It's over 90 degrees, humid -- and oh, how I wish I was back in Montana. It's been a very hard adjustment this year to the weather here in Georgia. Each year it is hard for me to handle the heat and humidity. And my friends are all saying this is a mild summer. Sorry, but when I walk outside and start sweating -- IT'S HOT!!!!
I saw so many things I thought were beautiful and amazing. And I think I mentioned in several of my blog posts an article I found in a travel magazine where the author listed his "10 Most Perfect Views in Montana". I'm glad I saw the article, as it gave me additional places to see -- and some where right there on my list as well.
However, I wasn't sure I agreed with all his choices. And of course, the "west" is so much larger than just Montana. I wanted to put together my own "10 Perfect Views" -- not just for Montana, but for all the states I've been through out west (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah). I've put them in an order, but they are all fantastic and well worth seeing.
- WILDLIFE: I consider any and all wildlife to be perfection. Nothing excites me more (not even mountains and waterfalls) than seeing a moose, bear, or bison. In their natural habitat, uninhibited by f
ences, cages, etc. (and free to eat or kill you), the wildlife of the west is amazing. I've seen a lot of Bison (what us folks from the East would call Buffalo) and I probably have 60 pictures (and I've gotten rid of the ones I didn't like). Last year I had about 9 moose sightings, including a cow and calf. This year I finally saw 2 wild grizzly bears. They wereso far away I could only look through the binoculars and didn't get a picture. I've 
never seen a wolf, although I've seen hundreds of human "wolfers" parking themselves in their chairs along the road through Lamar Valley in Y
ellowstone with their eyeball stuck in their high powered telescope, spending the day looking for wolfs in the mountains. The national parks like Yellowstone and Glacier are havens to protect the wildlife, from bison, bears, mountain goats, big horn sheep, elk, coyotes, deer, pronghorns, mountain lions -- you name it. I've included some of my favorite wildlife photo's and am looking forward to adding to this collection in years to come.
(this is a moose -- unless you run across one in the wild -- which is NOT a good idea -- you never get very close to them)2. MANY GLACIER / GRINNELL POINT: There are so many beautiful vistas in Glacier National Park, but this one truly "took my breath away". This area is on the eastern side of Glacier National Park. The area is called Many Glacier (you guessed it) for the many glaciers that are found here. There is the Many Glacier Lodge which sits on the Swiftcurrent Lake, which is just one of 4 lakes all attached to
each other. Right in the middle of Swiftcurrent Lake is Grinnel Point (named after the man who made Glacier Park possible). I hope you enjoy the photos. (The first picture is Grinnell Point, the second is Mt. Wilbur behind Swiftcurrent Lake, and the third is Mt. Gould)
3. ARTIST POINT / YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: This is, indeed, "the perfect view". It is at the end of Yellowstone Canyon (which is considered to be the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone), with the Yellowstone River running through this "painted" canyon. From "Artist Point" you look back up the
river towards the 309 ft. Lower Falls (which in itself is amazing), with the red, orange, and yellow hues of the canyon acting as the backdrop to the river. Artist point is said to be the inspiration of many beautiful pictures, and one can see why. You cannot take a bad picture from this point. You be the judge.
4. ARCHES NATIONAL PARK / UTAH: This is a national park that was new to me. We had planned a vacation going through Colorado. In an interesting story, we had driven to the top of Pikes Peak (about 14,000 ft.) and felt the effects of being that high -- dizziness. In our journey west across Colorado, we stopped at a small information area along the freeway, and met a lady who had climbed Pike
s Peak 14 times (and she is in her 60's at this time). Unbelievable. She suggested that we go to Arches National Park -- named for the stone arches that 
have formed over hundreds of thousands of years. The rock formations are amazing. There are different layers of rock with differing hardness. As the wind and rains of thousands of years wear away the softer stone, the harder stone is left. And with this you get some amazing formations. The most facous in this park is the huge stone arch which is on the Utah license plate. There are also huge bolders the size of multi-floored buildings perched on a spike of stone. Once you look at it, you don't want to take your eyes off it -- naturemight decide that is the moment to drop that bolder, and you don't want to miss it. An absolutely amazing park.
(I would like to say that this picture was taken at quite a distance. That hole is probably well over 100 ft. tall. You might be able to see what looks like a couple of white spec's -- those are people)
5. OLD FAITHFUL / YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: What is a visit to Yellowstone if you don't go to see Old Faithful. I've seen it about 8 times now, and I'm always awed by the power of Mother Nature. Yellowstone Park is actually a huge caldera of a major volcanic area. Everywhere in Yellowstone you see the steam and boiling water from hot springs, or the bubbling mud pots, or once in a while you get to see a geyser actually erupt. Thank goodness for Old Faithful -- if it didn't erup
t about every 94 minutes, people would probably never see any of these geysers blow. It starts with a little spitting of the geyser, then grows bigger and bigger, until the water is spraying and steaming for all 150 ft. (actually it varies between 103 and 180 ft.). Yellowstone is home to 5 of th
e largest geysers in the world, known as the "Grand" geysers -- like the Steamboat Geyser which could erupt within 5 days or as long as 3-4 years (you can't sit around and wait for this one). When Steamboat does erupt, its water goes up about 350 ft. And as with the "wolfers", there are "Geyser Gazers" who sit by the geysers for a whole day waiting for the eruption (for the more frequent geysers), and they call the rangers to let them know when they go off. Thank goodness for the President who in 1872 made Yellowstone the first National Park in the world -- a national treasure for the generations of people who come to visit every year.6. ROAD TO THE SUN / GLACIER NATIONAL PARK: I believe I said in one of my articles that Glacier is all about the mountains. And nothing is more true than on the "Road to the Sun". I've been on the road several times, and there are some individual amazing sights, such as Logan Pass, the Weeping Wall, Bird Woman Falls, etc. This road is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. And this y
ear I did it in the red tour bus. It was almost the end of June, and still the road was not open to Logan Pass (which is about the highest point on the road). There can be 80 ft. of snow through the passes 
and on the road. The road was clean almost to Logan Pass, and there had been a light snowfall in the mountains a few days ago. As the red bus took 
the hairpin curves, we had a panarama of mountains outlined by the new snow which made it a "perfect view". I would strongly recommend driving this road which crosses Glacier Park -- just don't try it before July. It might still be covered with snow.7. GRAND TETON MOUNTAINS / WYOMING: Just south of Yellowstone National Park, you'll run right into the Teton Mountains, which are my favorite mountains in the west. They are steep, rugged, jagged, and snow covered -- all the ingredients for the perfect mountains. The Grand Teton National Park differs from
parks like Glacier, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain because of the sharpness of the peaks, that resemble a bit of Switzerland. The tallest peak is Grand Teton at a height of 13
,770 ft., but there are 10 other peaks that top 11,000. And they are magnificent any time of the yea
r. There are not as many things to see in the Tetons (like Yellowstone), but there are several lodges, lakes (with guided boat tours), waterfalls, mountain climbing, hiking, and trails galore. And there is the Teton Ski Resort where you can ride a gondola up to the top of the ski
mountain at about 10,000 ft. You can also do something really stupid and jump off the 10,000 ft. mountain attached to a parachute (and a qualified parasailing guide). And yes, I was that stupid.What a blast!!
(The first picture is taken from the Idaho side of the Tetons, from Targhee Ski Resort in Driggs, Idaho. These are considered the major peaks in the Teton Range -- from left to right: Mt. Owen (12, 928), Grand Teton (13,770), Middle Teton (12,804), South Teton (12,514). The rest are taken on the Wyoming side, with the last being taken the middle of May -- notice the frozen lake is still frozen.)
8. KOOTENAI FALLS / LIBBY, MT: There are thousands of waterfalls within the national parks and throughout the west. Thus far, the Kootenai Falls are the most beautiful I have seen. They are not the tallest falls (as compared to the Lower falls of the Yellowstone River at 309 ft., or Tower Falls in Yellowstone, another 300 ft. tall), but they cover such a wide stretch of the Kootenai River and the falls drop
300 ft. in elevation in a few hundred yards. And the river and falls are a beautiful blue 
green color (caused by rock dust run off from the mountain glaciers). These falls are beautiful enough and large enough that the movie "The River Wild" (staring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon) was filmed here. And the best part is that you can walk right up to the precipice of the falls -- right where the water drops over the edge. Now....this is a "perfect view".
I also want to add the "runner-up's" which would be the Running Eagle Falls (Glacier), The Upper and Lower Falls (Yellowstone), Tower Falls (Yellowstone), and Gribbon Falls (Yellowstone).
9. FERNIE, BRITISH COLUMBIA / CANADA: This is a little ski town in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I was shopping in Whitefish, MT, and talking to the store owner about loving mountains. She said I must go to Fernie. I looked it up on the map and found that it was just a 3 hour drive. And since I had spent $75 to have my passport renewed, I felt I must go. I am so glad that I did. I would not have wa
nted to miss Fernie. Not only does it have absolutely beautiful mountains at the s
ki resort, but the town has some wonderful old architecture, and everywhere you look, there are mountains as the backdrop. There is also a beautiful "Island Resort" way up in the mountains with lakes, hiking, spa, great restaurant, beautiful suites in log buildings -- so
mething for everyone (except NO TV).
10. AVALANCHE LAKE / GLACIER NATIONAL PARK: This was a find. And it was inevitable that I would hike to Avalanche Lake. I arrived in Montana mid-May, and in most areas of the country, that is spring going into summer. But not at Glacier Park -- that still means 80 ft. of snow on the "Road to the Sun". You can drive into the park and up the "road", but it was closed at Avalanche Creek. There is a Cedar Forest trail and when you are half way around that trail, you can start your 2 mile hike up to Avalanche Lake. It's a hike -- one that goes up in elevation over 500 ft., and it required me
to stop for "breathing breaks" along the way. I was told the view was worth the hike, but you never know. I thought about turning around, and what really kept me going were people much
older than me coming down the mountain, and I thought "If they can hike up there, so can I". I'm not going to be outdone by "old people" (although I turned 61, and I get a senior discount at the movies -- YIKES -- I am an old person). Luckily, what I was told was true -- the view was AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING. Surrounding the lake were beautiful snow capped mountains. In the distance, you can see 3 huge waterfalls coming down the side of the mountain. I almost didn't want to leave -- and of course, I knew I had to hike 2 miles down the mountain (and there were no bus stops at the lake).Some of the other great spots to visit are:
- The All American Road over the Beartooth Mountains (fantastic drive over the tallest mountains in Montana)
- Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton National Park (Northern side of Glacier in Canada)
- Ross Creek Cedar Forest, Libby, MT (giant cedar trees -- visit when you go to Kootneai Falls)
- Astor Park Overlook, Two Medicine, Glacier Park -- another great hike up a mountain with a fabulous view)
- Blodget Canyon, Hamilton, MT -- great 2 mile hike to the top, not overly strenuous
- Colorado National Monument Park -- amazing rock formations
- Polebridge, MT (best pastries in the world)
- Kerr Dam, Polson, MT (amazing views when the dam is draining off water)
- Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone - hottest and most active geyser basin in the park
- Jackson, WY -- absolutely best Western/Mountain shopping in the country
- Downtown Bozeman, MT
- Red Lodge, MT
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