The Times and Travels of Nolan
Documenting trips I’ve taken and places I’ve seen.
A cool visitor’s center can really elevate a park visit, especially a short one. I’ve seen some cool visitor’s centers in my day – the Canyon Visitor’s Center in Yellowstone, the Travertine Nature Center in Chickasaw NRA, and the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor’s Center all come to mind – but never before had I ever seen …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: The Bear’s Hump”
Another early morning. July 16 at the St. Mary Campground dawned bright and sunny, with a near-full-moon setting back over the Lewis Range to the west. And I awoke in desperate need of more rest than we were allowing ourselves on this trip. Some context, if you’ve forgotten in the near-full-year that I’ve been writing …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: Driving to Canada (eh)”
300 feet. 0.7 miles. Almost a year later, I refuse to believe either of those numbers. According to AllTrails, it’s only 0.7 miles from St. Mary Falls to Virginia Falls by trail. You only have to go up 300 feet to get there. Neither of those felt remotely true. 30000 steps. My Fitbit passed that …
Note: Elizabeth is my fiancee and my hiking companion on the route to Piegan Pass on 15 July 2022 when we saw a grizzly bear just off-trail. Elizabeth has generously written a blog post about her experience. Her account has been lightly edited. I always thought I had a “healthy” fear of bears. Nolan and …
The top of the continent was windy. Yeah, I know that hardly qualifies as a surprise. Piegan Pass sits at 7,600 feet, well above the tempering influence of any trees this close to the international border. That’s part of why the view here was so incredible. The views to the south and east of Piegan …
Grey pre-dawn light filtered into the tent. The air was perfectly still at Sprague Creek. There wasn’t a sound – except for my phone alarm, which had woken me up not long after 5:00 a.m. just like it was supposed to. Outside of the fact that I did not wanted to be awoken from my …
Continue reading “Glacier National Park: Hiking to Piegan Pass”
Miffed. I remember being miffed when Elizabeth and I reentered Glacier National Park for the first time in a day during the evening of 14 July. Why had we gone to all of the effort of purchasing a GTSR vehicle reservation if people could just pour into the national park unimpeded? It was surprising to …
Whitefish lay straight ahead. The RAV-4 which had been so meticulously packed two days ago was already showing signs of repeated rummaging for cameras or yellow Gatorades or swimsuits. It cruised along the built-up section of the Flathead Valley, past the lodges and motels and hotels of Kalispell. I was practically vibrating with excitement over …
48 hours into our time in Montana, Elizabeth and I had seen many of the biospheres that the state had to offer. There had been the flat Big Sky Country, the rolling High Plains, the rugged granite-covered mountains, and the heavily wooded slopes. Herron Park south of Kalispell made an entirely new one. There were …
Continue reading “Glacier National Park: Foys Lake Overlook”
One moment, twilight was spilling forth brilliant oranges and pinks across the northern Montana sky. The next, it was morning and early sun rays were lighting up those same mountains golden-green. At least that’s how it seemed to me following a wonderful night of sleep at the Belton Chalet. You can easily overexert yourself on …
