Photography Archives - The Way Home

My Blue Eyed Baby

The girls and I took the opportunity to check out the houses on The Highland Lakes Garden Club Home Tour today. We saw some amazing ridge views and meticulously maintained gardens. All very inspiring! On the tour we got to stop at the Aldridge family home who has beautiful lake views, gorgeous hydrangeas flanking the yard, and their own private nature trail.

When I saw the garden full of blue hydrangeas blossoms, I asked Savannah to quickly pose for a picture and my mind quickly flashed back to a photo I took of her in our living room with hydrangeas when she was 2 months old. It was unplanned (and I had to modify her shirt color), but this image feels like the perfect recreation 19 years later!

After fishing this image off a hard drive, I remembered how pivotal moments like these were to inspiring my career as a photographer. After a friend blessed us with newborn pictures with Savannah, it gave me the drive to set up and try doing my own photo sessions with her each month of her 1st year. She was my very first portrait client!

You may look at this amateur image and laugh at the sheet thrown over the fireplace with cut hydrangeas from the back yard, with decent enough exposure from a pop up flash, but to me it was my foundation as a children’s portrait photographer.

Savannah we’ve learned a few things together through the years, but you will always be my blue eyed baby!

For this year’s Spoiled Rotten Photography Personal Project, my inspiration piece came from one of my own photos, that is the beginning of its own story.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Travel

Boston to Bar Harbor

A couple years ago we ventured out West as a family to explore as many of the National Parks as we could in the Utah/Arizona region in a week. This year we decided to check another National Park off for the girls, but head up the New England coast to Acadia National Park. After exploring airport options in that region, we routed our trip through Boston and drove up the coast to Bar Harbor.

After flying into Boston and renting a car, we headed to get dinner from a fun new restaurant I discovered on Instagram, Boston Pizza Cupcakes, serving pizza cupcakes. It was a fun concept and we all got to pick out the flavors we wanted to try. The toppings were good, but all thought the dough was too thick and could use a little work.

After dinner, I made Jonathan drive 30 minutes away to a sugar shack in the woods. Another Instagram find, and something you just have to do once. You can pull up any time of day, pick a treat and send the owner Venmo payment or leave cash.

Sunday, from our hotel in Boston we were able to walk to worship with a local congregation, and then spend the afternoon walking and exploring along the Freedom Trail downtown. We were told, you have to try the cannoli from Mike’s Pastry while in Boston! So we enjoyed one of the many authentic Italian restaurants, La Famiglia Giorgio’s for dinner and walked to Mike’s to try one of the 20+ different flavors of cannoli.

Highlight Reel of Our Day in Boston

Monday we began our journey up the coast with a stop in Gloucester, MA. We enjoyed a self-guided tour through the medieval-style Hammond Castle and spotted our first lighthouse across the bay. While at Hammond Castle, we did a quick senior photo shoot with Savannah, and then routed our way around to the Eastern Point Lighthouse. It was fun taking in the views from the concrete jetty.

From there we drove up the MA coast to Rockport. Rockport is a picturesque small seaside town. They have a charming shopping and dining district to explore.

I learned this red building, simply called Motif #1, a red fisherman shack, is one of the most painted and photographed buildings in the world. You know I had to make this stop on our journey, just for this picture!

On our way to Portland, ME, we stopped at Nubble Lighthouse and Lobster Point Lighthouse. The afternoon sun was beautiful reflecting off the white lighthouse against the blue sky. The girls could have spent hours climbing the rocks around each lighthouse we stopped at.

We spent 2 nights in Portland, ME with a day to explore Portland by bicycle. The bicycle tour took us by 5 lighthouses in the Portland area, with the final stop at the famous Portland Head Lighthouse.

We tried the obligatory Maine lobster rolls from a food truck for lunch on our bicycle tour.

The next day we headed north again with a morning stop in Freeport, Maine. In Freeport you have to check out the L.L. Bean flagship store and there are a bunch of other outlet stores that have built up around it.

From there we made a stop at the Marshall Point Lighthouse that was in the famous Forrest Gump running scene.

Our next stop up the coast was the picturesque Owl Head Lighthouse.

By the time we made it to our last lighthouse stop, Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, everyone was a little tired of looking at lighthouses and they vetoed walking out on the long concrete jetty to see it.

Lighthouses Between Boston and Bar Harbor

We rented Lucky Stone Retreat, a cozy VRBO, for a couple nights outside of Bar Harbor that had the best waterfront views.

I caught an amazing early sunrise at low tide the first night

On the 4th of July we drove up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. We were met with chilly temps and high winds.

We spent some time walking around and checking out the shops in downtown Bar Harbor.

We ended the day back at our rental house with our own private fireworks show from the neighbors on either side of us!

On Friday, we met the real Bar Harbor with a foggy harbor cruise. After our boat tour, we had just enough time with low tide to walk out on the Bar Island trail.

On Saturday we began our trek back to Boston, but first we made a stop to cuddle with a few alpaca at The Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm. It was a fun experience and I recommend getting some alpaca wool socks!

For more details, pictures and stories from the trip check out my Boston and Maine story highlights on Instagram.

The 4 of us enjoyed our time together as a family before Savannah heads off to college in August. While this would be an amazing trip to take in the Fall with cooler temps and the leaves changing, it was just as charming an enjoyable during the middle of Summer.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Spoiled Rotten Photography

She Will Be Missed

As I began thinking about playing along with the 2024 Spoiled Rotten Photography Personal Projects, I knew the subjects I wanted to focus on. The bond that Savannah has with our dog, Daisy. Daisy and Savannah will both miss each other next year when Savannah heads off to college!

I came across this image on Pinterest that displayed the bond between a girl and her dog. I loved the evening golden light and the shallow depth of field.

While we didn’t catch a light filled evening, this is our backyard version with a little magic added for fun. I played around with a new to me 100 mm lens. I love the merge of the tiny pines trees that have taken over in the back of our yard, that look more like a forest.

This is the original of my favorite image, but knew it needed a little extra sparkle.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography

A Creative Escape

This girl always knows when I need a creative escape! I had already thought what a pretty Summer day it would be for a portrait session and then Sarah Beth asked if I wanted her to get dressed up to take pictures. YES! Maybe the days of begging and having to drag my kids out for a photo session are over?!

Being the end of July, my mind went to a field of sunflowers. We have done that before. That was her one request… no hot, itchy fields of sunflowers. So my mind went to… “What about a patch of colorful zinnias?”

I couldn’t come up with a field of zinnias quick enough, but what we found was even better! A quick stop to our local Piggly Wiggly for a bottle of Coca Cola and a sunflower and “let’s just see what we can find at Mt. Lau rel.”

I call this “freestyle photography.” No external flash, no plan, just figure it out as you go, chasing pockets of beautiful afternoon sun.

I love the bright nostalgic looks that we were about to get with pockets of beautiful afternoon sun on the sidewalk!

Oh, and look we ended up finding some colorful zinnias after all!

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography

Marching Into Her Senior Year

Savannah is marching into her senior year! It is hard to believe we have reached this milestone year so quickly! As I tell Savannah’s story through senior portrait sessions this year, I knew I wanted some dramatic portraits on the Chelsea field with her marching uniform. Savannah picked up and starting playing the clarinet in 6th grade and has stuck with it the last 6 years.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Travel

A Puerto Rico Adventure to Remember

With one year of high school Spanish under her belt, Savannah has gotten to immerse herself in 2 different hispanic cultures with a mission trip to Honduras and a Puerto Rico adventure to remember this Summer.

One of our dear friend’s daughter graduated this year and asked Savannah and I to tag along for a special trip to Puerto Rico to celebrate her graduation. I was tasked with finding and booking adventurous excursions to help us explore the beauty of Puerto Rico.

We rented a 3 bedroom condo through Airbnb at the Aquatika resort. Savannah and I flew in a day early and were able to get settled and find our way around our corner of the island. The resort was a safe gated community with a variety of pools and beach access that made it fun for the girls to explore some on their own.

Most people who come to Puerto Rico, come to Old San Juan on a cruise ship. In one day this is the only part of the island they are able to take in. After attending a local church service on Sunday, Savannah and I had a fun meal at Waffle Era Tea Room and decided to explore the streets of Old San Juan before picking up the Tash’s from the airport.

I enjoyed the cobblestone streets with varied colored buildings. We found some of the iconic picture spots… Umbrella Street on Fortaleza Street (which currently was lined with paper bells), Pigeon Park, and the 2 forts that line the northern shore.

El Yunque Rainforest Adventure

We began our week with a full day of adventuring with I sland Journeys. We met up with a tour that took us trekking through a muddy trail, climbing over rocks, through crevices, around waterfalls, and plenty of time to slide down rocks and jump off cliffs into a refreshing pool of water. Check out my highlight reel below…

Bio Bay Kayak Tour

After a nice local dinner at Rincon Del Faro, where we were able to try an island favorite, Mofungo – a plantain mash stuffed with meat of choice, we headed to our final adventure of the day with a Kayak tour to a bioluminescent bay.

Puerto Rico is home to 3 different bioluminescent bays where you can usually see the glowing plankton throughout the year. Our tour partnered with Kayaking Puerto Rico in Fajardo to take us out in kayaks through a mangrove canal into an open lagoon. The plankton is best viewed under a new moon and dark sky conditions, which we didn’t have on this evening. With the help of a tarp to create darkness we were able to splash water into our kayaks and see the magical blue sparkles glow jump around.

A Magical Island Tour

Caroline is an avid horse rider and has grown up tending to horses, so we knew we had to experience Vieques, a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico, by horse. We took the local ferry across to the island for our afternoon adventure with Esperanza Riding Company. We had a taxi pick us up at the Ferry Terminal on the north side of the island and take us the south side of the island. We enjoyed fresh mangos from the orchard at the stable, while we waiting to set saddled up.

We rode through some trails, city streets, and scenic overlooks, but my favorite part was the open beaches we walked through with the island’s wild horses all around us.

This trail ride was a little less intense than Savannah’s first experience on a horse last Summer at Bryce Canyon!

An Underwater Adventure

If you go to Puerto Rico, you can’t miss one of the many options to snorkel and explore the underwater reefs and sea life. On Wednesday we dodged thunderstorms and spent the afternoon with Snorkeling Puerto Rico. We were chartered in a boat out to a reef location to explore, then we beached for a bit at the edge of Icacos Island.

We caught a beautiful sunset after the storms on our way to dinner.

If Walls Could Talk in Old San Juan

With our last day in Puerto Rico, we went to explore more of Old San Juan and take in the Castillo San Felipe del Morro. This fort sits majestically at the tip of the northern most point of the island. It was pretty impressive to walk through the 500 year old solid walls of this fort and think of all the people it has seen over the years! The views from the top and different levels were pretty impressive!

We got back to our resort just in time to quickly change clothes and catch sunset portraits on our beach. I couldn’t think of a better ending to our week in Puerto Rico, full of adventure and memories to remember!

It is hard to believe we are about to embark on Savannah’s Senior year!

I would love to know if you have a favorite place you have been in Puerto Rico or if you are planning a trip in the future!

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Travel

11 Day Utah/AZ National Park Tour

We just got back from an 11 day Utah/AZ National Park road trip tour of the “Mighty Five” National Parks in Utah plus the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It would be possible to take this trip in 7 days, but we gave ourselves some extra time in Salt Lake City after we flew in and in Las Vegas before we flew out.

After our trip to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park, we knew we wanted to take the girls to visit as many national parks we could this Summer before our annual National Park Pass expired.

Jonathan had a lot of Marriott Rewards points banked from work travel, so we chose our accommodations around hotels we could stay for free and then chose a VRBO in the middle of our trip to be able to spread out and wash clothes.

Thursday, June 2 – 5:30 pm Southwest flight to Salt Lake City.

I was able to book one way tickets for around $200/per person.

Friday, June 3 – Salt Lake City – SpringHill Suites Sugar House

We didn’t get to hotel till 1:30 am, so we slept in and then hit a couple thrift stores looking for dresses for Bonneville Salt Flat pictures. We drove around downtown and spent some time walking through the Mormon Church History Museum before going back to hotel to rest and get ready for salt flat pictures.

Saturday, June 4 – Salt Lake City

We had a day to explore Salt Lake City with the Connect Pass.

Sunday, June 5 – Salt Lake City

We left our hotel and visited a local church in Kaysville before beginning our drive to Moab. It is about a 4 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Moab. We got checked into our hotel and had enough time to grab some food at the local City Market grocery store before driving out to Dead Horse State Park to catch the sunset.

Monday, June 6 – Moab – SpringHill Suites Moab

Our hotel was less than 5 minutes from the Arches National Park entrance. We left at 4:30 am to drive into the park and be able to hike the Delicate Arch Trail to watch the sunrise. We began the trail around 5:00 am in the dark with flashlights and a Father/Son group navigating alongside us. It was well worth the early wake up call to beat the heat and the crowds typically found at the Delicate Arch!

After hiking back down the mountain, we drove around the roads and checked out the Windows Arches and Turret Arch before heading back to the hotel to catch breakfast. After resting, we walked around in the local shops of Moab and enjoyed an afternoon meal at the local food truck park.

Tuesday, June 7 – Moab

We got up early again to watch the sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. It was about a 45 minute drive into the park from our hotel, but we didn’t have to hike too far to get to the Mesa Arch. This is a very popular spot for photographers and tourist to capture the sun’s rays peaking over the mountain and through the thin arch.

We hiked a few other short trails like the Whale Trail and the Upheavel Dome Trail before heading back to the hotel. Our hotel had a really nice outdoor patio and pool area, so the girls enjoyed resting and swimming for the afternoon. That evening we went back into the Arches park to take some portraits before sunset.

Wednesday, June 8 – Moab

We left our hotel and drove 2.5 hours to Capital Reef National Park. We were surprised by the different looking mountains and rock formations as we drove into this park. The green orchards were a pleasant oasis amount the mountains. We hiked the Cohab Canyon Trail. We had a later start in the day, so we definitely felt the heat more while hiking. There is a cute little bakery by the barn and the Cohab Canyon Trail. We got 2 small pies to enjoy as we drove the scenic drives before we left the park.

There really aren’t many hotels built up around Capital Reef, so it is no surprise it isn’t as popular the other 4 Utah parks.

From here we had about 4.5 hour drive to get to our next destination in Page, Arizona. Page is right on the Utah/Arizona border, and not too far from the parks in Utah, but the few roads have to route around mountains.

Along the way we found Henrie’s Drive In restaurant and tried their famous “Chubby Cheese Burgers”.

We had just enough time before dark to stop and hike up to the Sand Caves just outside Kanab, Utah. These caves are easy to access just off Highway 89 and a fairly easy hike up to.

Thursday, June 9 – Page – VRBO

There are plenty of hotels in this tourist/crossroads town, but we chose a VRBO to have a little more space to spread out and be able to do laundry half way through our trip. Page is famous for its local Antelope slot canyons and Horseshoe Bend. Page is on Arizona time, which in the Summer is 1 hour behind Utah time, so that messed with us a little with sunrise and sunset times.

We did a Kayak and Canyon tour in the morning. This was a lot of fun and we got some amazing pictures in the lower Antelope slot canyon that can only be accessed by boat.

We enjoyed Birdhouse for lunch in town after that physical activity in the sun.

We were able to able to check out the famous Horseshoe Bend at sunset along with hundreds of other people!

Friday, June 10 – Page

We drove 2.5 hours to the Grand Canyon North Rim National Park. This was one of the most scenic drives of the week, driving to and from the park.

Make sure to stop at the Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center and walk out on the bridge to see the Colorado River below.

Jacob’s Inn is a fun pit stop before you enter the drive to the park. They have a great gift shop with tshirts that are cheaper than the park visitor center. They have some amazing cookie choices also that you don’t want to miss!

We drove around to the lookout vista points at the Grand Canyon and didn’t take on any hikes. Before we left, we did see a rain storm brewing to the south. We were told it had been 70 days since the southern Utah region had gotten any rain!

For dinner, we stopped back at Jacob’s Inn to try the Fry Bread food truck. It didn’t disappoint!

Saturday, June 11 – Cedar City – Courtyard Cedar City

We packed up and left our VRBO and drove 2.5 hours to Bryce Canyon. We booked an afternoon horse trail ride through Bryce Canyon. We are all new to horseback riding, but everyone said this may have been their favorite activity of the week! We did the 3 hour tour that takes you 8 miles into the canyon and around the Peek-A-Boo trail and back. Once we got over the fears of going downhill on switchbacks on the edge of cliffs on a horse, it was smooth riding.

The views from the top and from below were amazing!

It was another amazing scenic drive from Bryce Canyon to our next hotel in Cedar City. We stopped at Aunt Sue’s Chalet for dinner along the drive. The the food was ok, but the homemade pie was pretty fantastic!

Sunday, June 12 – Cedar City

Our last National Park to visit was Zion National Park. I know this is a favorite park for many, and I wish we had more time and energy to devote to exploring it. We came prepared and geared up to hike the famous Narrows hike along the Virgin River. We got to the park early to beat the crowds and heat and catch the 6:00 shuttle bus to the Narrows hike. At Zion, everyone has to park at the visitor center and ride a bus to 1 of 9 stops to reach different trails.

Recommendations for Narrows Hike

Water Shoes – Shoes have a good grip on the bottom.
Water Socks – This shoe and sock combo were comfortable for hiking in and out of water.
Hiking stick or dowel to keep balance on rocks – we picked up 4 dowels at a local Ace Hardware and left at the end of the trail for someone else to use when we were done.

You walk along a paved 1 mile path to get to the entrance on the river and then you are hiking through the river and along the shore back and forth to go up the canyon. We didn’t hike all the way to the end of the trail, and turned around at the Wall Street area. It took us a good 5 hours to complete the trail. It was well worth an early start after we saw the crowds that had increased on the hike back!

We were tired and hungry when we got back so we stopped for lunch at the restaurant at the lodge.

When you leave the park don’t miss the gem of a local coffee shop, FeelLove Coffee just outside the park. They had an extensive menu and was a nice treat for the drive back to Cedar City.

There was a Golden Corral across the street from our hotel, so the girls were excited to try that buffet for the first time.

Monday, June 13 – Las Vegas – Marriott Grand Chateau

We packed up and left Cedar City and stopped in St. George for lunch and one last cup of FeelLove Coffee before heading to Las Vegas. Once we got to Las Vegas we had a few hours before we could check into our hotel, so we drove down and checked out Hoover Dam. We were impressed with the size and magnitude of this dam as we walked across it! Like Lake Powell in Page, you could see where the water lines on Lake Mead was hundreds of feet below where it once was.

After checking into our amazing villa room, we wouldn’t get to enjoy long, we toured the strip checking out the shopping and restaurants tucked into the grand hotels.

Sarah Beth loves Flamingos, so we made sure to check out the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo Resort.

With children, make sure to check out the huge M&M store, but a tip for you. When you are suddenly craving M&M’s you can get a bag for a lot cheaper next door at Target.

Las Vegas may not be somewhere I want to spend a lot of time, but it was fun seeing some of the famous sites before our early morning flight.

Tuesday, June 14 – 5:20 am flight on Southwest from Las Vegas to Birmingham

Thanks for sticking around while we shared our 11 Day Utah/AZ National Park Tour. Let me know if you love any of these places we visited or if you need help planning a future trip for your family!

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized

A Salt Wonderland

When you think of Utah, you may think of snow covered mountains, but do you think of salt filled lakes? I have always wanted to drive out to the Bonneville Salt Flats and take pictures, and it wasn’t until our recent Utah family trip I was able to experience this mysterious salt wonderland.

We flew into Salt Lake City, Utah and had 2 days to explore before we started our Utah National Park tour in Moab. We packed white dresses to take portraits with the girls and as a family. When we arrived in Salt Lake City, I mentioned to the girls… “What if we could find some colorful flowy dresses at a thrift store that you could wear on the salt flats?” They were on board with that idea, so Friday morning we stopped by a local Deseret Industries Thrift Store (One of the nicest thrift stores I have been in!) and they they just happened to have 2 pretty dresses that fit the girls perfectly. Best $20 I’ve spent for portrait clothing!

The Bonneville Salt Flats recreation area is about an hour and a half drive West on I-80, almost to the Nevada border. When we got there we saw cars pulled out onto the flat and people were taking pictures, and playing on the hard packed salt flats. We had a 4×4 rental SUV so it was easy enough to drive out and pick a spot. You would not want to drive onto the salt flats if there is standing water on the ground. When we arrived, we had a couple hours before sunset. The sun was still a little high in the sky making for harsh conditions for squinty eyes and reading the back of a camera.

We drove around to the backside and found a magical puddle of water being illuminated by the setting sun and Sarah Beth hopped out and we were able to capture some final magical images.

We made a local friend who decided to follow us around on all our adventures for the rest of the week.

A salt wonderland was a fun experience to begin our Utah Family Adventure. The girls were excited to try In-N-Out Burger when we made it back to town.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography

10 Years of A Grand Story

I recently shared the story behind my parent’s 2021 Christmas card design on Facebook, and got an overwhelming response. What I wanted for myself was a catalog of all those portraits and the story each of the cards from the last 10+ years have represented to me and my family as the “Grands” have grown. So I am choosing to catalog all the cards here on this platform so we can always go back and enjoy the memories and growth from year to year.

One of my greatest joys from years of custom portraiture was getting to design Christmas cards and Announcements for the families I worked with.

2021

After I helped my Mom score this huge rustic outdoor farmhouse table free off FB marketplace, I had a vision for this exact set up. My mom crafted the wooden angel, that Sarah Beth and Lyla are holding, out of some special wood to symbolize Grandma Sauter who is now watching over us all. The holidays won’t be the same without her, but we have preserved so many memories of our time with her.

2020

With the craziness of 2020 an official card was not printed, but we were able to capture one last family portrait with Great Grandma Sauter. After a year of independent living, Grandma made the decision to come live with Mom and Dad just before Thanksgiving. It was a blessing for the family to have her close by for the next 9 months.

2019

In 2019 the Sauters made their permanent move to Arkadelphia Acres and the Baileys moved back to Birmingham and spent the first half of the year living in their Vestavia house. The cousins were excited to get to see each other more often.

2018

2018 was a year for breaking and clearing ground at Arkadelphia Acres. By the end of the year, the finishing touches were being put in place before the Sauters could move into their new home.

2017

In December 2017, the Sauters closed on 10 acres of land in Arkadelphia, Alabama, adjoining the land my sister, Kathryn Baggett lived on. Their card announced their plans to build and lumber jack attire and axes were appropriate to tell this piece of their story.

2016

The 2016 pictures were taken in front of the cedar trees my dad planted in Vestavia and on one of the benches he restored. My Dad has always have a love for cedar trees!

2015

Everyone was all smiles in 2015 in bright jewel tone attire. This picture was taken in Kathryn’s backyard with the glowing Fall colors at Thanksgiving.

2014

in 2014, I wanted to highlight and use one of my Dad’s wood piles as a backdrop for their Christmas card. My Mom couldn’t be left out and is holding a sprig off her rosemary bush. I found matching Gymboree pajamas for the kids to go with this woodsman theme.

2013

I am reminded of growth and change when I look at this portrait! Another picture taken in Kathryn’s backyard next to the small evergreen trees Dad planted, which have now grown taller than their house! In 2013, the Baileys had just made a move to Atlanta and I had just begun planting seeds to grow my Spoiled Rotten Photography business.

2012

In 2012 I hauled that green couch all over creation to shoot Fall Family Portraits, so why not take it to Kathryn’s backyard to photograph the grands all together. I miss those snaggle teeth and coordinating Gymboree outfits! I also love that Grandma Sauter made an appearance on this card!

2011

After my Mom’s appearance with the Grands on their Christmas card in 2010, my Dad didn’t want to be left out. He surprised us all wanting to be in a picture, and that is when the annual picture with the Grands was born. We welcomed James, the first boy Grand in November, so this year’s card got to include him! We used the Holiday Studio set that I designed that year and used a special hollowed out driftwood log to place the new baby in.

2010

Fall 2010 we took the girl cousins to a local covered bridge to take some portraits. My Mom got a great shot with all the girls wearing the white dresses she bought them, that we put into a Christmas card template for her to send out.

2008

In 2008, while we lived in Madison, AL we took a trip with the Baggetts to the Opryland Hotel to enjoy the lights and decorations of the season. Pictures from that trip were used for each of our Christmas cards that year.

It has been a blessing to tell this Grand Story for the past 10+ years and I pray we have many more years to continue the story.

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Categories: Life, Photography, Travel

Million Dollar View

This million dollar view was literally the climax of our trip to Montana!

After looking at the best things to do in Glacier National Park, I knew the Highline Trail was at the top of my list of things to do with our limited time at the park. From everything I read, it offered some of the best variety of terrains and views and a relatively flat 7.5 mile one way hike. Towards the end of the trail, I knew there would be a harder trail called the Garden Wall Trail that we could take for a view that would be worth the steep hike up.

I am not a seasoned hiker, but I envisioned completing this hike and was up for whatever challenge it would present. Jonathan and I set out on the trail about 10 am knowing that we would be on this trail most of the day. We had beautiful weather and the trail lived up to its expectations with ever changing terrain and beautiful meadows of wildflowers. We joked that the national park service had strategically planted special effects along the way to keep the hike interesting. At times we felt like we were participants in the Hunger Games with swarms of gnats, flies, cool waterfalls, rocks to climb over, mountain goats along the path, marmots playing hide and seek, rock slides, and warnings to carry bear spray… just in case.

We got to the optional Garden Wall trail in about 3 hours. Little did we know that 0.6 mile vertical hike would require multiple stops to rest along the way, but everyone coming down said the hike up was definitely worth it!

Once we finally reached the top we were able to view Grinnell Glacier sitting right below the backside of the mountain. I thought we were at the top until I saw a small outline of a person up on an even higher rock viewpoint. So, up I climbed to get the best possible view. I hauled my camera in my backpack all this way, so I wasn’t leaving without getting the best picture I could. After climbing up and joining the crowd of adventurous adults, much younger than myself, I snapped a few pictures and then saw the ominous dark clouds moving in over the East side of the mountain. I climbed back down and joined up with Jonathan and we agreed we better start heading back down the mountain before we got caught in the storm. That impending storm got us off that mountain A LOT faster than it took us to go up! When we made it to the bottom, we had to choose… hike back the 7 miles we came to get to our car and potentially walk through rain or continue on to the chalet we could see 0.8 up ahead where we could take shelter under cover.

The effects kept coming… we walked through big rain drops all the way to the chalet. It was a refreshing rain that got us wet without actually soaking us. That storm did settle in for about 30 minutes and we were undercover for most of it. The temperature dropped at least 20 degrees with the rain, and quickly warmed back up with the sun.

We decided to try the 4 mile Loop Trail that would take us back to a parking lot. We met a young couple along the trail that we were able to hitch hike a ride back to our car. By the time we made it back to our car, it was 7 pm. It was a great last day to our trip and an experience and million dollar view I’m sure we will tell our grandkids about one day.

Have you taken any memorable hikes that resulted in your own million dollar views?

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