nathan