Thompson Falls Fires from our September Road Trip

 These are the last photos I will share from our September Road Trip to Northwestern Montana.  We drove west into Idaho as far as Coeur d'alene, where Joe planned to attend an event.  We drove through Thompson Falls - and saw country we had never seen before.  These two small forest fires took us by surprise.

Lake McDonald Plein Air Painter

What fun to see a number of painters taking advantage of the beautiful snow on the peaks around Lake McDonald!

Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park

 Going to the Sun Highway did not reopen in time for us to drive it again this trip.  We did stop off at Lake McDonald where we a very kind gentleman offered to take this photo of us.  He told us he and his wife have been coming to this very same place every fall for 23 years and they never grow tired of it!

Mixed Media Daily Postcards - October 27 - November 2

Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park

While we were visiting the Northwestern part of Montana, there was a significant first snowfall that closed the Going to the Sun Highway.  The day was beautiful, so we opted to drive the road that follows the western boundary of the park, passing through the little town of Polebarn.  The road to Bowman Lake is narrow and windy.  Probably more challenging than usual on account of the fact that it was the only road open in the park so there were quite a few vehicles on the road and few were accustomed to backroads driving!  Oh well, we were rewarded with this stunning view of Bowman Lake!

We tried fishing for a little while.  No luck, but we were told there are fish in this lake by fellow fishermen who are familiar with this lake.  What a view!

Logan Pass Weather Coming

As we hiked down from Grinnell Glacier, the temperature became increasingly colder and the wind picked up.  By the time we reached the car it was completely overcast and by the time we were on the road it was socked in and raining.  We reached Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Highway about the same time the weather did and we were treated to this spectacular sight from the other side.  That night it snowed enough to close Going to the Sun Highway for a couple of days.  We went back to Whitefish and spent the next few days at Flathead Lake and surrounding areas.

Fringed Grass of Parnassas

Close Encounters with Bighorn Sheep on the Grinnell Lake Trail

Grinnell Glacier Trail Heading Back Down

 Weather was starting to roll in from the east as we headed back down the trail.  There are a couple of these big cairns along the trail close to the glacier.  It looks like people add to the pile as they pass by.  I added mine near the top!

 I love this picture with the trail behind me!

A little lower down - the clouds rolling in and the lakes below.

At Grinnell Glacier

Mixed Media Junk Mail Postcards - October 21 - 26

Grinnell Glacier

Grinnell Glacier Melt

We made it all the way to the Glacier!

Getting Closer to Grinnell Glacier

Grinnell Glacier Trail Shots

Western Anemone Seedpod in Glacier National Park

It was wonderful to be visiting late in the summer.  Sure, we missed seeing a lot of flowers, but the seedpods and berries were equally stunning.

Trail to Grinnell Glacier

 Progress was kind of slow because we had to stop so often to take pictures.  It was just stunning at every step.  The light was just great at this early morning hour.

Mixed Media Daily Postcards - October 13 - 20

On the Trail to Grinnell Glacier

The glacier is right above Joe's head in this picture.  We were about 3 miles away at this point.

Lake Josephine in the Morning

The trail to Grinnell Glacier began at Swiftcurrent Lake, where we followed the shore along to Lake Josephine (above).  We paused for a photo from the dock used by the ferry boat that takes passengers to the other end of the lake (saving them a few miles of hiking to get to Grinnell Glacier).  We chose to hike instead of taking the ferry.  We had the trail to ourselves until we got to the other end of the lake, where we met up with the tour group that had just gotten off the boat.