Glacier National Park - it's really open now!

Glacier National Park has "officially" opened. I know the Park Service will tell you, "we are always open," and technically, they'd be correct. What I'm talking about are the Two Medicine, Chief Mountain, and Many Glacier Roads. Those three roads are what allow access into the Park on the east side (Cut Bank Road too). 

Saint Mary is the beginning of the Going to the Sun Road, and it's been open to the Rising Sun campground and boat launch for a couple of weeks now. On the west side the road is open to cars until Avalanche Creek. Some hiker biker access is allowed, consult the National Park Service, Glacier National Park for more specific road and access information.  

I'm happy to say that not much has changed. Glacier National Park is still, in my opinion, the most remarkable place in the lower 48 states! Maybe that's because I've been a year around resident here for the past dozen years.  

Tony Bynum skipping rocks across Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana. The lake was so calm it's reflection looked like a mirror.  ©tonybynum All rights reserved. Please contact me for licensing. 

Just in case any of you are wondering, I can verify also that the smell of the alpine, the cool breeze blowing off the Two Medicine Lake, the birds chirping, and the often loud crashing of cornices busting off Rising Wolf Mountain are also still happening! 

On a recent trip to the "lake" (Two Medicine Lake) as the locals call it, I found Wolverine tracks, Grizzly tracks, Wolf Tracks, Lynx scat. I photographed myself at the lake skipping rocks, a scruffy little snowshoe hare, and a mature male Spruce grouse - my favorite grouse species.

Fresh Wolverine Track in the snow. ©tonybynum 

Male Spruce Grouse in a fir tree. ©tonybynum All rights reserved. Please contact me for licensing.

A snowshoe hare molting it's winter coat . . .  ©tonybynum All rights reserved. Please contact me for licensing.

Glacier Park is officially open. Few if any local resources are operating on the east side, but the park is open. 

For those that like Mexican food, Serranos in East Glacier opened for business on May 1. 

If you're on facebook, I started a "Glacier National Park Art" page a place where people can go to share their own art of the park. . .  Please, if you're on Facebook, and you have something to share, by all means, post it! 

I'm also looking for partners to work with me on this blog.  Photographers, writers, painters media, etc.  My idea is to open this platform up to some of my friends.  I've had this page for 10 years I think and It's time to show the world more than just my words, and photographs . . .  I'd like this to become a community supported page.   

If you're interested please send me a short description of who you are, what you do, and why you'd like to partner with me to produce, the "glacier park photographer."  

Sincerely, 

Tony Bynum 

Tony Bynum 

Glacier Park Time Lapse - Sunrise over Two Medicine Lake, Sinopah Mountain

Fall is one of my favorite times of year . . .   The colors are dramatic, the temperatures are cool, and the air is so crisp and refreshing you can taste it in your mouth.

Below is a time lapse I shot from the shore of Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park.  The clouds were beautiful and there was just enough breeze to offer a slight ripple, from time to time on the lake. I'd like to thank my good friend Jack Gladstone for the wonderful music that accompany's this time lapse video of the sun rise over Two Medicine lake in Glacier National Park.  To hear more of Jacks work visit his website @ http://jackgladstone.com .

Two Medicine Lake, is located at the end of the road up the Two Medicine Valley.  It's accessible from going through East Glacier, past the Glacier Impressions Gallery (it's open from June though August). That is Sinopah Mountain in the distance.  It took me about an hour and a half to shoot this time lapse, I used about 1800 individual frames to complete the video. . .

If you watch closely you might see two things that are not so obvious, one is more so than the other. Watch it one time first, then come back and read what I think are the two interesting things that happen in this time lapse that you may not have seen the first time you watched it. Why not post your guess if you found something you think is interesting or unusual. . .

Okay, so I hope you watched it.  What did you see?  Anything special? Let me know! Take a guess and I'll be back in a few days to tell you the two things that I'll bet you missed . . .

In the meant time, don't forget to get outside and smell the freshness of fall!   Follow us on twitter @tonybynum or facebook @ tonybynumphotography . . .  

Cheers, Tony Bynum

Glacier Park 100 Yrs Old, A New Treat at the Grill, Glacier Impressions.

Glacier Park 100 Yrs Old on Tuesday!
There's only a couple more days to make your plans to share cake at the Parks 100 year birthday party!  Tuesday's the day!  Head on over to West Glacier to join the festivities.  For more information go directly to the Parks site.  http://bit.ly/Glacier100years

I shot the cover for this book . . .


Two Medicine Grill
Everyone knows that Two Medicine Grill, and Ramsey's Fire Brand are the only two restaurants open year around and they are where the locals eat. The Two Medicine Grill is now serving a cheesecake to drive across the Rockies in the blizzard to eat - it's a home made huckleberry cheesecake made by Colleen, the wife of the duo that owns the Grill. Stop in at the Grill and have a slice or if you're a ice cream fan, try a scoop or suck down one of their world class milkshakes.

Ramsey's Fire Brand
What can we say about Ramsey's other than, "go eat there." Basically they make great Montana style food and do it at a reasonable price. When I take people there I always tell them the same think, "everything on the dinner menu is good!" They generally have a special and it's always worth a try. . .

Glacier Impressions Fine Art
Were continuing to make progress on the new digs. The weather has been less that helpful. It's hard to paint and mud when it's so cold, the paint dries slow, and the "mud" is more like rock, making it hard to apply . . . in any event, we are making progress and plan to have a "soft" opening on May 28, 2010 and a "grand" opening later in July. I'll keep you posted on those details in case you're interested in attending or if you just want to keep track of our progress.

My "Wild Montana" Collection
Here's a link to the images shown at the "Wild Montana" benefit show for Headwaters Montana, a non profit working to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River Watershed. This collection, like all my images, are for sale as prints, canvases, aluminum prints or framed art. 

 Sinopah, Glacier National Park


Have a great weekend! 

What's this, "Two Medicine Lake Still Frozen?"

From East Glacier Park, Montana, a quick trip to the end of the road reveled a still frozen Two Medicine Lake.  I wonder what Billy Bowman was thinking about as he gazed out over the lake from the edge of the boat ramp . . .  Any thoughts?  What should the caption be that goes with this image?

Tony