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Goodbye, Glacier!
The time has come to leave Glacier NP and head for Michigan. We will miss the park, and undoubtedly will come back here another time. There is so much more to see! Here are some final pictures of our last hike to Fish Lake:
The first part of the trail is shared with horses. Watch your step!
Ahhh, that's more like a hiking trail!
One of the many creeks we had to cross.
Mostly uphill, the trail offered som very nice views over the valley
Finally, Fish Lake
Met these two campers who rode their Appaloosas in and out
Glacier: Avalanche Lake
A very popular hike is the Avalanche Trail to Avalanche Lake. It is a nice hike, ending with a stunning vista at the Lake. Along the way, you are rewarded with waterfalls, forests, and some wild animals. Fortunately, we missed the black bear that had visited this trail a short while before we got there.
This was a ranger led hike, with the ranger giving us very interesting information about the geology, the history, and the flora and fauna of the area.
Avalanche Gorge, near the start of the hike
The water carves a unique pattern in the rocks
A view along the trail
This knot hole caught my attention
Cow parsnips, a favorite food of the local bears
Oops, glad we missed the bear that dropped this!
Aaaaww.....
And finally, Avalanche Lake.
No matter how you take this picture, no matter what camera you use, there is no way to capture the beauty without seeing it in person. Glacier: we recommend this area in general, and this hike in particular, to everyone.
Hike up Big Mountain
Once we got to Glacier, we found that there was a Charity event for disadvantaged people at Whitefish Resort. This was a 4 mile hike from the resort base to the summit of Big Mountain, about 2,500ft elevation gain. The Charity provided pre-hike drinks and energy food, as well as several aid stations on the way up. It was a good walk, steep in places, and extremely scenic, and we got to the top in about 2 1/4 hours.
At the top there was a nice lunch for all participants, which we enjoyed prior to riding the chair lift back down. We also enjoyed a couple of rides down the Alpine Slide, shades of the Winter Olympics! All in all, a great day and for a good cause, too.
Part of the trail on the way up
A view down one of the ski runs
Oops! The last 1/4 mile was definitely the steepest!
Well, this is the last part of the trail...
On the chair lift on the way back down
This is how the cyclists get their bikes up the mountain
We ended the hike with a ride down the Alpine Slide
Go, Romola, go!
Goodbye, Dinosaur!
We’ve completed our 2 month volunteering position at Dinosaur National Monument. Although we are looking forward to getting on the road again, we will miss the beautiful scenery, the people we worked with, and the many, many visitors we interacted with. We’re hoping to find another equally interesting volunteer position in the future. Here are some closing pictures:
A last sunset, picture taken in front of our motor home, showing Split Mountain and the Green River
Even our shadows (look closely!) are waving goodbye...
A last hike takes us over the high ground....
And finally back to the start at Split Mountain.
Goodbye Dinosaur, and all the great people we met here!
Fantasy Canyon, UT
While Bryce Canyon is the best known for its unique formation, Fantasy Canyon has to have the strangest formations of all. It is much smaller (only several acres) and it is very remote, so it only sees some 5,000 visitors a year. It isn’t that its so far (only about 45 miles from Vernal, UT) but the last part of the drive is on oil company roads… rough and dusty. But we found the trip worth the effort. Take a look:
Most all the formations are named; this one is "Flying Witch"
Strange formations all along the 1/2 mile hike
A different angle shows different details
These formations are quite fragile and won't last forever
Deeper in the canyon reveals ever more formations
And more stuff....
I think this was "Rabbit Ears"
A most pleasant day
Today we hiked Sounds of Silence again. So much to see! New flowers are blooming, bringing a new color cast to the desert. Want to know why it is called Sound of Silence? Once you get around some of the rocks there is no sound except local animals. In fact, the silence is so great that it has been measured: at less then a quiet sound room for music recording! Some pictures:
The path through the red wash, uphill to the plateau
A view from the plateau
A splash of white, in the middle of the desert
Coming down from the plateau requires walking down slick rock, OK when it is dry but really slick if wet...
Somewhere in there is the "path" we took back down. A good test of nerves, and hiking shoe traction. Slick rock photo taken at the top
Jones Hole fish hatchery
About 10 miles as the crow flies north of our campsite (and 40 miles as the car drives) there is a beautiful canyon with a terrific hike along a trout filled river. It is also the location of one of the 370 or so fish hatcheries the NPS uses to stock fish for various lakes and rivers. Here, in Jones Hole, they raise trout. So we decided to take the long drive down, and as long as we’re there, do the 6 miles hike. We’re glad we did.
The road down to Jones Hole. Better check your brakes!
A few of the fish stock tanks.
Some trout beginning their trip to another river
Part of the trail is shaded and and popular with fly fishermen
You just can't get over the enormous and beautiful scenery.
Along the way are some excellent examples of Indian pictographs (rock paintings), about 1,000 years old
Waterfalls add another scenic element
A moving road block on the way back. These guys have no respect for right of way!
“Desert Voices” hike
Another hike close to our camp site is the “Desert Voices” hike. It is a moderate hike, only 2 1/2 miles long, and plenty of scenery. It starts right at the Green River where river runners end their 5 day float down river.
Looking back down the Green River. Our campground is close to the middle of this picture.
Start of the hike and also boat launch and retrieval are for Green River river kayakers.
Along the hike, Split Mountain in the distance
Lots of color this time of the year, even in the desert.
All along the trail are signs of ground upheaval
Desert trees take a long time to grow and have a very stunted growth pattern
Laninga's Travel Blog 