Going-to-the-Sun Road is a motorcyclists' dream. There was enough of a danger but also the view from being on the side of a mountain looking down in the valley was thrilling. The road is only open for a small section of the summer before it's closed due to the weather conditions (a combination of snow and mountains can make the road extremely dangerous.)
We were lucky that the full road was open, a recently so too.
We also got to see the highest peak at Glacier - Heaven's Peak.
This was by far my favorite hike that we did on the whole trip. We went through snow, waterfalls, and climbed 1600ft elevation in order to see a glacier. Absolutely stunning views as we hiked on the side of a mountain and got to see Grinnell Lake while doing it.
We also saw a bunch of wildlife like a mama bear and her cubs and a big horned sheep. I would do this again (once my legs get a little stronger...)
This was the first part of the trip - which was pretty easy considering what would come. It wasn't until the last 4 miles in which the trail shot straight up.
We were up so high and a lot of times we were sitting on the edge of a cliff. Completely unreal.
Finally here was the glacier. Smaller then what it has previously been in the old days but still rather impressive. Took us about 6 hrs to hike the total of 8 miles.
Today was a day for rest after yesterdays hike. Though I went on a mini hike to be about to see great views like this one -
This hike was beyond nuts.
We went a total of 12.6 miles roundtrip and the total elevation gain was about 1400ft. Even though it was a really tough trail the sites that we saw along the way took our breath away.
We started out in sunshine, hit some rain, got a little cold even in the summer, and saw a double rainbow.
We had a little of a late start - so right when the bugs were out and it was pretty hot. But that didn't take away at all the stunning views.
Halfway there it started a light rain (which to be honest was quite refreshing after going uphill). But when we reached Cracker Lake and seeing that amazing blue color, which the color is from the glacier rock that comes down, we were blown away.
It was moody weather but still refreshing. We put our feet in the water and it was ice cold (though no surprise there since it comes from snow).
As we were leaving the weather was even getting even more moody - but the pay off was great since we got to see a double rainbow and the mountains looked even more ominous.
So, how do you end a day like this? With a fire.
And now we finally reached our destination...
Glacier National Park...
In which its beauty will literally take your breath away. Amazing twists to the roads (make sure you don't ready your book while you are on here... not that you would be). We saw a couple wild horses roaming around before we actually entered the park. but even at the outskirts of the park were absolutely stunning.
At night we did some astrophotography. It was only a little cloudy, but the amazing fact about the middle of nowhere is that you can start seeing the stars even before the sun sets. In a dark place its surprising how bright that they can get.
We visited the Yellowtail Dam - which is right by the Big Horn Canyons. Right by here is also the Crow Indian Reservation. It was constructed near the end of 1944 and named Yellowtail after Robert Yellowtail who was the main opponent to having the dam being made.
Also side note - today was the summer solace. Being so far up north the sun didn't fully set until a little before 11pm.
Woke up to a beautiful clear blue sky after the night of intense hail rain.
We went to see Devil's Tower which has a mysterious mystery. The fact that only thing that scientists an agree on is that they don't know where it comes from. The best guess is that it used to be part of some volcano or part of some sort of lava. Some of the American Indian folklore about Devil's Tower is that a bunch of little girls were running away from a giant bear. They climbed to the top of the tower and the marks on Devil's Tower is from the claws of the giant bear.
Big Horn Mountain Range at the most magical part of the day
We then finally finished the day heading towards Montana and on the way we saw the majestic Big Horn Mountain Range.
We stayed the night right at the Badlands - which was extremely eerie waking to the morning light.
Badlands in the morning
We decided to do Notch Trail - which is not a hard trail - just with some very intense stairs. It's a total of 1.5 miles roundtrip. In which we saw a stunning view of the White River Valley.
After the trail - we started heading towards Sundance, Wyoming for our rest stop. But no before we took a quick detour to go see Mount Rushmore - which is pretty impressive that there are four faces carved out of a mountain.
Mount Rushmore in the flesh (or stone I should say...)
On the way to Wyoming we hit a huge storm that had some tornado warnings. We should totally be fine in our tent, right?? (Yes we were... made for an entertaining night)
Actually the storm looks quite beautiful
Ok... never mind about it being pretty...
Left Chicago in the wee hours of the morning to start heading over to the Badlands in South Dakota. It was about an 17 hour drive... with many stops that included Blue Earth, MN and a tourist trapped called Wall Drug.
Here are some of the stills from the shoot for Deep Dark Fears "If I Die..." It was a great shoot and now in the editing process...
Below are a couple shots from behind the scenes.
Here are some of the stills of the rehearsal shoot for Deep Dark Dears "If I Die...". Pre-production is almost done... and soon production will start.
Here is the video that really shows what #Chiberia is really all about. The day after the Chicago blizzard and the trees stay frozen in several inch thick ice. Enjoy!
This is the trailer that I cut together for the short film Reversal which is directed by Michael Lippert. Take a moment to enjoy this awesome trailer!
It's that time of year that everything is cold. Early February there was a blizzard that I took a short trip to the lake to see, but more then anything I felt the cold.
Here is a video that I filmed and cut together for the Cutter's Holiday Party. I filmed around Chicago - but mostly the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights and Navy Pier. Enjoy!
