fbeaston Loc: Vermont

This is the next to last post in a series of posts using photos from a recent 6+ week trip I took around the Western US & Canada, with a college buddy Chuck & my Australian Shepherd Gem, aka "the Mutt." I'd like to thank all who have looked at the prior posts & commented.

The prior post ended in Yellowstone Nat'l Park, which of all the parks, is my favorite. We then headed for Bozeman, MT where the tour as it had been for the last 36 days was to change. Chuck works for FEMA doing emergency response work. He returned to New England after several months of relief work & we took off less than 2 weeks later to go on this tour. At this point in our journey, he began getting requests to redeploy to one of several places hit with horrible floods. So he decided he had to go home to spend some time with his kids & grandkids before heading off for another multi-month deployment. For the record, the Mutt is crazy about Chuck ... so she was a bit lost when I dropped him off at the airport.

Then we headed North. After a quick stop at Three Forks MT, the Headwater of the Missouri where Louis & Clarke spent time, the Mutt & I continued on to Glacier Nat'l Park. If you haven't been there, you owe it to yourself to go. As it turns out, my preference to schedule the trip early in the year & avoid the summer crowds (we were traveling prior to the tourist season beginning in earnest), which had served us well the entire trip, now came back to bite me!!!!

Many years ago, I drove a road called the Highway to the Sun in Glacier NP. After a lifetime of traveling to all 50 states & several countries in both Europe & Asia, that road, IMHO, is the most scenic highway I've ever been on & I looked forward to driving it again with a good camera. However, it wasn't meant to be. I had swapped messages with a fellow Hogger ... CindyHouk who informed me her husband was involved with clearing the Highway to the Sun of snow & it was not expected to open until the middle of June. I was very disappointed, however CindyHouk graciously suggested some alternatives, which the Mutt & I enjoyed seeing. We traveled around Glacier NP as well taking a long ride just outside the park up to the Canadian Border. Beautiful ... so a big thank you to CindyHouk. You saved the day.

After Glacier, the Mutt & I drove to British Columbia through some beautiful areas including East Kootenay, BC Canada. We drove through Kootenay Nat'l Park (beautiful, except where there were some horrible fires last year) & over the mountains to Banff, our next destination. I had elected to spend the next day driving from Banff, AB through Banff Nat'l Park, up the Icefields Parkway up past the Columbia Icefields & on up through Jasper Nat'l Park to Jasper, AB Canada. Like so many other places, if you haven't seen either of these two parks, do yourself a favor & make them a destination ... they are a real treat.

For those who wish to know what I shot with, the Good-bye shot was taken with my iPhone. The Grouse, the 2 Black Bear shots & the Big Horn Sheep were all taken with an EOS 6d & an EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens. The remaining shots were taken with an EOS 5d IV & an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

I hope that you enjoy these & my thanks to those who have looked at prior posts & submitted comments.

Best,
Frank

Bozeman MT Airport, Chuck saying good-bye to the Mutt. I shot a second too late to capture the big "kiss"!!! Taken with an iPhone, but terrible quality shot, so I converted it to B&W

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Whitehall, MT, Old Tractor

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Glacier Nat'l Park, 4 shot panoramic that won't allow me to "store original" for download.


Glacier Nat'l Park, Grouse that "strutted his stuff" for 8 to 10 minutes back & forth in front of my car before he headed off into the woods.

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Glacier Nat'l Park, Trail Creek (I believe)

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East Kootenay, BC Canada, Kootenay River, 5 shot panoramic

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Kootenay Nat'l Park, AB Canada, Black Bear. He or she seemed to be looking right through me.

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Jasper Nat'l Park, AB Canada, Reflections, 3 shot panoramic of mountains reflected in pond

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Jasper Nat'l Park, AB Canada, Big Horn Sheep next to Icefields Parkway

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Jasper Nat'l Park, AB Canada, Black Bear next to Icefields Parkway

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orrie smith Loc: Kansas

nice set

fbeaston Loc: Vermont

Thank you orrie smith, for looking & commenting. I appreciate it.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Really nice photos. Thanks for taking me there.

fbeaston Loc: Vermont

You are most welcome NMGal ... & I thank you for the repeat visit & comment. Best to you.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Another fun tour, Frank! My crew votes 4 paws up on #1.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Some beautiful shots here, Frank!

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Excellent work.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice photos again--I’m enjoying your journey.
Too bad you lost your travel companion.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Great set. Really enjoy the wildlife & panos!

fbeaston Loc: Vermont

Thank you UTMike ... as always, a pleasure to read your comments. Thanks for taking the time to comment ... & thank your crew for me. 4 paws is a great vote ... makes me want to ask if you're from Chicago. ;)

And thanks also to weberwest & steve49 for your comments & Architect1776 for the smile. Appreciate you looking & taking the time to respond.

fbeaston Loc: Vermont

Thanks for the positive feedback jaymatt ... & yes, it was a different trip without Chuck ... the Mutt surely missed him & I had to do a lot more things myself ... navigating, driving, arranging reservations, etc., which had been shared tasks. However it was a great experience for me ... I've typically traveled with someone, but the Mutt & I had a terrific time traveling just us ... so it's made me start to rethink travel plans in the future ... & not waiting for someone to be able to travel with us. And it's hard not to enjoy places as beautiful as Glacier, Banff & Jasper.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Great set!

fbeaston Loc: Vermont

Thanks tcthome, for the nice comments. And I've enjoyed doing some of the panos because they can obviously capture aspects of a scene that can't be grabbed in a single shot. And the wildlife in that part of the 2 countries is truly spectacular, IMHO. Thanks for looking & taking the time to comment.