July 30, 2015 Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, Montana

Glacier National Park is one of our favorite places in the USA.  Sadly, though, the Going to the Sun road was closed on the east side of the park due to the Reynolds Creek Fire (caused by people).  It was only open to Logan Pass, and using the park shuttle was highly recommended.  So that's what we did, along with a zillion other people....  We got in the shuttle line at 9 a.m. and arrived at Logan Pass at noon - what a cluster!  But we were determined to hike the wonderful Hidden Lake trail once again, so we persevered.  Although it was pretty crowded, the day was spectacular for a hike and people were friendly....

Up we go.

Snowmelt runoff.  Yes that water was frigid!

Oh, the alpine wildflowers!  Magnificent!  Whole fields and hillsides full of the prettiest posies you'll ever see....  Just literally took my breath away.  (or maybe that was the elevation making me breathe harder)

Alpine Paintbrush (pink) and a lot of other blooms I have not yet identified.

Yellow paintbrush.

The trail was a bit crowded....

A piece of the Reynolds Creek fire.

Hidden Lake.

Hidden Lake overlook.  Did I mention it was crowded?

Ms. Mountain Goat.  Best I could do using my cellphone camera.
She was wearing a tracking collar.

Raider of the Untended Backpack!

A small piece of snow that was accessible via a short side trail.

See the grizzly bear in the upper right corner?
Best Bubba could do with the camera fully zoomed.

Evening at Lake McDonald.

Leaving the park....

July 30, 2015 Shuttling in Glacier National Park, Montana.....

Here are random pictures Bubba took while we were shuttling to and from Logan Pass.  Enjoy!

Waiting at Avalanche to board the smaller shuttle buses up to the pass.

Remains of a long-ago fire.

That's the road, over there....

Look closely and you will see the backed up traffic - think they could have been "weeping"?  :)

The actual weeping wall.

One of the Red Bus fleet ahead of us.  Pricey but I bet they were fun.

July 22, 2015 Craters of the Moon National Monument

Today we drove (1.5 hrs. away) to the Craters of the Moon National Monument.  This place completely blew us both away (pun intended).  The lava is not from volcanoes, but from a massive 52-mile fissure and mostly the lava oozed up.  When gases built up, there were explosions that made cinder cones.  This place is totally fascinating!  It was difficult to choose pictures for the blog, and I might have gone overboard, but here they are.  Enlarge the pictures for better views.

First thing we learned was that there are different kinds of lava:  Pahoehoe, A-a, and Block.  Mostly what we saw was Pahoehoe and A-a.  (Hawaiian words)    

The Pioneer Range in the background.

The Pioneer Range in the background.

On our next stop, we climbed up to the top of a cinder cone;  it was steep but not bad.  The view was spectacular but alas, there was a big wind and some rain when we got up there.  Didn't stay long. There was one lone tree growing up there.

Enlarge this one and you can see our blue Silverado in the parking log.

Next we visited some spatter cones, what's left of them after years of uncontrolled access.  Very interesting!  Molten rock takes on some amazing shapes.

Looking down into the cone;  what's that white stuff down there?

It's ice!

A lot of the lava here is called "Blue Dragon" because there is a very thin blue coating on it.  It really shined in the sun.  Years ago the scientists thought it was caused by titanium, but after modern testing shows there isn't any titanium in it.  They are still studying this blue layer.

See the blue?

A view of one part of the fissure.
When this one "blew" it made the large cinder cone to the left; only the base of it is in the picture.

The edge of the lava flow.

The final stop of our day was the lava tube caves area, and it was the highlight of our day.  The Indian Tunnel is the biggest lava tube open to the public.  There are several collapses of the roof of the tunnel, which is how you get in and out.

Enlarge this so you can see the words and the map.

Going down.....

There was rocks scrambling involved...

Enlarge this, and you get a sense of how BIG it is.....
Imagine this thing filled with molten lava!
(this is the part where our flashlights came in handy)

Climbing out the other end....

Exit hole.

Does this look like rock to you?  It is.

One of the roof collapses of the Indian Tunnel.