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Today I visited Palouse Falls State Park, which is in the southeast corner of Washington state. I find myself drawn to water, whether its a lake, river, ocean or a waterfall. I had heard of Palouse Falls before starting this trip, so naturally I wanted to see it for myself. Its a pretty small state park, but has nice views of the river gorge and the waterfall. Its also definitely the "off season" for visiting the park, as I was there for a couple of hours and had the park entirely to myself the whole time. 
Although its somewhat difficult from the photos to tell just how big this waterfall is, at almost 200 feet tall it is quite a bit taller than Minnesota's highest waterfall, which is High Falls at Grand Portage State Park (120 feet tall). The size is also deceiving because the falls is down at the bottom of what is a rather deep gorge. 
I found the view of the canyon looking downstream to be just as impressive as the view of the falls. In fact, it sort of reminded me of the Grand Canyon, except with grass. The shapes of the canyon walls are reminiscent of the shapes of some areas of the Grand Canyon. If you ever find yourself in southeast Washington, Palouse Falls is definitely worth a visit. 
Yesterday as I was driving across Idaho on Interstate 84 I saw this wind farm coming up on the right side of the road. Then, I looked directly to my right and saw that the moon was coming up just as the sun was going down on my left. I pulled over onto the shoulder and drove along the shoulder until the moon was lined up with the wind turbines, then got out to take this picture. I don't usually stop along the freeway to take pictures, but this one I just couldn't resist.
Well, what can I say.... 18 pictures for one blog entry is waaaaaaaay too many, but I can't help it! Grand Teton National Park and the town of Jackson, Wyoming have quickly become one of my favorite places. I spent two very productive days in the Tetons, with lots of different light and atmospheric conditions. Fog, frost, moonlight, stars and storm clouds all played a part in giving me two very incredible days of shooting. 
After my long drive from Yellowstone down to the Tetons I arrived in the park just in time to catch the last bit of light from the setting sun. 
Above: This image of Mt. Moran at Oxbow Bend was captured about 45 minutes after the sun went down. There was still quite a bit of color left in the sky, and it was already dark enough and the moon was light enough that the mountains were lit up from the rising moon.
After the sun was long gone I spent some time along Jackson Lake making images of Mt. Moran and the Teton Range, then I drove further south along the range to capture the image below of Grand Teton mountain in the moonlight. 
After a long day's drive and a couple of hours in the cold shooting the moonlit mountains, I was really longing for a hot shower and a warm bed so I headed to Jackson to check in to my hotel for the night. But, along the way I drove past the Elk antler arches in Jackson and saw that they were all lit up with christmas lights.... so, my hot shower was put off a little while longer while I made some images of the antler arches :-)
The next morning there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, which made it perfect for watching the light creep down the mountains as the sun rose behind me. To make things even better, there was a fog bank at the base of the mountains!
As the sun rose higher and higher the fog seemed to intensify...
Once the sun was up high enough so that the "warm" light was gone, the fog bank took on a very dark, ominous look....
After a while I drove up to Oxbow Bend and the view of Mt. Moran, then I realized that the fog was being generated by Jackson Lake. Since the lake wasn't frozen, all the warm air rising off the water was meeting with the cold air left over from the night, making for lots and lots of fog. 
Another benefit of the fog was that all the trees and shrubbery had become encased in frost. What a beautiful morning! And, a photographer's dream :-)
Above: This image is one of my favorites so far from this trip. There is a large hillside behind these trees, which was in shadow as the sun was above and behind this hill. The sun being behind the hill made a big dark shadow on this side of the hill, yet the trees and fog were far enough away from the hill that they were backlit from the sun. This is the sort of image that photographers live for!
Above: Mt. Moran, fog, and frosted trees
Driftwood and (perhaps fox?) tracks on the shores of Jackson Lake. Mt. Moran is in the background.
Above: Mt. Moran and Jackson Lake after the fog had lifted.
After the fog lifted I spent part of the afternoon looking for a good spot along the river to shoot the sunset with the mountains in the background. Once I found a spot, I returned there about half an hour before sunset and sat on the river bank waiting for the sun to go down. Once it dipped below the mountains, the sky just lit up with this awesome orange glow. The tallest peak in the background is Grand Teton mountain.
The next morning was a totally different situation from the morning before. No fog, but there were lots of dark, ominous clouds looming over the mountains. Just as the sun broke the horizon behind me, the clouds parted for a few minutes around Grand Teton and the tip of the peak was catching the sunlight. A few minutes later and the clouds were hiding the peak once again. What a great ending to my time in the Tetons! Now I'm going to hit the road once again and make my way towards Washington.
Since most of the roads in Yellowstone National Park are closed in the winter, you are pretty limited when it comes to what part of the park can be explored. The only road within Yellowstone that is open year-round is the road from Gardiner, Montana to Cooke City, Montana. Gardiner is known as the "North Entrance" to Yellowstone National Park. 
Above: I saw this old SUV just outside the entrance to the park. I couldn't resist the shot, with the " No parking here to end of street" sign. Also notice the license plate... it says "FAST SUV". I don't know about you, but to me this SUV looks like it is anything but fast!I arrived in Gardiner in the early afternoon, with enough time to make the drive from Gardiner to Cooke City. I was hoping to see some wildlife (mostly Elk), but all I saw were a few Bison that were way off in the distance in a field. Oh well, it was still an interesting and beautiful drive. The scenery in Yellowstone certainly is worth the drive. The Lamar Valley in particular is especially pretty. 
Since most of the roads in Yellowstone are closed and open only to over-the-snow travel, some companies do operate shuttle vehicles that run on tracks instead of tires. Using tracks gives the vehicles greater flotation so they can drive on top of the snow. 
Above: This picture of the moon off the top of a mountain peak was taken just outside of Cooke City.
I spent the night in Gardiner, and after my drive to Cooke City and back I got a bite to eat then went back out to try shooting some of the Mammoth Hot Springs in the moonlight. It certainly was pretty cool to see the bubbling and steaming hot springs at night. The steam takes on a whole different mood at night than it does during the day. I also found a nice viewpoint which gave me a wonderful view of the valley and the "town" of Mammoth (which is basically a town where all the park service employees live). It was a very chilly night (I think the low that night was around 15 degrees), so I kinda froze my rear off but it was worth it!
The next morning I woke well before sunrise so I could go back to the park and photograph the hot springs in the morning light. Right after I passed the park entrance I finally got my Elk wish... there were half a dozen Elk right in the middle of the road! As I inched my car closer and closer to them all of them walked off the road except for one. The one that stayed stood his ground right in the middle of the road, and as I got alongside him I rolled down my window and took this picture of him. He just stared at me as I inched past him. I think if I leaned out the window, he was close enough that I could have pet him! What a great start to the day :-)
After my encounter with the Elk I drove the few miles up to Mammoth Hot Springs, gathered my gear and went off down the boardwalk to shoot the hot springs again, this time in the morning light. Once the sunlight hit the steam from the hot springs, it just glowed. Since it was still only about 15 to 20 degrees outside, and the warm air escaping from the hot springs was now being hit directly by warm sunlight, there was a lot more steam than there was last night. 
Below: I used my "little" camera to take this self-portrait of me with my "big" camera. Look at all that steam in the background! Even though most of Yellowstone is 'closed' this time of year, there is still plenty to see and do!
Along the lines of what I mentioned in my first post at the start of this trip, today I received proof of what a small world it really is. I received the following comment on my blog from Lisa Cassellius (Lisa's husband Marty used to be the forester in Grand Portage!):"Travis! Your mom sent me to your blog. I'm loving it! Your opening remarks are especially poignant considering the bit I'm about to share: Our oldest daughter, Sadie, is currently attending Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, WY (you should visit if you have a chance--beautiful--and I, too, have Grand Portage Bay and Pete's Island as reference points). She spent Thanksgiving weekend with friends in Billings, MT. On Saturday, the 28th, they visited Custer's Battlefield and as she signed the guestbook she perused the previous day's signers. Who should she see but 'Travis Novitsky, Grand Portage, MN'! She was amazed at the 'smallness of the world'. Indeed we are never far from one another or from home. Enjoy your journey. I will be checking in and enjoying your beautiful photography." Lisa Cassellius
