opening day-Going to the sun road/Logan Pass

July 13th-2011-7:35 a.m. the anticipation was growing as winter held on to this area for a very long time.
Longest time on record for the Going to the sun road to open.

Usually the road after it gets plowed is ready for tourists from both sides (the west side of Glacier National Park and the east side of the park from St.Marys) on the 15th of June but deep snow in the mountains which set records left and right made even getting up to Logan pass a chore & a half.

The crowd started to grow as vehicles started to slowly make it's way towards the gate.I spoke with several people about a time that the caravan would begin & 7:45 was the time or when the pilot car arrived as it was coming from the east side of Logan Pass.
I walked around watching the crowd grow more antsy about this big day & then the horn sounded-the pilot car had arrived & the mad dash to the cars began -7:45 a.m.

The scenery was going to be a bit different from times past as the higher we rose in elevation on the drive up the landscape would start to be spotty with snow & not just a dash of snow here or there but deep snow-snow bridges & rivers of water would be seen all the way to the top but also with the sun coming up over the mountains,the cold from the snow would clash with the heat of the day & provide us in most cases going up to the pass with fog & thick fog the closer I got to the top.

I watched as a few cars in front of me would slow down to check out the view as it was stunning to see & a trail of cars could be seen for ways down the mountain.
The easy part was going up but the fun is coming down.

I arrived about 8:30 as Logan pass was covered in dense fog but one could see the outline of a mountain in the distance.

The parking lot was filling up fast & it is said that if you come to Glacier National Park esp Logan pass it is best to be on the going to the sun road no later the 8:30 as parking this time of year is hard to find up here because you have thousands of people visiting this area in a weeks time so plan ahead.

The bus were starting to arrive & the Jammers were over full of visitors racing to be the first to walk about the park.Visitors were leaving their names in the deep snow walls that engulf the visitors center-people were snapping photos & a lot of folks were making their way to see the winter landscape that surrounds Logan pass with Mt.Reynolds & the trail to Hidden lake which is all buried in deep deep snow.

The view is staggering as the line of traffic can be seen building up down the side of the mountain.

I passed two fellows who were getting a photo taken by the welcome to Logan Pass sign-I know this because they ask me to take it which I did-the older fellow held his mountain bike over his head as to say-I HAVE DONE IT!! they conquered the mountain or at least was one of the first to get a shot like that.
I made my way away from the crowd & walked down to the overlook-here usually this time of year big horn sheep will be lurking in the brush or laying along side the overlook walkway just enjoying the heat of the sun.

Today with all of the deep snow there wasn't a sheep to be found.


The snow covered the garden wall which this time of year is busting with wildflowers & hikers & photographers looking for that scenic shot-the only thing bustling along this morning is the crowd growing & growing.

A great day for the Park & a great day to be a tourist or a local as the treasure of Montana is open for all to see.After I spent some time doing a variety of photo shoots I headed back down which in one word can explain it all-crazy.

The traffic could be seen winding it's way all the way down the side of the mountain-a few cars were leaving but for every one car leaving the park there was 30 more cars to replace it.

What would take a mere 45 minutes to get here would take longer to get back to the main road.

Jammers & buses & people on foot & on motorbike & people out of their cars waiting for the traffic to move would be snapping picture after picture.

The fog was long gone & the beauty & awesomeness of this grand ole place was coming alive.

It was a long wait but even tho the snows are slowly melting ,the road leading up to Logan pass is now open & hundreds of thousands of people will enter the park this year making it their temporary home & what will be on a lot of peoples wish list while in Glacier will be to travel the Going to the sun road & be swept away in all it has to offer.

You can check out more of Photographer Patrick Booths images at www.mysticcreekstudios.com

where is spring?

Hello,been a while since I have been able to write a blog but yesterdays journey was more then fitting.

Our journey takes us into the Tally lake area which is north and west of Kalispell.

This mountainous area is home to Bear,deer,eagles,hawks,owls and more.

Our journey always begins with the packing of the back packs and to make sure that we have all of the gear we will need for the hike.

On this day I took the following:

2 cameras-we use Canon * Nikon

lenses-a variety of prime,super zooms and wide angle

camera bags with goodies

food and drinkage(or we thought)

bear spray

cell phone(in case of emergency)

normally we take a gps unit but being I wasn't going to be hitting any trails persay it wasn't needed.

I try to plan out a assumed route and guesstimate what I may encounter when I am out.

The weather could be nice here but full blown winter conditions once I get to where I am going so getting a good idea of what the weather may be like-are there bear sightings-are the roads bad in this area ect,ect-it is good to cover all of your tracks and with that said MAKE SURE you have everything you need.

There have been hikes when we have been in the heart of a hike and forgot to bring batteries and such so prepare.

Bags are packed and the car is full of gas which you better do if your traveling hundreds of miles without a gas station in between.

I leave around 7 in the morning-the plan is to photograph whatever God brings my way but really looking forward to getting some killer shots of owls,eagles or awesome scenic shots.

The mood on the west side of the valley is overcast and looks like rain or snow possibly in the mountains.

I head to a area that I have heard is great for seeing owls-I drive for a bit and find the location but no owls this time...

I head north towards Whitefish and run smack in the middle of a snow storm.

The time is 7:45 and for the next 4 hours will be either in thick snow or a mixture of snow and rain.

I travel in the snow along three mile drive which will run through west valley and to a nice place where many people come to watch the eagles dance on the winds and birds from all over will settle down for a breathier.

Snow continues to fall but it has lessened somewhat.

Making the turn towards the star meadows area I drive slowly past a pond or what really is a ton of snow melt that has filled a pasture.

Sitting in the waters are several ducks,canadien geese and a blue herron who in most cases will take off the first sight of seeing movement in which I grabbed a camera and he headed for the hills.

Got a shot away but I rarely will post the tail end of anything wild.

Heading up the Star meadows road I do notice that the road is wet and the snow is not falling to bad at this point but just a lil ways up the road the weather takes a turn for the worse-snow and lots of it.

I am able to travel at a slow speed but the car begins to lose traction and what use to be just a coating of snow on the road is now becoming a slippery 3 inch coating of wet snow.

I am able to make it up to logan creek but my car is saying dude-we can't carry on at this rate and even tho we have 4 wheel drive capabilities unless you have snow tires or a snow mobile you are not getting to much farther then I.

I turn around just past logan creek and head back down the road.

Feeling somewhat defeated I tell myself that we will just record as I see things-thats all I can do so I break out the camera gear and start putting lenses on cameras and going through the gear.

After doing some shots a lil ways down the road my wife calls and lets me know that mr. lets not forget anything has forgotten a vital piece of equipment-the supply bag is sitting at home loaded with food and drink.

Now cell phone service up in these areas or any mountain area is nearly none nill-none-zero-do not rely on it.

After losing the call I had to walk over to a pond and wella-there my wife is on the other line.

I headed back to town but the snow had turned to a spittering of drizzle here and there.

Passed several deer on the way but as I closed in on Kalispell the weather turned yet again-it was like winter had returned.

The spittering of drizzle now was a full blown snow storm and the closer I got to town the worse it was.

It was nearly noon and half the day was basically driving through the snow and rain without really to many shots to take yet I wasn't to disapointed as I knew God had stuff planned.

After arriving back home to pick up my supply bag I headed back out towards the Tally lake area.

The sun was out with a splash n dash of rain and snow but when I got back into the Tally lake area it was basically cloudy with a spit of snow or hail here

and there.

The temperature also warmed up as when I was in the area 3 hours ago the temps were below freezing-we were above that as the 3 inches of snow was gone from the road.

The trip up to the Star meadows area and beyond was now looking promising as what I encountered earlier this day was just a fraction now as there was no real trace of any wild weather yet it was a different story just a few hours before.

The view from the meadows area was pretty surreal as you could see the bands of snow in the distance and every now and then a break in the cloud cover.

Could the sun actually break out and give me some great shots?

I followed the once snow packed road past the cabin which over looks Star meadows and slowly watched the roadside for any signs of wildlife.

The road comes to a end where a 3 foot wall of snow tells you that your not going any farther unless your on foot.

Blue sky appeared and I was watching pockets of snow fall off the trees.

This was starting to look like a great shoot.

Other then forgetting the supply bag I did have all the camera gear ready for anything and whether you shoot weddings,senior photos or maternity which I do-as a photographer you have to be ready for all of the elements.

The name of the game is to be ready and to know what to do with the light and how to compose a shot properly-I have spent a lot of time in the mountains doing just that-composing a shot and looking for the right angle-it is all about light and the eye.

It was nearing 2 p.m. and I got a break in the clouds that will provide me with some great shots.

At first I change the i.s.o. on my camera because it is much to bright out here when the sun is beaming off the snow.

800 i.s.o. will be to much light for the sensor so I cut it down to 200 and 400 bouncing back and forth.

A polarizer is a must to cancel out glare-it also enhances the colors.

I shoot with a tripod 99 % of the time.

If your a beginner or a advanced shooter and want to bring up your A game then use a tripod.

Regardless of what kind of camera you have-a tripod will eliminate camera shake and will steady your shot 100 % and even if you use a tripod you may want to invest in a remote which will prevent any kind of movement from you pushing the shutter button.

I Wandered into the trees to get different angles from the creeks that run through this area and off of the beaten path the snow was easily 3 to 4 feet deep.

I even walked over a snow plowed wall of snow which was deep in itself and over to a bridge and at the base of the bridge the snow was 1 to 2 feet deep but once away fron the bridge and you are looking at 3 to 4 feet deep and thats not even out along the banks of the creeks-it is deep stuff.

I set up several shots and spun around to notice that the wind was picking up.

The trees started to sway and blue sky was giving way to blackness.

I wasn't to far from the car but I would have to run in 3 foot deep snow-over a wall that was another 3 feet and then to the car.

The race was on as I knew that in the mountains the weather can change on a dime and it was about to get nasty.

I ran as fast as one could in deep snow-scaling the wall of snow and before I even got within 20 feet of the car it hit-the storm blew snow sideways.

I looked back and the bridge area was now a grayish color from blowing snow.

The wind could be heard blowing snow in every direction and by the time I got back to the car my hair looked like I lost in a dandruff fight.

Once inside the car I knew that it was going to be tricky heading back as in some areas along the 9 + miles it was nearly whiteout.

I stopped at Star meadows to get a shot of the wind blown snow coming up over the snow bank and then a lil voice said-ummmm you just wanna drive?(isn't it funny that you talk yourself either into trouble or out of it?)

My inner voice said don't be stupid but my photographer voice said:all for the shot...lol bad practice.

I headed down the road which was tough to do because you couldn't see the road in some cases and the farther down hill I went the worse the storm got.

I thought to myself-man it will be nicer weather once I get out of the mountains...ummm yeah right.

I pulled off of the Star meadows road and the storm was just plastering heavy snow everywhere but my eye caught something in a tree.

Two eagles were waiting the storm out.

Snow just hammering everything and here they were.

Waiting and waiting and well...you get the just of it.

Now the finding of 2 eagles is not as rare as it sounds in northwest montana as we have a nest of eagles over by our home but to have a day where the weather is anything but fun-the travel is rough and the wildlife has been reduced to nearly nill-God was smiling on me and he knew I was looking for a great shot and here it was.

Now you probably thought I got out of the car and did a paso or a jigg but come on...I did no such thing.

I did a rhumba!!!!!

Right there in the front seat and then I took photos.....thats the photographers code-dance and then take the photo.

It is not every day that you capture such awesome creatures and they are enjoying the weather like I have all day....thats sweet.

Once I got my fill of shooting the scene with both cameras and a variety of lenses I headed home with the feeling of : you know you came out here and changed the plans as you didn't go into glacier.

You took the attitude that you will record what ever God sends your way and you did that.

You planned for a trip that was going to provide something and you excelled.

Even trips that have a big question mark on them produce something.

Be prepared for whatever and you will achieve it even if it is the smallest of things- it is a achievement.

All photographs by Photographer Patrick Booth