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Draplin Design Co., North America
September 09, 2010
U.S. Route 2 Westbound - Day 05
Posted at 11:31 PM

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I’m not a religious man. I gave up on Sunday mass a long time back. Over my 36 years, the times I’ve felt the closest to some idea of God, or, the whirling randomness of galactic vapor, dust and rock in an ever-expanding universe, or whatever the hell you call it, is a pretty short list. Simple stuff, like holding my nephew Oliver the first time. That shit was cosmic. I’ll spare the others.

Add this one to that list: Watching the clouds part and reveal peak after peak at Glacier National Park this afternoon. Just incredible. Breathtaking. Big. Older than everything. Glacial. Pristine. Another reason to be thankful to be here.

All these years, whipping back and forth between that Midwest and that West, this was my first time inside the park. Mom and I grazed it a couple years back, but that was just a quick drive-by.

So glad we went out of the way today to experience it. Thank you, Montana.

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ATTA GIRL: Leigh took some incredible shots today. Don’t miss ‘em.

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POSTSCRIPT: Oh yeah, to the German Goretex’d hiker with the big binoculars, who was looking up the mountainside, and when Leigh excitedly asked, “What are you guys looking at?!” and you replied, “Nothing…” in that terse, deep Bavarian harshness that you guys are known for, finally mumbling something about “…bears you saw that morning…” or whatever, but couldn’t spot anymore, and ultimately peeled out of the viewpoint all miffed?

Well, as we pulled away, the mama bear and her cub crossed the road in front of us. So fuck ya.

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Tempting.

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Another reason to pull over and investigate.

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Lethal lettering.

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Electric!

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Good business if you can get it.

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Granite City Steel Co.

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Helmbrecht Photo Studio does it right, for the ages.

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Fixer-upper. Quaint. Lots of possibilities. Good place to die.

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Rolling into Glacier, along with some seriously dreary grayness.

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Navigating the harrowing pass in the clouds. Really.

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The clouds parting, revealing scenes like this.

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And this. No words to really capture what I was feeling looking down at this.


There Are 7 Comments

Damn, those end shots are beautiful / mystical.

Posted by: Steve McDonald on 09/10/10 at 5:53 AM

Stunning shots. Always impressed at the shit you see. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Greg on 09/10/10 at 7:03 AM

Sweetness. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Andrew on 09/10/10 at 7:28 AM

lol, I felt the same way the first time I rolled through Glacier. Place is absolutely breathtaking.

Posted by: scott on 09/10/10 at 10:34 AM

Love all the road trip photos. That Going To The Sun road in Glacier is a mindbender, ain’t it? Drove it three times: once as a kid with some very nervous parents, the other times solo with a big grin on my face.

Posted by: Mick Sleeper on 09/10/10 at 11:25 AM

Totally unrelated, but I thought you might like the collections page on this site: http://www.capmatchescolor.com/

Posted by: Andrew on 09/12/10 at 8:03 AM

It’s nice to be humbled by nature. It’s also nice to see bear cubs and rub it in some asshole’s face.

This looks like a fantastic trip.

Posted by: Ryan Bush on 09/14/10 at 12:09 PM
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