Going to the Sun Road

Glacier National Park is one of my favorites. Grand vistas everywhere you look, probably a little dangerous driving there becuase everyone is looking out and up :)

There is an amazing road you can take up and through the mountains in the park called the Going to the Sun Road.  It keeps climbing up and over Logan Pass, this photo was taken from in the pass looking back out northwest. Put Glacier NP on your bucket list and go if you ever have the chance!

Find it here:  48°41’48” N;   113°43’5” W

Twilight at the Rim

We took a family trip down to Crater Lake and saw this beautiful sunset!  Crater Lake is a collapsed volcano that after it exploded, the lake formed inside the rim.  Then the neat island (Wizard Island) started to form in the lake as the volcano cone started to grow again - so cool!

 

It was a great trip - I brought my bike along and had a great day of cycling around the 35mi Rim Road which circles the rim of the volcano and has great views of the lake along the way. The views were amazing as the winding road bumped up near the rim here and there along the way!  Despite a blowout and a flat, it was still an awesome ride!

 

The weather was perfect fall temps for sightseeing afterwards and we had this awesome sunset and pink glow in the lake at twilight. 

 

Find it here: 42°54’39” N;  122°8’30” W

 

brilliance at sun's last light

Wow! Got home from work tonight to see this so I grabbed my camera and tripod.

I’ve never seen crepuscular rays so well defined and bright  It was truly an amazing sunset and gone nearly as quickly as it showed up.

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supernova

A while back I took a road trip from Minneapolis to Death Valley. It was an great drive in the early spring so not too hot yet.

Driving home, just after passing through St. George, UT this awesome storm started to form right at sunset so I pulled over on the side of I-15N and scrambled up the embankment on the other side looking west towards the Red Cliffs National Conservation area. Just as I got up there, the sun dropped out of the clouds and I was able to grab this photo. Perfect timing!

I took a little snapshot of my set-up for this one with my iPhone so I thought it would be fun to include that below too :)

find it here: 37°11’21” N; 113°24’26” W

moon, mountain, alpenglow

Have you been to Glacier National Park? It is absolutely amazing, everywhere you look. There is this really cool road carved right into the mountainside named Going to the Sun Road. There are plenty of pull outs along the way to jump out and take in the scenery on it’s climb up and over Logan Pass.

We made it to the top in time for sunset and grab this photo of Mt Reynolds with the moon passing by. Be on the lookout for mountain goats and rams. It is crazy some of the vertical faces they can climb up! Very cool!

I’m going to have to get back here one day with my bike and cycle up Going to the Sun. Looks like 30+mi and 7,000ft of elevation gain. Hard work going up but awesome going down! :)

find it here: 48°41’43” N; 113°43’8” W

sunset in nebraska

I was on a trip to Death Valley, California and driving home to Minneapolis.  After just leaving the mountains in Utah and Wyoming, I didn’t expect to have a spectacular sunset but while cruising east on I-80, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw this.  I pulled over at the next overpass and scrambled up the side with my camera to get a photo, glad I stopped!

find it here:  41°11’56” N;  103°14’35” W

twilight in the meadow

It was the second day on our 2,500 mile road trip from Portland to Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks.  We arrived in Jackson, Wyoming just before sunset and after grabbing dinner and on our way to Jackson Hole we drove past this meadow where the majestic Tetons were just peaking over these smaller mountains.  You can’t see them but there were some houses up on these hills facing the Tetons, they must have amazing views!

Find it here:  43°28’43” N;   110°48’33” W

the sentinels at sunset

I took a quick one day trip down from Minneapolis to northern Illinois to see my dad and brother who were up in the area.  You know how these go - get up early, drive out, spend as much time as you can, drive back as fast as possible.

 

It was a great day and I didn’t have much intention of taking photos along the way but I was glad I brought my camera.  As I headed west, out a little ways in a farm field I saw this amazing sunset beaming through a stand of trees.  It was one of those moments where you get really excited about what you are seeing and hope it doesn’t go away before you can get your camera out and set up.  The view from the road wasn’t optimal so I drove into a nearby apartment complex, parked, hopped a small fence and quickly ran off into the field near the trees.

 

It was late fall with no leaves left but the grass was still green and these massive trees gave the appearance as if they were standing guard to the what lay beyond.

 

Find it here:  41°59’33” N;  88°43’1” W 

the flatiron

during my trip to New York, I left Times Square where we were staying in the alte afternoon and figured I’d wander down Broadway until sunset then turn around and head back. as I got down to somewhere about 25th, I could see this building down the way that looked oddly shaped and clearly different which I’ve since come to find out is a pretty well known landmark called the Flatiron building.

I took a short detour through a nearby park and made it to the building just before sunset. As you are walking up, you notice the roofline sweeps back making the building look like the bow of a ship coming up the street. It is a neat looking building no matter what angle you are looking at it from but when you get up close on the sidewalk just in front of it, the rest of the building nearly disappears behind the front curvature.

Find it here: 40°44’29” N; 73°59’22” W

a brilliant sunset in Utah

Finally getting some time to get through the many photos I’ve been taking over the past few months.  This one was taken along I-70 on my way moving from California to Minneapolis.  I really like driving through this part of the country, its very scenic and it seems like there is never a bad sunset.

Find it here:  38°50’12” N;  111°6’7” W

the empire glows red

Spring is the best time of year in Southern California.  There’s still snow in the mountains, neat cold storms still rolling through, and the hills are still green before the summer’s scorching heat “burns’ everything to the same shade of brown. This was taken during my last trip up into Sycamore Canyon before moving to Minneapolis and I miss it already.

Find it here:  33°57’0” N;  117°18’56” W

Wyoming Highway Sunset

On our last drive from Wisconsin to we stopped to check out Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and then got back on I-90 westbound for Sheridan, WY.  Shortly after we go on I-90, the sun started to set with these neat clouds on the horizon.  There was very little traffic on the freeway so I was able to jump out in the middle of it and snap these (while Anne was freaking out a little since I was in the road).

Find this here:  44° 17’ 37” N; 105° 9’ 25” W

Huntington Beach Pier

I’m not a beach person and don’t spend much time hanging out there (not even when I lived in San Diego) but I happened to be in Huntington Beach for a work meeting/dinner with Target at Duke’s on the start of the HB pier. We got done just before sunset and since I had my camera in the car, I grabbed it and headed down to the beach. The light just after sunset was really cool and not many people were on the beach because it was windy. I set my tripod up right at the edge of the water and took these pictures just before a larger wave almost washed my tripod and camera out. Nikon D300s and a Nikkor 14-24 lens.

Find this here:  33°39’23” N   118°0’17” W