In my last update, I covered my adventure with my grandma up and down the Front Range. It turned out that was only the beginning of the summer!
Literally the very next week after my grandma returned to Iowa, Maria and I set off on a weeklong adventure for her friend’s wedding in Montana. We began with an extended detour away from Montana to southwest Colorado, to her dog’s hotel.
A bonus to the extreme distance is its proximity to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This was my second visit, but my first with a film camera. We made it to Rim Drive just as the sun was beginning to hit the horizon. I tried to capture the rays filtering through the canyon using Kodak Gold 200 for this shot.
I think the warm film tones turned out nicely, especially for a “summery” photo. I think in the future, though, I may try a similar shot with a more color-accurate film just to see how it compares.
A significant challenge with this shot was not knowing how it looked while I was there. I debated whether I should shoot in landscape orientation to capture more of the canyon walls, or if I should shoot vertically to emphasize the depth of the canyon.
This orientation won, and I’m glad it turned out well enough.
Our next base of operations was Sidney, in northeastern Montana. The town reminded me quite a bit of my time in Osage, Iowa, but slightly bigger. One key difference, though, was the nearby Yellowstone River. True to its name, this surprisingly large river’s steep banks were lined with layers of grey, cream, and yellow rock.
These strata were on full display in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, only an hour away in North Dakota. This park was on my radar as a possible place for Milky Way photos, but my preferred method of location scouting is in person. While Maria had wedding planning obligations on our first day in town, I went off on my own excursion to scope out the park.
The weather might not have been the best, but it was certainly dramatic.
My scouting trip was fruitful, though brief. I did not get to see as much of the park as I wanted to in the time I was there, so I vowed to return the next day in search of more interesting vistas.
When I made it back, I was not alone. After chatting with Maria’s parents, we agreed to visit the park while Maria was occupied with brunch duties. They wouldn’t have to drive, and I would get to enjoy a late morning.
Once back at the park, the aptly-named Scenic Drive lived up to its name. This road through the North Unit of the park began at river level before slowly meandering to the tops of the badlands. We passed numerous overlooks and trails with deer and bison aplenty.
It was on this drive I eventually discovered a scene I was certain I would revisit; the Cannonball Concretions. These massive, pearl-shaped mineral deposits formed over millions of years from water seeping through layers of ash, mud, and sand. Empty pockets of the surrounding rock were eventually filled in, but now the old rock eroded away, leaving the minerals behind… ghosts of the void.
When I returned later that night, I struggled to light and frame this scene in the pitch black. After a few failed attempts to balance my camera’s colors and light the rocks with my headlamp, I decided to move on.
Here is one of my failed attempts at shooting this formation (or rather, what I personally consider a failure):
Thankfully, I had a backup location in mind: the Riverbend Overlook. This place had everything – easy parking, an accessible trail, and a (potentially) stunning view of a pavilion over the Little Missouri River Valley.
If I could line up this view with the stars, I would be in for a treat. The real challenge here would be illuminating the trail and pavilion in the dark.
I achieved the shot of the night by setting my camera to take 25-second exposures, while beaming my headlamp along the trail for a fraction of the time. It took some trial and error, but I eventually got a shot I could work with.
You may notice the distinct red and orange hue near the horizon. Nearby oil fields flared excess gas around the clock in a testament to how harmful unburnt natural gas truly is. While invisible to the naked eye, at least for me, these flares still left a residual color in my shot… the glow of industry.
The next day was a long one. After a nice brunch with Maria’s newly-married friends, we hit the road to our next destination: Cody, Wyoming and, by extension, Yellowstone.
We got to Cody in the late afternoon after about six hours on the road. After checking in and grabbing some dinner to go, we set off again to check out the national park. Had it already been a long day? Yes. Were we excited to see Yellowstone and spend as much time there as possible? Also yes.
The drive into the park from Cody was insane. I don’t have any photos because I was driving, but suffice it to say the landscape practically changes every 3 miles. From expansive waterfronts and reservoirs to mysterious forests and impressive buttes, this drive practically had it all.
Adding to my own sense of mystery was the fact that the entrance to the park goes through a steep mountain pass. After ascending to over 8,500 feet on our way in, Highway 14 wound through narrow glades and streams before opening into an incredible vista of Yellowstone Lake.
We stopped at an overlook where I took this photo of Maria taking in the view:
This overlook eventually began to fill up with vans and trucks, full of people with radios. I was uninterested in striking up a conversation with them, but Maria fearlessly asked what their whole deal was.
It turned out they were tracking a bear. Or at least, they claimed to be. They were just a few people out of a larger network up and down the road who were coordinating efforts to spot a bear. And best of all, they said a bear had been seen ten minutes prior just back the way we came.
So… why not wait? After all, our entire plan was to not really have a plan.
Lo and behold, not even another five minutes had passed before we heard gasps and shouts – the bear was crossing the road, not even 500 feet behind us.
Thanks to other generous tourists, we were never the closest or slowest humans around.
We did some more driving around the park to scout locations and get ideas for our next day in the park. We took note of mysterious forests, inviting roads, and interesting place names on signs as we left.
Unfortunately, every place sounded exciting. So, we decided to keep our goal for day two simple: explore.
And boy did we! Our second day in the park was surprisingly windy and cold, with a high of only about 58°F. Thick clouds blocked the sun from warming the park but brought with them dramatic skies.
Our first stop of the day was in Hayden Valley, somewhere along the park’s Grand Loop Road. I took this photo using my film camera, unsure of how it would handle the challenging light. I think it captured the landscape, river, and sky quite well! But this came at the cost of reducing a herd of bison to mere specks in the middle distance.
My excitement to see the geologic features of the park rose with the steam billowing over the trees. I did not realize how important it really was to me to see the vents and geysers until we began driving closer to them.
I knew they existed, certainly, but in a way, they always seemed like far-off things. Those hidden features of the world were for explorers and adventurers, not for me. And yet? Here I was, and there they were!
I think my favorite shots of the day came from the aptly named Grand Prismatic Spring. The crowds and the cold melted away, much as the dilapidated boardwalk seemed to be doing in the acidic water. Ribbons of steam washed over the path, almost intentionally shrouding the spring from view.
Nonetheless, I tried to get a few shots on film. This one stood out to me due to the bison tracks through the bacteria mats in the foreground.
Further down the boardwalk, we encountered another feature, the Opal Pool. This pool was easier to photograph thanks to the direction of the wind and the temperature of the water. It immediately struck me as a perfect set piece to capture the parks forests, rock, water, and colors all at once.
The photo you see here is really sixteen shots that have been digitally stitched together.
After we had our fill at Grand Prismatic Spring, we drove to the park’s most renown feature – Old Faithful.
I will admit my excitement to see the park’s geothermal features did not really extend to this specific one. Quite frankly, why go see what literally everyone else there wants to go see? Plus, this part of the park was shockingly developed with multiple lodges, innumerable parking lots, and amenities that would be out of place anywhere else.
However, the allure of food provided a powerful enough reason to stick around.
Thanks to over a hundred years’ worth of catalogued eruptions, the park can offer a fairly accurate window of time for the next eruption. The timing worked out for us that it would not be too inconvenient to stay, so we picked out a spot on the surrounding boardwalk.
I am certainly glad we did. I took a series of film photos during the eruption, a great way to end the day. This one is my favorite.
Our final day in the park was more of a drive through. Our destination for this drive was Laramie, WY, but we decided to go the long way through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, rather than drive directly southeast.
We had all the time in the world, so, why not?
During our drive, we encountered a small group of vehicles stopped at a turnout near a glade. My photography instincts kicked in, so we pulled over to see what exciting thing may lurk off the road.
As luck would have it, we got to watch a coyote prowl for brunch. Getting decent photos proved challenging, however, thanks to our elevation and the trees that hemmed in the clearing.
I practically held my own breath while the coyote stalked its prey, not wanting to disturb it even from this distance. After an unsuccessful couple of pounces, it moved on. But not before I got one of my favorite photos of the day.
By the time we got to Laramie, it was already dinnertime. After a quick stop for some barbecue, we finally got to settle into our Airbnb.
But my mind was elsewhere.
I wanted nothing more than to get a cool shot of a geyser and the Milky Way. Poor conditions made that impossible. I was racing – almost desperate – to get another photo of the Milky Way over this trip. Otherwise it would almost feel like a waste of a new moon, if that makes sense.
But then something caught my interest on Google Maps. A local landmark, a historic place. For those of you who have strong opinions on such matters, it was also an historic place.
A pyramid in the prairie.
After a brief comparison against dark sky maps, the weather, and distance, it seemed like a stellar opportunity and one I could not miss. Thankfully, Maria agreed to come with.
It took us less time than I thought to reach the edge of the city, and only slightly longer to escape its weak light dome. We drove into the darkness until we finally arrived at our destination, the hulking monument.
This pyramid was originally built as a monument to commemorate the highest point of the original transcontinental railroad. Over time, the nearby towns and rails moved away, leaving this pyramid behind. Now, on a moonless night in the middle of nowhere, it felt eerie.
The position of the pyramid relative to the parking area meant I had to circle around to the northern side to get the view of the sky I wanted. With my headlamp in hand, I took a few practice exposures to get the foreground exposure right.
Then I let fly!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I know this update was a long time coming (and even longer written out), so I appreciate you sticking through to the end.
I think my plan for the next year will be to do fewer big updates like this one, and instead try to focus on more frequent, smaller updates. I already have a few ideas for things I would like to accomplish next year, which I am excited to pursue!
Don’t forget to sign up for email updates when new posts go up so you don’t miss a thing. My holiday cars will be going out shortly, and be sure to keep your eyes peeled in the next week for my annual Top Ten list!
Till then, fly safe!
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