Blog Update Sept 19,2014 - East side of the Rockies Photo Trip

As most of you know - Jim Flinchbaugh and I decided to go and explore the East Side of the Rockies and the prairie and see if we could find a spot to get a good shot of the mountains from the East side - morning rising sun and of course the sunset to the west...we both had the shot envisioned in our mind and it was just a matter of finding the precise location, sadly it was not to be...the haze and smoke from the California and Oregon fires made it impossible to get a good clean shot, but we explored anyway and of course found a few things to take pictures of!

The trip consisted of 519 miles plus of driving and 3 nights camping...here is a little recap, in words and pictures!



Our first camp spot was a free open camping area beside Willow Creek Reservoir outside of Augusta Montana!



The site was in the middle of the prairie and a beautiful setting, plenty of room for Clyde to run and swim and we shared the site with numerous cows and of course cow shit and flies...but it was quiet and tranquil. The first night the sky was very clear and we star gazed by the fire, but were too lazy and content to shoot the stars again - Mistake! The next night was cloudy and overcast so we missed the Milky Way shots over the camp!

The second day we drove about 100 miles of dirt roads up into the mountains and it was interesting, but the mountain shot eluded us. On with some pictures!

The evening fire and sunset over the lake was amazing....





While attempting to shoot the above shot - Clyde Photo Bombed Me!!



On Day 2's drive we found some antelope - not too close, but enough to get a picture!



And a river...









We spent two nights and then decided to move on - a short 25 mile drive to Choteau and a stop at the Forest Service office lead us to our next spot - a Forest Service Campground about 30 miles out of town and about a 12 mile drag down a rough dirt road to the Cave Mountain Campground - it was a beautiful campground, well maintained and plenty of forest and trees and the wonderful sound of the river flowing by....







On our Day 3 drive we found a real nice little stream feeding into the main river and I shot a few pictures - although I did not have the filter with me that would give me the exact shots I wanted.

First shot of the stream...



The next morning we were surprised to have a real heavy smell of smoke in the campground and it was very hazy...concerned that the canyon we were in was on fire we decided a drive up the canyon was in order to see if we were in danger. I also wanted to return to the little creek and get the shots I was looking for. Luckily Jim had brought his filters and I was able to get a long enough exposure to make the water go silky...

Here are a few from the 2nd shooting of the creek!







My favorites!





I decided a portrait of Jimbo was in order!!



After the drive up the canyon in the thick smoke we decided the photo opportunities were slipping away so we head towards home in the wind and rain and cut the trip short by a day, however we had a grand time and it was worth every minute!

Today I pick my truck up from a buddy of Jims who is a Ford Mechanic - he changed the plugs on the V-10 and also the oil. It should be ready to travel as my plans have me leaving a week from today!

In the meantime - it will be clean up the trailer, check a few things and maybe a couple afternoon photo trips to capture more of the autumn colors around here, it is starting to burst in gold!!

Stay Tuned!

Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!