Musings from the last best place - Thoughts on living and working in Montana
 

Montana Sunset from Little Bear Road

I took a photo drive tonight to capture one of the great sunsets we've been having in the Gallatin Valley lately. When you're scouting for a good location, sometimes you just have to take the best spot you can find when the light starts to prime. Tonight, I was driving the Little Bear Road southeast of Gallatin Gateway when I saw this vantage point. I drove another 1/2 mile or so up the road just to ensure nothing better was around the next corner, then returned to this spot. After double-checking the composition, I set up my tripod and waited for the light.

I took several exposures (just short of 100) as the sunset changed over the course of 40 minutes or so. I also walked back up the road to look north toward the Bridgers for the small pano shot you see here.

Pano shot with my 14-54mm; sunset shot with my 50mm prime. Source shots post-processed in Lightroom, then merged in CS4 using the Pano function and layer mask, respectively.

   
Click here to download:
Montana_Sunset_from_Little_Bea.zip (1018 KB)

Filed under  //   Bridgers   Gallatin Valley   Montana   Mountains   Sunsets  
Posted September 23, 2009
// 6 Comments
 

Spring Time Snowmobiling - Cooke City, Montana

While winter has made a (hopefully brief) return to southwestern Montana this week, our snowmobiling outing this past weekend was all sunshine and spring conditions. These pics were taken in the mountains above Cooke City, home to some of the best snowmobiling to be had in the Rockies. No fresh snow this weekend, so instead of action shots I focused on sight-seeing. I think these mountains look their best in winter when snow covers most of the scars left by early 20th century mining.

This was a special weekend because we took our boys along for the ride. My son loves snowmobiling, but the Kitty Kat sled he rides around the field at the cabin just isn't cutting it anymore. So we took him up the mountain to let him get a feel for riding the 'big boy sleds'.

And no - those high-marking shots aren't of anyone in our group. Even with low-risk avalanche conditions, we're not willing to take the chance. We all wear avalanche beacons - primarily to be ready to help find guys like the ones you see in the photos. I'm not knocking them - live and let live. It's just not for me.

                         
Click here to download:
Spring_Time_Snowmobiling_-_Coo.zip (1132 KB)

Filed under  //   Cooke City   Mountains   Snow   Snowmobiling  
Posted March 23, 2009
// 3 Comments
 

Sledding - Cooke City, Montana

Spring has arrived in the high country! With our friends who were in town from Minnesota, we took the kids sledding yesterday in the hills just outside Cooke City, Montana. Here are a few pics from the afternoon's fun.

                                     
Click here to download:
Sledding_-_Cooke_City_Montana.zip (917 KB)

Filed under  //   Montana   Mountains   Sledding   Winter  
Posted March 22, 2009
// 2 Comments
 

Find your hike - SummitPost.org

I love it when the web works like it's supposed to. I'd like to hike to the top of Heart Mountain in northern Wyoming sometime this winter. I've driven around Heart Mountain for years, but admittedly have never looked for the trailhead that would take me to the summit - although I was quite confident that there must be one. So the other night I did a quick Google search and immediately came up with an excellent description of the trail on SummitPost.org. The description includes photos, a description of the hike, and detailed directions to get to the trailhead. Bingo!

You can check out the Heart Mountain Summit Post here, and then traipse through the site looking for the next hike you'd like to bag: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/282559/heart-mountain.html.

Filed under  //   Heart Mountain   Hiking   mountains   Wyoming  
Posted December 9, 2008
// 0 Comments
 

Biking and Hiking in Bozeman, Montana

Yesterday, I took a personal leave day from scheduletown.com to spend some time with my family. In the morning, we went mountain biking up Sourdough Canyon. We only went up about three miles - don't think I'm ready to take the kids on the Wall of Death just yet (Am I ready? Probably not!). There's an outhouse along the trail, and it was near there that we had a bit of a close call with what we suspect was a bear - we chose not to stick around long enough to find out for sure. But the fresh scat on the bushes down by the river was a pretty good sign, along with the huffing in the underbrush. Needless to say, our idyllic moment beside the creek didn't last long.

In the afternoon, we decided to hit the new Drinking Horse Mountain Trail. It's been open only a few weeks. If you're familiar with Bozeman, it's located directly across from the 'M' trail and starts near the fish hatchery. It was a cool little hike (about four miles round-trip). We took the 'easier' path; the wife and kids weren't feeling particularly energetic after our morning ride. At the top, I took a few snapshots before we returned down the same trail.

All in all, it was a mentally, spiritually refreshing day. It's always good to spend time outdoors - especially when you're living in Montana!

           

Click here to download:
Biking_and_Hiking_in_Bozeman_M.zip (4427 KB)

Filed under  //   Biking   Bozeman   Drinking Horse Mountain   Hiking   Montana   Mountains   Photography  
Posted October 18, 2008
// 0 Comments
 

Silver Gate, Montana - Mountain Mist

We enjoy spending time in Silver Gate, a small town just outside the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Whether winter or summer, the solitude and peacefulness of this place is a welcome respite from life in the big city of Bozeman. OK - maybe Bozeman's not the big city, but living and working in Bozeman with an option to retreat to Silver Gate is not a bad setup.

The mountains across the valley from Mt. Republic are particularly rugged. With a spotting scope, you can sometimes spot goats on the mountainside. I took this shot on a rainy, misty morning from the cabin's back deck. Shot with my 40-150mm at 74mm, f11 for 1/20 sec.

Filed under  //   Black & White   Montana   Mountains   Photography   Silver Gate  
Posted October 16, 2008
// 0 Comments
 

Beartooth Pass Closed for the Season

Just read in the Billings Gazette that Beartooth Pass is closed for the season. Guess the highway department decided the four feet of snow that fell over the weekend was the tipping point. This summer marks the first season in years that I haven't been 'over the top' on my way to Cooke City. Now that we live in Bozeman, we travel in through YNP. I miss the drive - it's one of the great trips in Montana.

Here are a couple sledding pics from last Christmas in the mountains above Cooke City - just to whet the appetite of those who like their snow in depths greater than 10 feet.

   

Click here to download:
Beartooth_Pass_Closed_for_the_.zip (164 KB)

Filed under  //   Beartooths   Montana   Mountains   Photography   Snowmobiling  
Posted October 13, 2008
// 1 Comment
 

Heart Mountain from the Banks of the Clark's Fork River in Wyoming

A couple of years ago, I took a shot of Wyoming's Heart Mountain from a bridge over the Clark's Fork. I was amazed at just how lush that area was - if you know Wyoming, 'lush' and 'Wyoming' are not two words used often in the same sentence. And yet here was this green, grassy river bank in the middle of sage-covered hills. I loved the shot, but because I was shooting hand-held at dusk the image was slightly blurry. To save it, I applied an Orton Effect and have lived with it as a soft, watercolor-like shot since.

This past weekend, I decided to stop at the same spot on my way home from Cody to see if I could do a better job the second time around. It's later in the season now than the first time I shot it, so the fall colors are more prominent and the greens are not as vibrant. This most recent image is certainly sharper, but I'm not convinced I like it better. Let me know what you think.

   

Click here to download:
Heart_Mountain_from_the_Banks_.zip (278 KB)

Filed under  //   Clarks Fork   Heart Mountain   Mountains   Orton Effect   Photography   Rivers   Wyoming  
Posted October 8, 2008
// 0 Comments
 

Castle Rock on the South Fork of the Shoshone River - Cody, Wyoming

Castle Rock is an interesting geographical feature that juts about 700 feet above the valley floor west of Cody, Wyoming. Famous mountain man Jim Bridger noted this landmark when he passed by here in the fall of 1807. Save the expensive homes lining the river, one wonders if it looked similar in his day...

I chose this perspective because I like the way the butte in the background mimics Castle Rock in the foreground. Shot with my 40-150mm at 55mm, f14 for 1/50 sec.

Filed under  //   Castle Rock   Cody   Fall   Mountains   Photography   Shoshone River   Wyoming  
Posted October 5, 2008
// 0 Comments
 

Towards Carter Mountain Overlooking the South Fork of the Shoshone - Cody, Wyoming

I spent the weekend in Cody, Wyoming while my wife and sister-in-law visited family. Rather than hanging out with the fam today, I decided to sneak out for a drive to shoot the fall colors on the South Fork of the Shoshone River. I forgot my tripod in Bozeman, so I had to take most of these shots hand-held. If you've ever spent time in Cody, you know that this can be a challenge considering the gale force winds that often blow on the South Fork. Today was no exception, and I wound up discarding several blurry shots tonight during post-processing.

This weekend also marked the opening of hunting season - there were several guys wearing hunter orange driving here and there in their pickups. Needless to say, I stayed pretty close to the vehicle (I was wearing black and didn't want to be mistaken for the local fauna).

This shot is taken from above the inlet to the Buffalo Bill Reservoir looking south toward Carter Mountain. Shot with my 40-150mm at 62mm, f14 for 1/40 sec.

Filed under  //   Cody   Fall   Mountains   Photography   Shoshone River   Wyoming  
Posted October 5, 2008
// 0 Comments