Project 48 ~ 34:48

1. Silver Spiderweb

2. Smoky Sunset

3. Half Moon

4. Purple Flower Silhouette

Isn't the spiderweb a beauty?  Scott found it in the backyard one morning this week.  It was in the middle of the yard, not really near any trees - the connecting webs were very long - and it was as big as a dinner plate.  Very cool (and visible) with the dew on it.  The rest are from Saturday.  We had amazing sunsets all week long, with red glowing suns.  It's because the fires are all around us - some in Washington, Idaho and Montana.  But, of course, when I had my camera on Saturday, the smoke was too thick and you couldn't even see the sun when it got close to the horizon.  I made the best of it, with some silhouette shots with the sky in the background and one of the moon.  I'm all caught up now from the delays from the trip to Glacier.  Hope you enjoy these.

Project 48 ~ 33:48

I'm not yet ready to let go of summer, but that may not be of any consequence.  It may let go of me.

Project 48 ~ 32:48

Into The Sky, Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park

Reflections, On the way to Aster Falls, Two Medicine Pass Trail

Aster Falls, Two Medicine Pass Trail

Sinopah Mountain, On the way to Rockwell Falls, Two Medicine Pass Trail

Rockwell Falls, Two Medicine Pass Trail

Moon Over Running Eagle Falls, Two Medicine Lake area

Redrock Falls, Swiftcurrent Pass Trail, Many Glacier

Bullhead Falls, Swiftcurrent Pass Trail, Many Glacier

Field of Flowers, Hidden Lake Overlook Trail, Logan Pass

Mount Brown & Hidden Lake, Hidden Lake Overlook Trail, Logan Pass

Squirrel & Flowers, Hidden Lake Overlook Trail, Logan Pass

Bumblebee on Wildflowers, Stillwater Lake, Montana

Damselfly on Grass, Stillwater Lake, Montana

Kootenai Falls, Montana

I couldn't pick just seven so you get two weeks worth of pictures for this post!  Glacier National Park was simply amazing.  One of the best vacations we've ever had.  We hiked nearly every day and I can't believe how much wildlife and water we saw.  What a gorgeous place!  Thank goodness someone had the foresight to set this gem away as a National Park.  The last three are from the trip home, through northern Montana.  Again, just beautiful country.  I can't wait to go back.

If you'd like to see more of the photos from the trip, click this LINK to my photostream on Flickr.  Enjoy!

Project 48 ~ 31:48

1. Caterpillar

2. Last Supper, St. Ignatius Mission

3. Interior, St. Ignatius Mission

4. Stained Glass, St. Ignatius Mission

5. Exterior, St. Ignatius Mission

6. Flathead Lake, Montana

7. Late Afternoon, Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

The first photo is from Saturday.  Somehow, this little guy ended up inside the shop on a pallet.  After I took a couple dozen photos, we moved him to the tree in the backyard.  He was such a beautiful creature - I hope I get to see what he turns into! 

The rest of the photos are from the first day of our vacation to Glacier National Park.  Thanks to a ton of info from the photo club (thanks again everyone!) we knew to stop at St. Ignatius Mission in Montana on the way.  The historic Catholic mission was founded in 1854 and contains 58 murals painted by Brother Joseph Carignano, an untrained artist who worked as a cook in the mission.  The murals, other artwork and stained glass were absolutely amazing.  My photos don't do it justice.  We spent quite a bit of time there, then headed past Flathead Lake to Glacier.  We arrived on the Sunday of Labor Day and the park was packed.  Rangers said they thought it was the busiest Labor Day weekend ever.  We drove as far as Lake McDonald, then headed back to find a room.  We ended up spending Sunday night in Whitefish, Montana at the Big Mountain Resort.  No worries, though - we ended up camping from Monday to Thursday in Glacier and I will have those pictures posted shortly.  I hope you enjoy this taste of Glacier.  It has some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.

Project 48 ~ 30:48

1. Reflections at Rimrock Lake

2. Water Like Glass

3. Clear Creek Falls

4. Mt. Rainier

5. Mt. Rainier with Wildflowers

6. Loaded Truck (The Reason for the Trip)

7. Sunset over the Columbia River Gorge

These are all scenes from Monday.  We started the day in camp at Rimrock Lake.  We woke up to water that looked like glass.  The reflections were incredible.  After coffee and breakfast, we broke camp and headed down Highway 12 to Longview.  Scott was a great sport and he pulled into every scenic overlook along the way.  We saw Clear Creek Falls and Mt. Rainier, where the wildflowers were in bloom.  In Longview, we picked up our load of concrete statues - it WAS the reason for the trip - and headed home.  It was a late night, and when we stopped at the rest stop just past the Gorge, we were treated with a spectacular sunset.  Enjoy!

Project 48 ~ 29:48

1. Square Sunflower

2. Rimrock Lake, Washington

3. Awesome Sky

4. Dr. Seuss Hat

5. Green Against Blue

6. Smoke Moving In

7. Late Afternoon Sun

Hope everyone is enjoying these last days of summer.  You can see that the sunflowers have started to bloom.  I'm sure that's just the first of many sunflower photos you'll see here.  Sunday, we traveled to Rimrock Lake in Washington, as the first leg of our journey to Longview.  Scott had some custom orders to pick up from a wholesaler, so we turned it into a mini-vacation.  We stayed at Rimrock Lake Resort and I have to say it's the prettiest place we've camped so far.  The lake is drop-dead gorgeous, no matter what time of day and we were lucky enough to have the whole point to ourselves.  The shots from this week are afternoon to evening shots.  Towards evening, we started to see evidence of the fires near Cle Elum.  Stay tuned next week for some morning shots as well as from a few other picturesque places on our journey.  Enjoy!

Project 48 ~ 28:48

1. Evening Sky

2. Morning Sun

3. Liquid Fire

4. Cliffside Rapid by Scott Rudy

5. Counting Crows, Festival at Sandpoint 2012

What a week!  Washington, Idaho and Montana are on fire, and it made for some memorable sunrises and sunsets.  When the red morning sun hit the fountain at the shop, it made liquid fire!  Scott came home from his week-long float trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with some awesome photos - I've included my favorite of Cliffside Rapid.  We rounded the weekend out with an overnight trip to see the Counting Crows at the 30th Annual Festival at Sandpoint.  It is a breathtaking venue and we had a blast listening to the Crows and watching the people.  Have a great week, everyone.