Tag: Glacier National Park

Finding Latitude. Glacier.

Every place that inspired the LATITUDE series has special meaning for me. But there is one that stands out among the rest. GLACIER.

I knew long before setting eyes on Glacier National Park that it was a place close to my husband’s heart– which of course, meant that it would be close to mine in a way that we always find love for the things our partners love. But I had no idea that seeing it would effect me so significantly.

On our first trip up the Going To the Sun Road, I was overcome by the beauty and grandeur that surrounded me. Blue skies met sliced mountain peaks, slivered waterfalls slicing into the green, windows down, Eddie Vedder singing to us through the speakers. I looked over to my husband and we both had tears in our eyes. We had found the place we both adored.

High up in Northern Montana, sharing it’s land with Canada, Glacier feels like another world. Remote and wild, to see Glacier’s best requires hiking deep into her bowels, sharing the wilderness with grizzly and moose.

As much dramatic as Glacier’s soaring peeks and icy heights can be, there is a softer side. The quiet found in the glassy reflection of Lake Bowman or Kintla Lake, the hush of the grasses along the North Fork river.

Glacier is where our souls find rest, the one place we’ve found that we never want to leave.

favorite trail | ptarmigan tunnel trail
I lovingly refer to this trail as “the death march”. We embarked on this 10 miler after we’d already hiked 5 miles into Iceberg Lake and my boots were not in the greatest shape at that point and by the end of the hike, I could barely walk. That being said, the views were spectacular and the trail grueling but isolated. An excellent reminder of just how insignificant we are in this vast landscape.

don’t forget | bear spray
There is a strong grizzly population in Glacier and we’ve seen more of them in this park than any other– from the car and from the trail. Making noise while hiking is the best way to keep from surprising one of the great bears– we sing or just shout out random words. Bear spray has been proven to be the best deterrent if a grizzly becomes a threat. Shooting one will just make it mad.

what i love most | the wild
While Glacier has it’s fair share of visitors, you can really get lost in the wild here without too much effort. You are sharing the same air as magnificent mountains and fierce predators, feeling lucky simply for coming back alive from each hike. It is an exhilarating place.

Glacier inspired four paintings in the LATITUDE show, see them on my website here, here, here, and here. LATITUDE can be seen at Art & Light Gallery through March 31, 2016.

All images by me.

February 17, 2016
This Artsy Life: Weekend 31[ Work + 5 Places I’d Rather Be ]

Weekends, in and of themselves, are always a good thing. But weekends like this one just past, ones in which you feel like all you did were chores with maybe a pleasant little walk in between, are hardly my ideal. Although Mr. F and I struck a good bit off our To-Do list: Found a rental for our next location ( we’re headed just a short drive south to Olympia, WA! So happy to be staying in the Northwest! ), unloaded all of our belongings that were in storage in Florida, then immediately packed it all back into storage here in Seattle, along with a bunch more stuff we’ve been traveling with. Had to deal with paperwork, grocery shopping & other thrilling errands, along with continuing to pack up more things from our apartment for storage plus a nice, big Goodwill pile.

So much to do, so little time. And I’d much rather be spending this time the way I did last summer.. I thought you could maybe use a little daydream escape today too, so here are 5 places I visited last summer and would much rather be right about now..

[ glacier national park ]

[ hayden lake, idaho ]

[ yellowstone national park ]

[ trail of the coeur d’alenes, coeur d’Alene, idaho ]

[ polebridge, montana, just outside glacier national park ]

Someone get me a time machine, stat! Happy Monday, Artsies! Check out more beautiful places from This Artsy Life in the Artsy Forager Instagram feed.

All images by Artsy Forager.

August 5, 2013
Friday Finds: Natural Abstractions

As you may recall, Mr. Forager and I recently returned from a long camping trip in Glacier National Park and Yellowstone ( and we threw in the Lewis & Clark Caverns on the way home ‘cuz we weren’t nearly exhausted enough already ). We both love the outdoors and as I told Christina Baker in our Artist Takeover interview, I find the natural world to be incredibly inspiring in its artistry. I thought you might enjoy a few of examples of nature’s artsiness I found while traversing through two of the US’s most beautiful places!

Glacier National Park

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Thermophiles in hot spring, Yellowstone National Park

Hot spring flow, Yellowstone National Park

Treeline on the drive to the East Entrance, Yellowstone National Park

Inside the Lewis & Clark Caverns, Whitehall, MT

Isn’t nature the most incredible abstract artist? What are some of your favorite natural abstractions?

All images by Artsy Forager.

August 10, 2012
Artsy On the Road: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

Thanks to our currently transient-like lifestyle ( we move every 3-6 months due to my husband’s job ) our opportunities for visiting amazing places are much higher than most people can boast. We took advantage of hubby’s three day holiday weekend to visit Glacier National Park in Montana and camp at one of my hubby’s favorite places in the world, the tiny hamlet of Polebridge, MT. So in the spirit of the F/Stop Artsy event here at Artsy Forager, I thought I would share some photos and thoughts from our trip!

Being among amazing natural beauty is a huge source of inspiration for me. Getting out and hiking and camping refreshes and rejuvenates not just the body, but the mind and the soul. It is in places like these that we unplug, give ourselves over to each moment and feel how very small we are in this vast landscape.

While the call of the wild is definitely a draw for us, sometimes what makes these trips so inspirational is how much we connect with each other when we’re unplugged and off-the-grid, as well as how we may find ourselves in the midst of an other worldly atmosphere.

For the past few years, my husband has regaled me with stories from his “Summer of Love”, almost an entire summer spent traveling from one amazing place to another. He’s always described his time in Polebridge, MT, a tiny town less than a mile from the West entrance to Glacier, as his “falling down the rabbit hole”. Like Wonderland, Polebridge is filled with quirky characters and when you are there, you become immediately immersed in its magic.

It is a place where happy and friendly dogs run free, a French ex-patriot and retired Santa Claus mingles with a former pharmacist turned saloon owner and an entire evening can be spent singing Bob Dylan songs around a bonfire with complete strangers who feel like old friends.

A place where the grass is cool and fragrant and the view from every direction inspires. It’s a spot where winters are long and hard but summer is its own reward. A landscape built for dreaming and creating.

Not every artsy place is full of galleries and museums. Some are artsy by way of how they inspire and the community of people drawn to them.

Where is your artsy destination this summer? Where will the road take you? No matter where you are, look for the artsy. It’s always there and it’s waiting for you.

PS– The folks at Polebridge like their little community small. So keep it on the down low. 😉

All images are the property of Artsy Forager. Please do not use without permission.

July 9, 2012