Glacier National Park: Away from it All at Granite Park Chalet

Our day began like most others with an early departure since we planned to drive along Going-to-the-Sun road in the early morning light. Our goal was to arrive at Many Glacier Hotel where we would be staying in two nights. Tonight, we were staying at the Granite Park Chalet, which is accessible only by hiking. So, we needed to leave our car at Many Glacier, take the hiker's shuttle to the St. Mary Visitor Center, transfer to a bus, ride the bus to Logan's Pass, switch to the west side bus which would take us to the Loop trailhead.

With so few people on the road, we had ample opportunity to safely pull over and enjoy the early morning sunrise along Going-to-the-Sun road. Well, Nate enjoyed the morning light, while Ashley dozed in the passenger seat.

Glacier National Park: Going to the Sun

Although we had scraped ice off our windshield just a few days ago, a heatwave suddenly swept through the region and we found ourselves driving through Montana with temperatures in the 90s. Ashley recalled the hotels in Glacier National Park proudly advertising the lack of air conditioning because you "won't need it." They jinxed us!  Even when we checked into Lake McDonald Lodge after dark, the receptionist remarked "but you're from Florida" when we mentioned the unexpectedly warm temperatures. That doesn't mean we're used to sleeping in it. However, she did kindly remind us that a complimentary electric fan was in our room. 

Despite the slightly uncomfortable sleeping conditions, we were extremely excited to explore this Crown of the Continent on Going-to-the-Sun Road tomorrow morning. 

Yellowstone: The American Safari Experience

Having enjoyed several days focused primarily on geothermal features, it was time to change our home location to Roosevelt Lodge near Lamar Valley.  But we had a full day planned of wildlife watching and hiking before we would enjoy a Cowboy Cookout near our cabin.

We were out of our room by dawn in order to get to Hayden Valley for one more opportunity for animal spotting.  It was another chilly morning with the popular location (1.5 miles north of Trout Creek) already full of spotting scopes and binoculars when we arrived.  Only a few minutes passed before someone spotted a wolf coming out of the tree line in the distance.  Over a mile away, we strained our eyes through our binoculars and cameras trying to catch a glimpse of the wolf (click the picture to enlarge and look for the small dark spot on right half staring at the bison on the left half...just trust us, it's a wolf).

Typically one or two of the individuals with scopes at this location are volunteers who track the pack, documenting when they are spotted, how many were out, and if they are known to have made a kill.  They were friendly and willing to share information as well as occasional peeks through the scope.  It was amazing how powerful their scopes were, getting close enough to see the wolves wagging their tails, digging, and just having fun playing amongst themselves.  We would definitely consider renting or buying a scope for future trips and would recommend the same to others who are interested in observing animals in the valley.  

There was growing excitement when several other members of this pack also came out from the shadows.  At one point, there were six adults (or juveniles) pacing, playing, and laying near the tree line.  Unfortunately for us, we never saw the pups, though we heard they had been seen for a short period of time.  Reaching the limit of our camera and lens zoom capabilities, we were able to catch a few of the larger wolves (above and to the left of the buffalo below).  After playing for nearly an hour the wolves disappeared back into the trees. 

Yellowstone: Thermal features and a stay at Old Faithful Inn

Our last morning in Grand Teton National Park was met with low lying clouds and a light drizzle, meaning extra sleep (no sunrise photos) before heading to breakfast and leaving the lodge.

Before heading north to Yellowstone, we made a quick stop at Oxbow Bend to get some pictures of the cloudy peaks.  No more than 2 minutes after arriving and setting up the tripod, someone pointed out a commotion up the road.  A mother moose and young calf were crossing the road and heading towards the river.  It was an amazing scene with the mountains framed in the background and the two moose crossing the still river in the foreground.

We tracked the mother and calf across the river, where they got out, shook off the cold water, and then ran along the shore before turning into the thick willow brush.

Overall, we had unbelievable wildlife viewing luck while in the Tetons - as if seeing three bull moose wasn't enough, we ended with a mama and calf swimming right in front of us. What a great last experience in the Tetons before leaving for it's better known neighbor to the north, Yellowstone.  

Grand Tetons: Mountains and Bear Jams

Since we "slept in" the previous morning, we woke up around 4:00 a.m. today in order to reach the barns at Mormon Row in time for sunrise. This gave us plenty of time to set up our tripods and find the perfect angle. Warning: the small makeshift foot bridge across the mini-creek is unstable - see Ashley's wet right shoe as an example. Surprisingly, we were the first photographers at this iconic site this morning, but were soon joined by many fellow sunrise shooters.

Grand Tetons: Jackson and Moose (or is it Meese)

After  a year of planning and preparation, we finally embarked on our journey through Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. We flew to Jackson Hole via Chicago. Our flight from Florida to Chicago got moved up to 6 a.m., which meant waking up around 3:30 in the morning. Between that and the time change, we were in for a long day.

We had heard that the descent and landing in Jackson was pretty special and it didn't disappoint.  The airport is located in Grand Teton National park so we had a spectacular first view of the mountains and river as we approached the runway. Well, Nate had a spectacular view as Ashley nervously gripped the armrest and occasionally glanced out. It was particularly comforting for her to hear Nate excitedly exclaim, “Oh wow, we’re headed straight into the mountains!” Once you deboard the plane, it is really tempting to stop in the middle of the runway to snap photos of the Tetons. However, as a warning, security will quickly usher you on your way - not that we know from experience. 

Charleston and Savannah: A weekend getaway

CHARLESTON

To get into the Southern spirit (and because we couldn't check into our B&B until later that afternoon), we started our weekend getaway with a visit to Boone Hall, which is still a working plantation. Boone Hall is located in Mt. Pleasant, which is just a short drive across the river from Charleston. One of the highlights of visiting this plantation (and what drew us to the location) is the entryway to the property-  a driveway lined with at least 50 live oak trees that arch across to form a canopy and is aptly named Avenue of Oaks.  The Spanish moss left no doubt that we were in the South and Ashley was soon craving a sweet tea.