Bannock Ghost Town, Montana

Bannock, Montana, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan (off to OR, WA...).

Bannock is smaller than California's best ghost town Bodie, but a huge plus is that they allow you to go into the buildings. It's also open 8am-9pm, so as long as you don't visit in late June, you should be able to catch a sunset there.

Be forewarned though, the mosquitos are ferocious!

This is a teepee that you can rent for $25/night. This composition jumped out at me as I spotted the setting crescent moon from an adjacent campsite at Bannock State Park.






California is talking about closing 80% of its state parks and raising entry fees to $15, to address politicians' mismanagement and poor planning. In contrast, I'm traveling in Montana this week, and they have no budget deficit, no parks are closing, and state parks are FREE to Montana Residents. Montana also has no sales tax, while many California residents are now paying over 10%. Montana also obviously doesn't have as ridiculous a gas tax as California: gasoline is about $2.59, vs. $2.98 in the Sacramento area (without the Bay Area's add-on) or so when I left California two weeks ago. California's property tax is also among the highest burden per household in the nation, even comparing the percentage of home value tax rate to other states, but the burden is especially high when you consider the sky-high (and now unrealistically high) California property values that the taxes are based on.

Politicians wonder why tax revenues are down, but California's representatives in Congress support importing cheap foreign labor under L-1 and H1-B visas. Since this continues during recessions, half of California's high tech workers were unable to return to the industry during the last recession. The U.S. Department of Labor publishes 6 unemployment figures, all of which under-report the true problem, and the highest one was 16.4% in May 2009 (line U-6 at the following link)!
www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm
The stock market is already doing worse than any point around the Great Depression.
It's Already Worse Than the Depression
www.fool.com/retirement/general/2009/06/23/its-already-wo...
Unemployment rates increased and home values declined for years after the stock market crash of 1929, and current unemployment is already way ahead of that history. We could still be in for a stunning economic decline over the next few years. Unfortunately the world economy essentially follows the U.S. economy, so there's nowhere to hide. Be careful out there!

I don't waste much time or energy on politics; the entire system far too dirty due to the bribes commonly referred to as "campaign contributions". However, the current depths we've sunk to and the path we're on are simply too much. I refuse to re-elect any incumbent politician next time around, state or federal. FIRE THEM ALL! To preserve what is left of our once-great country, it is imperitive that we completely remove our politicians' ability to pocket "campaign contributions" from special interests. Bribery is bribery, and should be made crystal clear as treason against the nation and against the American public (if it quacks like a duck...). Please contact your elected representative today and make your views on current affairs, and on our prospects for the future, crystal clear to them.

Two Medicine

Two Medicine, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan.

This was somewhat of a "checklist stop" to see what this place was like on my way out of Galcier as i moved towards Yellowstone, but it's definitely a place that I'll have to revisit.

The sun was already setting as I left the East Entrance of Glacier National Park at St. Mary, but a few short miles downt he road I caught the full moon rising over some dead trees. I arrived in two Medicine witht he mountians slightly backlit, with the full moon's light on their southeastern faces.

Many Glacier

Swiftcurrent Lake, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan.

The Many Glacier Hotel is on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake, an excellent place to catch sunrise in Glacier National Park.

Logan Pass, Glacier National Park

Going to the Sun Road, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan.

After my grizzly bear encouunter, I decided to continue up the road to Logan Pass.

Charged by a Grizzly Bear!

Wild Goose Island Dawn, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan.

I took this shot shortly after being charged by a grizzly bear, maybe 75 yards downhill from this popular overlook in Glacier National Park.

Intending to return to the shore of Lake St. Mary a second morning, I startled a grizzly bear about 40 feet in front of me. He bolted way at high speed, crashing through brush as he went. Standing still and making noise for a while, figuring that he had probably wandered off after the encounter, I suddenly noticed him staring at me looking very agitated, in about the same point that he had bolted from! This highly aggressive behavior is in sharp contrast with what I've experienced with black bears (apparently even our bears in California are laid back). This massive grizzly was clearly very pissed off, spitting and making a loud huffing noise and making short but powerful lunges into the bush in front of him, clawing at it with his giant paws.

He probably thought as I moved downhill swiftly towards him that I was charging him, and although his "fight or flight" instinct initially told him to run, he had clearly chosen to come back for some "fight" once I started making noise and he figured out what I was.

I figured the bear could close the distance between us in 3 seconds or less. I could either retreat inmmediately or turn on my camera on (unfortunately with a wide angle lens on), get it out of 10 second timer mode, and capture a few frames (possibly the last of my life). Choices are rarely so easy. I assured the bear that yes, it was his huckleberry bush, backing up. I don't remember actually getting back up the hill, but I know that I was careful not to run, and an instant later I was most of the way back up. I warned the half dozen photographers at the top of the hill that they had an agitated bear 50 yards downhill.

When I reached the Logan Pass ranger station I filed a bear encounter report. Several rangers told me over the next 24 hours that I was very lucky not to get attacked. I read a book "Bear Attacks" the following morning and the huffing noise is the second most common thing grizzlies do right before they attack. Growling is reported by slightly more survivors of grizzly attacks. Loud vocal noises by people are interpreted as highly aggressive behavior and can trigger an attack. My yelling up to the other photographers at the top of the hill to warn them about the bear and my whistling loudly may have been what brought him back (interpreted as a challenge). If I had happened upon a female and cubs (like the ones I saw this morning), there's a high probability that I would have been instantly charged and the females are much less likely to end a charge as a "bluff" attack.

Always wear bear bells in grizzly country!

I don't think this was the grizzly bear that charged me this morning... it was a second one only 1/2 mile down the road. He crossed the road in front of me and I had a couple of seconds to shoot this right out the window of my car.

Lake St. Mary Sunrise

Lake St. Mary Sunrise, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan.

Sunrise at Lake St. Mary, Glacier National Park.

A small pond adjacent to Lake St. Mary in Glacier National Park.





Wild Goose Island overlook at Lake St. Mary, Glacier National Park.

Arrival in Glacier

Lake McDonald Sunset, originally uploaded by Jeff Sullivan.

I arrived in Glacier National Park just in time for sunset over Lake McDonald.