A few more pictures from the evening of our first day in Death Canyon.

After 5.7 miles we made it to Grinnell Glacier. The giant steep rock wall enclosing the area is called the Garden Wall, it is part of the continental divide.

If you look at the top of the wall in the 4th picture there is a notch in the Garden Wall above and to the right of Salamander Glacier. You can hike to that point from the Highline Trail. Pictures from that spot from September 2008 are here and from September 2007 here.

The final pictures of the hike and some miscellaneous pictures of our last day in Glacier.

Three mountain goats joined us for a little while as we were enjoying the view. Mountain goats are seen quite a bit in Glacier, but it was interesting to see them in their natural environs rather than right beside the road.

I also added a “Wildlife” category if you want to scope out other pictures of ferocious beasts.

Still on the Highline Trail.

I was biking up our driveway and right before I got to the house I looked up and saw a black bear right in my way. I knew there are bears around the Beaverdam area but my only previous encounter had been a passing glimpse at night once. I stopped and watched it walk across, then I hurried into the house to get my camera with my best lens.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to see it again but as I was walking down the driveway, there it was in the neighbor’s yard just sitting and munching on this tree like it didn’t have a care in the world.

It looked right at me and went back to eating. I was able to watch it for a good little bit before it walked into the woods and I became worried about being responsible for making it go somewhere it definitely shouldn’t be. It was the best view I’ve ever had of a bear not in a zoo, but I wish it was in a less populated area.

One of the last things we did before driving 24 hours straight to get home was go up the highest road in the United States to the top of Mount Evans. The road is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and in typical Colorado Style doesn’t have any guardrails.

If you even find yourself on Interstate 70 west of Denver I highly recommend it.

After a bit of driving we came to Rocky Mountain National Park. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but the road going through the park is quite amazing. Also, the park has more alpine area than any other national park. We took a short walk at the top with epic views in every direction. It was cold in the middle of August and during the winter it must be an incredibly hostile environment.

We hiked to Bullhead Lake.

We ate peanut butter and jelly.

We hiked to Josephine Lake.

We saw a moose.

As of tomorrow at noon it will officially be Spring Break for us Montana State folks. Kez and I are driving down the the Grand Canyon and plan on stopping by Bryce Canyon NP as well (I’ve never actually been there.)

We have had a bunch of snow up here and I’ve been enjoying it, but it’ll be nice to get to somewhere a little warmer and less snowy.

To tide you over until next week here are some random picture I’m pulling out from the vault. Except for the picture of the pine needles which I took today.

Luke, Kez, Hilary, her friend Stephanie and myself went down to Yellowstone by way of the northwest entrance in Gardiner, Montana. Here are some pictures of Gardiner. It is a nice little town, especially in the winter when it isn’t overrun with tourists.

When we rode up into town that elk was just hanging out in someone’s yard. They said that they will tag elk only if they are troublemakers. So I thought keeping my distance was a smart idea.