lakes – Michael Rappa

Glacier National Park, 2019: Panoramas

August 1, 2021 Michael Rappa

This is a collection of panoramas from my visit to Glacier National Park. For the most part I didn’t take any deliberate panorama shots on this trip–these were all stitched together from separate photos that I later realized would make good panoramas. The exceptions are the two night shots, which were sort of deliberate in that I aimed the camera in the dark at different angles for long exposures and hoped for the best (the Lake McDonald one, in particular, turned out pretty well).

The first four photos below feature views from the hotels where I stayed in Apgar Village and Many Glacier; the next three were taken during my hikes of the Highline and Grinnell Glacier trails, and the final photo is a view that should be familiar to fans of The Shining or Big Sky.

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Lake McDonald

Many Glacier: Swiftcurrent Lake

Highline Trail

Red pool near Grinnell Glacier.

Grinnell Glacier Trail

St. Mary Lake: Wild Goose Island

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Union Transportation Trail – October, 2020

January 5, 2021 Michael Rappa

Back in late October my wife and I decided to check out the relatively new (opened in 2010) Union Transportation Trail in Upper Freehold, a nine-mile rail trail not far from where we live. I was itching to get out and about after being mostly homebound for seven months (outside of a week in Cape May in September and dog walks around the neighborhood, I had barely left the house since the pandemic began), and it seemed like a good opportunity to see some fall foliage.

We got a late start, so we only had time to do the short leg of the trail traveling north from the Sharon Station Road parking area to 539–this section of the trail had opened to the public in 2017. It’s a pleasant little trail that also has a detour through trees that opens up into a large field of wild grass. I’m looking forward to returning to explore the southern portion of the trail, as well as the new section being planned that will extend the trail all the way to our home town.

Here are a few photos from our short hike:

Union Transportation Trail

Glacier National Park, 2019: Two Medicine Lake

October 15, 2020October 17, 2020 Michael Rappa

These photos were shot around Two Medicine Lake, located in the Two Medicine region of Glacier National Park, a lesser-seen area of the park that takes a bit of driving to get to, but is worth the trip if you have the time.

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Two Medicine Lake

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London Trip, 2016: Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

May 13, 2020 Michael RappaLeave a comment

These photos are from my stroll through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens up to Kensington Palace back in February of 2016.

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Hyde Park - London, England: Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Hyde Park - London, England: Serpentine Gallery

Kensington Gardens - London, England: Kensington Palace

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Glacier National Park, 2019: Three Falls Trail

March 28, 2020March 30, 2020 Michael Rappa

These photos are from my hike of the Three Falls Trail on the eastern side of Glacier National Park last September. It could actually be called the Dozen Falls Trail if you count all the pretty cascades I passed along the way. First was Baring Falls, followed by St. Mary Falls, and then a long uphill climb to majestic Virginia Falls, to which photos cannot do justice.

I connected to this trail, a portion of which is part of the multi-state Continental Divide Trail, from the Sun Point Nature trail. On my way back, I considered diverting to the Saint Mary Falls trailhead and taking a shuttle back to my car at the Sun Point parking area, but chose instead to hike back the way I came, continuing up the short trail to Sun Point before heading back to my car, which amounted to about 6-7 miles worth of hiking that day.

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Three Falls Trail: St. Mary Falls

Three Falls Trail

Three Falls Trail: Virginia Falls

Three Falls Trail: Baring Falls

Three Falls Trail

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American Northwest Trip, 2019: The Movie

March 22, 2020March 28, 2020 Michael Rappa

This movie compiles all of the videos I shot during my trip to Glacier National Park, Montana and Seattle, Washington in September of 2019. One correction: the photo captioned as Victoria Falls is actually Virginia Falls, not sure how I made that mistake given that all the photos I shot were captioned properly.

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Glacier National Park, 2019: Sun Point and Nature Trail

February 15, 2020 Michael Rappa

These photos are from my hike along the Sun Point Nature Trail in Glacier National Park, as well as from Sun Point itself, overlooking Saint Mary Lake, where, for the third year in a row, I encountered engagements and/or wedding photo shoots at a national park, one of which is featured in this collection.

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Sun Point

Sun Point: I stumbled onto a wedding photo shoot.

Sun Point

Sun Point Nature Trail

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Glacier National Park, 2019: Avalanche Lake Trail

January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 Michael Rappa

Greetings, readers, it’s been a while, but this post is hopefully the start of my renewed dedication to this blog.

Back in September I took another trip out west, this time to Glacier National Park and then Seattle. The photos below are from my final hike on my last day in Glacier. I had almost quit the Avalanche Lake Trail before the end because it was late in the day, the woods were getting dark, and I was hiking through grizzly country with very few other hikers on the trail, but I’m glad I stuck it out because the reward at the end was more than worth it: a pristine hidden lake casting a perfect mirror image of the earth and sky above, including a pair of waterfalls in the distance.

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Avalanche Lake

Avalanche Lake Trail

Avalanche Lake

Avalanche Lake Trail

Avalanche Lake

Avalanche Lake Trail

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Yellowstone Lake

January 7, 2019January 9, 2019 Michael Rappa

These photos are from different areas of Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park. The West Thumb photos were taken near where I stayed in Grant Village and the Lake Butte Overlook photos were taken on my way out of the park on the day I drove across Wyoming into South Dakota.

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Yellowstone Lake: West Thumb

Yellowstone Lake: Lake Butte Overlook

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake: West Thumb

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Grand Teton National Park

June 27, 2018January 9, 2019 Michael Rappa

When I was planning my trip out west last year, I wasn’t sure whether a day trip to Grand Teton National Park was worth spending one fewer day in Yellowstone, so I inquired with a couple of friends, who told me that I should definitely see it. I decided to go for it, and I’m glad that I did. Grand Teton is a park filled with majestic mountain peaks and beautiful lakes. The photos below feature shots taken at Jenny Lake, Jackson Lake, and Snake River (site of one of Ansel Adams’ most famous photographs), as well as miscellaneous photos taken from around the park. My next post will highlight Grand Teton’s historic buildings, such as those located on Mormon Row.

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