Mount Rainier, This Time in Winter

December 30, 2020 by Nicole Harrison in United States

Between Christmas and New Year’s, we spent a couple of days in a cabin near Mount Rainier. We got incredibly lucky with weather, as we were there between snow storms, and we were able to do a lot of beautiful hiking and snowshoeing.

Some mushrooms that look like potato chips (photo/Jason Rafal)

The lower elevations in the park were incredibly green (photo/Jason Rafal)

A log providing a home for other plants (photo/Jason Rafal)

A somewhat rare photo of both of us (photo/Jason Rafal)

We got lucky with weather for the entire trip, but the day we went snowshoeing was amazing - we had a completely clear, bright blue sky above the snow-covered mountain. It was visually overwhelming, but very beautiful.

Jason is enjoying sunstars on his new camera (photo/Jason Rafal)

Following tracks down the slope (photo/Jason Rafal)

Windswept snow against a saturated sky (photo/Jason Rafal)

I insisted on sitting in the snow, but I almost took us both down trying to get back up (photo/Jason Rafal)

A classic winter scene (photo/Jason Rafal)

After a day of snowshoeing, we went to Alder Lake, down the valley from Rainier, and spent some time exploring the otherworldly land of mud and stumps.

A wholly different planet than earlier in the day (photo/Jason Rafal)

In addition to sunstars, he’s also leaning into black and white (photo/Jason Rafal)

On our way home, we decided to hike to a set of waterfalls. The hike was a bit harder than anticipated on tired legs, but the waterfalls were all wonderful.

It had a very Jurassic Park feel (photo/Jason Rafal)

Slightly frozen mud everywhere (photo/Jason Rafal)

A tiny, very bright fungus (photo/Jason Rafal)

It was a very fun trip to finish off an exceptionally rough year, and I find myself very grateful to be in Washington right now.

Moody Weather in Glacier National Park

October 17, 2020 by Nicole Harrison in United States

In early October, following a crazy couple of months of work, we drove to northern Montana for a few days at Glacier National Park. Glacier had been on my list for a while, and I was especially excited to be able to get out there in 2020. In a somewhat unfortunate turn of events, the Going to the Sun road through the park closed due to snow and never opened up again while we were there, but it actually made it a little easier to just focus on the western side of the park.

The weather was definitely challenging, with a lot of rain and moody clouds. There were also more people than usual in the western area of the park; this was partially due to an increase in covid-driven visitation, and partially because only a third of the park was open. We ended up getting creative with which area we visited at which time, which was essential to handle both the weather and the unexpected crowds.

A dim sunrise over Lake McDonald on our first morning at the park (photo/Jason Rafal)

We were there at a great time for fall colors. Many of the aspens were a bright yellow, and the larches were beginning to turn too.

Contrasting trees and dramatic clouds (photo/Jason Rafal)

Birds flying away from a colorful aspen tree (photo/Jason Rafal)

When the main road was too busy for our comfort level, we went out to Bowman Lake, which ended up being an amazing choice. The weather cleared somewhat while we were there, and the sun rays were beautiful against the mountains.

Quickly moving clouds at Bowman Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

More beautiful scenery at Bowman Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

I know, it’s the same mountains, but they are just so beautiful (photo/Jason Rafal)

We were also able to spend some time at the Avalanche area, which is a top destination in the park for a reason. It’s incredibly beautiful, and Avalanche Creek, which runs along the trail to Avalanche Lake, has amazing carved red rocks that contrast with the green moss and clear blue-green water.

Looking down into the creek (photo/Jason Rafal)

The view up the creek (photo/Jason Rafal)

Avalanche Lake is much smaller than Bowman Lake, but incredibly dramatic - it reminded me of some of the lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The view from the other side of Avalanche Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

I can’t remember what Jason was saying, but he was being funny (photo/Jason Rafal)

More mountain views from the lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

Going to Glacier for a few days was wonderful, and we will definitely be going back to see the rest of the park (slightly earlier in the year). For now, I’ll leave you with this adorable donkey that lived next to our Airbnb.

Hundreds of Views of Mount Rainier

September 09, 2020 by Nicole Harrison in United States

For Labor Day weekend, we got a campsite near Mount Rainier National Park and had an amazing weekend exploring. It was definitely one of my favorite weekends of 2020.

In our experience, the secret to visiting a national park on a holiday weekend and not going insane is to get up early to see the parts of the park you really want to see, and then spend the afternoon relaxing while everyone is is crowding them. For us, relaxing happened at our large, very forested campsite.

One of my very favorite campsites (photo/Nicole Harrison)

A small lake against the backdrop of shorter mountains in the park (photo/Jason Rafal)

Any trip to Mount Rainier National Park, when it’s clear out at least, involves a lot of staring at the weirdly captivating and gigantic mountain. I was used to 14ers in Colorado, but they fit in there; in an area that’s generally much closer to sea level, a peak over 14,000 feet looks very out of place.

The mountain, with the moon above (photo/Jason Rafal)

More views of Mount Rainier (photo/Jason Rafal)

A watchtower perched high above the clouds (photo/Jason Rafal)

We saw a lot of wildlife at the park, even more than we had expected.

A herd of mountain goats (photo/Jason Rafal)

If you squint, you can see a bear in the field (photo/Jason Rafal)

The next day, we went to another area of the park to see some other angles of the same mountain (you’d think it would get old, but it somehow doesn’t).

A waterfall on our hike (photo/Jason Rafal)

Taking a break after a hike up (photo/Jason Rafal)

Mount Rainier in the aptly-named Reflection Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

Another view in Reflection Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

A path to Mount Rainier (photo/Jason Rafal)

A classic view of Myrtle Falls (photo/Jason Rafal)

As Far West As We Could Go

August 03, 2020 by Nicole Harrison in United States

I’m not even sure how to talk about 2020. It was a brutal year for so many reasons, and not being able to travel internationally seems very far down on the list, especially since we are privileged in so many ways. We were incredibly lucky to be able to take some time to explore some of the beautiful places a little closer to home this year, and while I don’t usually blog weekend trips, these ones felt extra special this year. On a logistical note, I’m writing this in December, but backdating the trips to when we took them for my future sanity.

We had never really spent time in the southwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula before, so in July we took a Friday off and drove to one of the campgrounds. Driving around the Olympic peninsula always takes longer than I’d expect - it’s not that big, but there isn’t really a way to drive through it - so it ended up being a driving-heavy weekend, but a beautiful one.

On our first afternoon, we saw some of the area near our campsite (near, in this case, meaning within an hour). I got to hang out with a giant tree, which I always love, and we found a beautiful waterfall just off the road.

Self portrait in sunglasses (photo/Jason Rafal)

Approaching the largest Sitka spruce tree in the world (photo/Jason Rafal)

Wide angle makes both me and the tree look much longer (photo/Jason Rafal)

A waterfall with a Jurassic Park feel (photo/Jason Rafal)

On our full day, we drove out to Ruby Beach. It’s a popular destination, but since it’s a pretty long beach, it didn’t feel too crowded. We were there on a misty, somewhat sunny day, and it was really beautiful. Beaches in the Pacific Northwest seem to be characterized by small rock islands close to the shore, which is an excellent feature.

Emerging onto Ruby Beach in the mist (photo/Jason Rafal)

Enjoying the lunchtime views (photo/Jason Rafal)

Watching waves through caves (photo/Jason Rafal)

A shiny shell among the rocks (photo/Jason Rafal)

Misty rocks on the beach (photo/Jason Rafal)

Windswept trees through the mist (photo/Jason Rafal)

After the beach, we ventured into the Hoh Rainforest. Since it was mid-summer, the rainforest was fairly dry, but we got to spend some time among mossy trees and waterfalls along the river. There are so many shades of green in the Pacific Northwest forests, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.

So many shades of green (photo/Jason Rafal)

Crossing a creek in the rainforest (photo/Jason Rafal)

Our campsite was walk-in, had no road noise, and was next to a lake. It was lovely.

Views from the lake where our campsite was (photo/Jason Rafal)

Pretty light at our campsite while Jason cooks (photo/Nicole Harrison)

The view when I took the paddle board out on our final morning (photo/Nicole Harrison)

An Unlikely Geological Hotspot

July 15, 2018 by Nicole Harrison in United States

On Thursday night, I got pretty sick. Sick enough that when we left Old Faithful on Friday morning after walking around for a couple of hours, I was very grateful to my body for not feeling the need to throw up at the geyser.

I wasn’t really able to sleep in, so we got an early start to Old Faithful as planned. Old Faithful goes off approximately every hour and a half, so we had a loose idea of when would be a good time to arrive, but tried not to get too excited about a specific plan.

We got to the geyser about half an hour before it was maybe supposed to erupt (plus or minus 16 minutes, according to the prediction calculator), so we had a seat and waited. It’s hard to see the geyser erupt without being surrounded by people because they slowly trickle in during the hour and a half proceeding the eruption, so even though it was shortly after 8:00 am, we were certainly nowhere near alone. By the time we left a couple of hours later, though, the number of people hanging out about the geyser had increased dramatically.

Old Faithful (Photo/Jason Rafal)

I’m going to be honest here - unusual geothermal activity is pretty cool, but it doesn’t make me insanely excited. Old Faithful wasn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, but it is pretty awesome to see nature explode in any way, whether arbitrarily or (approximately) on a schedule.

After we saw Old Faithful do its thing, we (slowly, and with several breaks to sit down) walked a couple of miles through the area to see the other geysers and hydrothermal elements. Honestly, this part is a bit fuzzy in my memory, so I can’t teach you much about all this stuff. But it was cool, and here are some pictures.

A view of the hillside and the Old Faithful Inn, which is the first example of parkitecture and the largest log structure in the world (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A yellow-bellied marmot (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Some sort of crazy hot water thing (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We next drove to the Grand Prismatic Spring, where Jason’s parking luck paid off and we got a spot in the very busy parking lot. Despite my general state of discomfort, the Spring was amazing. It’s a rainbow of deep, rich colors, starting with blue in the middle and ending at orange on the sides. The colors are from the water temperature, which supports the growth of different types and colors of microbes. Possibly my favorite part was the steam off of the Spring, which was all of the colors that showed in the water. It’s really beautiful, in a crazy, abstract sort of way.

People taking pictures of the Grand Prismatic Spring (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The multi-colored steam was my favorite part (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The Spring is great for abstract photography - notice the reflection of the trees along the lower edge of the orange part (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After the Spring we got some food (Jason) and probiotics (me) at Canyon Village. Yellowstone is kind of odd in that there are a few groups of stores, gas stations, and hotels in the middle of the park. It’s weird having a random cafeteria filled with tourists in the middle of a national park, five miles away from a field of wildlife that has zero humans in it. It’s an interesting dichotomy, but also nice to know that one can always get away from the crowds there.

Our next stop was Hayden Valley, where we joined the other visitors in the great American pastime of taking many pictures of bison. I am constantly bemoaning the lack of this continent’s megafauna (thanks, Quaternary extinction event), and bison are great. They are huge, they are fluffy, they have curious bovine eyes, and they are just entertaining to watch.

A bison wallowing (rolling in the dirt) (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Our campsite was next to Yellowstone lake, which is massive and lovely, though I missed the sight of the Tetons on the other side. We stopped on our way in to take some pictures of the very chill young male elk that were hanging out in the shade.

Relaxing elk (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Grazing elk (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A ladybug in the grass (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Saturday I felt somewhat better, and we headed to Artist’s Point early to see the lower falls. On the way, after stopping to take some more pictures of bison

I love their eyes (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Bison and steam (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Yellowstone in all of its otherworldliness (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Bison butts (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Bison calves play fighting (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A young bison soaks up the early morning sun (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Uncle Tom’s trail was closed, which was frustrating but also a relief, because I’m not sure how I would have done with that many stairs. Artist’s Point, though, is a short walk to a lovely view of the lower falls, and the sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds to bathe the water and mist in a warm light. From Artist’s Point we went to see the lower falls and the brink of the upper falls. Aside from the waterfall being super dramatic, the canyon is a beautiful yellow and orange.

Upper Yellowstone Falls (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Another shot of the Falls showing the colorful canyon (Photo/Jason Rafal)

An adorable and very twitchy squirrel (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After we saw the falls from several angles, we left to head for the Norris Geyser Basin area. On the drive, we saw a crowd of people peering at something over a cliff, so I demanded we stop to investigate. It was a baby black bear and its mother, who was being incredibly tolerant of the people standing far closer than the suggested 100 meters as they oohed and aahed. Jason had a pretty long telephoto lens, so we were able to get a couple of pictures while staying a little further back. After a couple of minutes the bears headed off, and we continued to see more geyers. Mama bear (Photo/Jason Rafal) Baby bear (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Norris Geyser Basin looks like the scene of the apocalypse. There are forests on all sides, but the ground in the area is very light, devoid of trees, and usually looks very dry and salty (except when there are geysers and pools). Mammoth Hot Springs is known for its beautiful, multicolored terraces, over which the hot water flows and steams. It’s weird, and remarkable, and mesmerizing.

The basin (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Steam escaping from a hillside (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Canary Spring (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Palette Spring and Terrace (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After eating lunch in Mammoth along with everyone else who was in the northern tip of the park, we headed out east to Lamar Valley. On our way, we saw another mother and baby bear by the side of the road. There were rangers keeping people from stopping because the bears were so close, so we kept driving. Once we got into the valley we stopped and got out of the car to look at the herds of bison.

There were just so many bison (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After we officially left Yellowstone, we drove over Dead Indian Pass, which is so poorly named I am hardly willing to say it. But the view from the top of the pass is absolutely incredible, so I wanted to share that. It has a tragic story involving a tribe fleeing to a new valley, and a dying man who was left behind.

The incredible view from the top of the pass (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We spent our last night in a beautiful guest house in Wyoming, where we watched the sun set and the stars come out. It was a lovely end to the trip, and there was an adorable dog who came to say hi in the morning as well.

Sunset over the hay fields (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Stars in the evening sky (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Our dog friend (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Yellowstone has a lot of really cool places to see, but I think the most impressive thing about the park is that approximately three million people each year come here to watch…nature. Even with all that has changed in the past 100 years, a beautiful, weird park in the middle of nowhere Wyoming is still one of our nation’s top internationally visited treasures. It gives me a tiny bit of faith in humanity.

Pointed Mountains and Clear Lakes

July 12, 2018 by Nicole Harrison in United States

For the 4th of July, Jason and I took a road trip to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Despite both having spent considerable amounts of time living in the West, neither of us had ever been, and the mid-week holiday seemed like a good excuse to take a couple more days off.

Approaching the Teton range (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The Tetons, looking fake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A classic barn-and-Tetons shot (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We arrived mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and after securing a camping spot so that I could stop having so much anxiety about where we were sleeping, we set off on a hike to Taggart and Bradley lakes.

Taggart Creek (Photo/Jason Rafal)

I have spent a considerable amount of time around dramatic mountains - I’ve been in Colorado nearly my whole life, and have marveled at all of our lovely ranges. The Tetons, though, still amazed me. They are granite, and they have snow and glaciers year round, which gives them an arresting black and white look. They are also very steep, with angles jutting into the sky. They do not blend into the landscape at all, and they are very beautiful.

The trail to the lakes (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The view at Bradley Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We were not prepared for the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes love Jason, but we hadn’t had to deal with them in large numbers on any of our recent vacations, so we spaced bug spray on that first hike and had to take a slightly more hasty pace back to the car so that Jason could escape the swarms. The lakes were very photogenic, despite the bugs.

A thickly forested trail (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After our hike, we headed to Jackson to see what it was like. It was kind of like a Colorado ski town, just more western. It was simultaneously familiar and odd, just like any mountain town, but it’s a beautiful place.

Jackson has four giant arches built of antlers, because why not (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Sunset at our campsite (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Thursday we got up early so that Jason could take sunrise pictures at the Snake River Overlook, which is where one of Ansel Adams’ famous photographs was taken. It was absurdly early, and rather cold, and incredibly beautiful. When the sun was up we drove to Schwabacher’s Landing, where there were a number of photographers already taking lovely reflection photos in the morning light.

The Tetons photograph especially well in black and white (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A stunning mountain sunrise (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Another very similar photo because we couldn’t pick one (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The reflections at Schwabacher’s Landing were incredible (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Cloud reflections (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Dedicated sunrise photographers (Photo/Jason Rafal)

With our sunrise pictures out of the way, we headed next to Jenny Lake, where we took the first ferry over to Hidden Falls and Cascade Canyon, which were nearly unoccupied at 7:15 am. This side of the lake features the beautiful waterfall, overlooks of the lake, and the typical outstanding views of the Tetons. We hiked around for a couple of hours before taking the ferry back and packing up our campsite.

The first boat across the lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Early morning light on the mountains (Photo/Jason Rafal)

More beautiful mountains and water (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The dock on the other side of the lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Hidden Falls (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The ferry on Jenny Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

For the rest of the afternoon, we drove by Jackson Lake all the way up to Moose Falls in Yellowstone, where we hung out for a while before driving back to our cabin for the night in Colter Bay, where we cooked dinner next to the surprisingly clear lake and tried to obtain minimal additional mosquito bites.

Boats on Jackson Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Sunset, Tetons, and Jackson Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The lovely Moose Falls, where we were unfortunately not allowed to swim (Photo/Jason Rafal)

It’s Coarse and Rough...and It Gets Everywhere

September 28, 2016 by Nicole Harrison in United States

Story by Nicole

We went with a group of friends to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve for the full moon in September. The sand dunes are a pretty amazing natural feature of Colorado. They are large and dramatic and surrounded by mountains. Even though Jason has a great dislike of sand, he was lured by the friends, camping, and promise of pretty photos.

On Friday night, we camped at Valley View Hot Springs, which is a secluded, beautiful hot springs nestled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We spent the evening soaking in the warm water and explored the area a little more in the daylight before setting off for the sand dunes.The view from our campsite (Photo/Jason Rafal)Exploring the Orient Land Trust area (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The sand dunes are visible from a distance as you drive along the highway, but you don’t really have a good sense of their massive scale until you get much closer. We stopped at the dunes to try to get a campsite (in a stroke of luck, we actually got the last campsite available within the park) before heading to Alamosa for lunch.

On the way back from lunch, we stopped to hike at the Zapata Falls area to do some hiking. We had fun doing some mild off-roading to the trailhead (the people in the backseat were less amused) so we could explore the creek and get some nice views of the sand dunes.Looking up the canyon (Photo/Jason Rafal)Contemplating the creek (Photo/Jason Rafal)The dunes in the distance (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After hiking, we headed to the dunes to set up camp. Most of Colorado has had a fire ban this fall because it’s been so windy and dry, but thankfully we were still allowed to have fire in a an established campsite grill. After cooking, eating, and warming up by the fire, we headed out into the darkness to hike the dunes.Sunset creeps closer (Photo/Jason Rafal)The beautiful shadows of the dunes at dusk (Photo/Jason Rafal)

I’m going to disappoint you right now and tell you that we don’t have any fantastic dune pictures from our hike. The full moon allowed us to see fairly well, but it wasn’t quite bright enough for Jason to justify bringing his camera. I will tell you, though, that hiking on the dunes in the moonlight is amazing. The shadows are disorienting, and it’s impossible to tell how steep or high each dune is. It’s like being on another planet.

After we got back, Jason and Eric took some photos with a tripod, which turned out pretty cool.A plane crosses the starry sky (Photo/Jason Rafal)Eric is dramatic in the moonlight (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Sunday morning, Eric and I took a hike on the dunes before we headed back to Denver (Jason was done with the sand at that point). The dunes are totally different during the day—much less mysterious and unnerving, but still very impressive. After spending some time hiking up and sitting on the vast ridges of sand, we went back to camp to pack up and head back to civilization.Footsteps in the sand dunes (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

On the way back to Denver, we stopped at Kenosha Pass to take some pictures of the fall colors. I would highly recommend visiting Kenosha in mid to late September. There are huge aspen groves that turn from bright green to yellow and deep orange. It was a beautiful day, and it definitely felt like fall. I hope the lovely season doesn’t pass too quickly.A variety of fall colors (Photo/Jason Rafal)More mountain colors (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Glowing Rocks

May 02, 2015 by Nicole Harrison in United States

Story by Nicole

The last two days of our trip were very driving-heavy, but we were looking forward to spending a night camping in Zion National Park. After hours of flat desert, we began seeing the stunning white and red rocks that made Utah so appealing for outdoor recreation.

We got to Zion at around 5:30 p.m. and decided to take a hike before dinner. We were staying at the Watchman Campground, and since we did not want to do any additional driving, we decided to hike the trail that began next to the campground. Zion is dramatically beautiful, and we weren’t even in the famous parts. We’ve both said that we’d like to go back and explore the canyons in depth.

Watchman Campground (Photo/Jason Rafal)

(Photo/Jason Rafal)

After our hike, we set up camp and started dinner. The woman at the park gate had said that there were no bears, but to put our food in the car or the locked box to protect against overeager squirrels. The lack of bears was something that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. When I took some garbage out, I had a moment of panic because they were not bear proof. I must admit, though, that not having to worry about bears is nice and relaxing.

Our amazing decades-old cooking stove (Photo/Jason Rafal)

I thoroughly recommend camping in Zion at the beginning of May. There are beautiful dark rocky silouettes all around, which is great, but it’s also just such an incredibly pleasant temperature at night. The low when we were there was 55 degrees. I’ve never been on a camping trip in which it did not get down into the high 30s at the very least. Between the warmth and the lack of bears, it felt kind of like we were cheating at camping. We rose before dawn and watched the rising sun touch the top of the rocks as we drove away.

Sunrise light (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We’re now home in Denver. I love having adventurous vacations, but we are both really looking forward to sleeping.