Paradise Valley, Montana
According to Google, Paradise is defined as 'an ideal or idyllic place or state'. So basically, even though I was wasn't in Paradise Valley when I photographed trains near the Yellowstone River near Columbus, and I was well north of Paradise Valley when I photographed the Smith River Valley, I was technically in 'paradise' the ENTIRE TIME! You see, just about anywhere in Montana is my 'ideal place'.
That said, the Absaroka Range flanking one half of Paradise Valley near Pray Montana is pretty awesome and definitely fits the description of 'Paradise".
First.. Getting there...
After my voyage into the Crazy Mountains, I met up with my wife and mother at Chico Hot Springs in Pray Montana. On the way, I made a few stops along the Yellowstone River near Columbus MT.
I sort of lucked out that the trains were busy running down the river during the time I had to spend there. Below you can see a BNSF train that came from Columbus. I really love how the late afternoon sun really lights up the trees in fall.
Here is a wider shot of another train that had just left Columbus.
After the train had run, you can see empty tracks along with some nice fall color in the later afternoon sun.
I am not sure if the bridge below was an old railroad track or not. I was standing on the current and active railroad track when I took the photo.
Here you can see some cattle just as they should be... eating GRASS!
After the sun went down I headed for Chico Hot Springs to meet my wife and mother. It was nice to take a dip in the hot water, and the next morning, I left for photos just after 4 a.m. The moon was big and bright and in the right spot to light up the scenes in front of me.
Here is a photo looking down Meadow Road. I believe it leads to cabins that you can rent that are part of Chico Hot Springs. I remember staying in a cabin here during my 8th grade class trip with Trinity Lutheran School but can't remember where it was.
Also from Meadow Road, you can see Emigrant Peak in the distance, and those lights you see are from Chico Hot Springs. If you look at the bottom right, the dark figures are some mule deer grazing in the field.
After heading down the road a bit, I found a National Forest Access Road with a nice big cottonwood tree that was well lit up by the moon.
A little further down the road, and pointed in the same direction, the moon started to fall into the clouds which caused the light to sort of 'dance' on the landscape. I waited for the light to hit the yellow in the valley.
Seeing that it was about 5 a.m., I headed for Livingston in search of a cup of coffee. I returned to a pretty nice sunrise if I do say so myself... I just love the contrasting colors in this scene. The yellow in the foreground really helps separate the trees from the mountains.
Heading down the road a bit, I found a spot to shoot the setting moon and some nice clouds over the Gallatin Range and some agricultural fields.
As the sun got higher I started to move back towards a bridge that I spotted on the way in, stopping to shoot every now and then...
I got to the bridge WELL BEFORE the sun was going to peak out over the mountains. Once it did, I was all good! But while I waited I couldn't help but feel 'in the way' because morning traffic was just getting going so it felt a little crowded.
From the bridge I was able to take this photo, you can see a nice crepuscular ray shining down on the yellow trees. The towering Absaroka mountain range makes a nice backdrop for the fishermen on the bank of the Yellowstone River.
After this I was headed back to Chico to pick up my wife and head north to see my brother in Great Falls. We stopped a couple times on the way and took a gander at some fall color. We spotted a fisherman in the Yellowstone so we stopped to take a photo of him, I had to mount my telephoto lens so Ashley beat me up there...
A little later we stopped near an old bridge that crosses the Yellowstone.
Looking the other direction from the bridge above, I shot this panorama of the Yellowstone River with the Crazy Mountains in the Background.
After a little driving without seeing ANY OTHER CARS(it happens more than you'd think) we came out into the Smith River Valley south of Great Falls, the color here was nice as well.
We made a quick stop at the Sluice Boxes before heading into Great Falls to see family. My brother Matthew joined me on a little hike out to the Sluice Boxes very early the next morning so I'll include those here as well.
I'll have more to share soon from some other places I went. So stay tuned!
