On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Balloon Juicers who are on the road, travelling, etc. and wish to share notes, links, pictures, stories, etc. from their escapades. As the US mainland begins the end of the Earth day as we measure it, many of us rise to read about our friends and their transient locales.
So, please, speak up and share some of your adventures, observations, and sights as you explore, no matter where you are. By concentrating travel updates here, it’s easier for all to keep up-to-date on the adventures of our fellow Commentariat. And it makes finding some travel tips or ideas from 6 months ago so much easier to find…
Have at ’em, and have a safe day of travels!
Should you have any pictures (tasteful, relevant, etc….) you can email them to [email protected] or just use this nifty link to start an email: Start an Email to send a Picture to Post on Balloon Juice
Just a few for hump-day. I’ve been working so much on site and related stuff, I didn’t have the time I had hoped for tonight. Forgive me, will make it up tomorrow! But I trust that these pictures will suffice – the wow factor is high.
Once again, I’m sure I’ve got the pictures-to-descriptions off. That’s why we’re setting up a better system, one that ensures the correct text per picture, and correct order. It will remove the human – ahem, dummy – element of the equation!
Where it was taken: Glacier Natl Park
When:Late June ’16 (1st 2), #3 Aug ’16, #4 April ’17Commenter nym: realbtlOther notes or info about the picture: I live about 40 miles from the west entrance to Glacier NP so I get to go there often. Every year I take the convertible or motorcycle over Going to the Sun road the 1st Monday after it opens (pictures #1 & #2. #3 is Kintla Lake in the park which because of the rough dirt road doesn’t get nearly as crowded as the main part of the park in summer. #4 was taken in early April of this year at McDonald Lake.




SiubhanDuinne
Thank you for those wonderful photos, realbtl. The Kintla Lake picture (#3) is especially striking. Now I have to visit Glacier National Park!
Alain, I’m looking forward to the guest post Friday with your oceanographer friend. My calendar is marked and I’ve set up a reminder alert in case I get distracted. Thanks for everything you do for us.
Elizabelle
Nice marmot.
You know that was going to come up. The dude abides.
Did we ever see Lebowski drinking coffee? I just remember Caucasians. And sasparilla for the easy on the eyes cowboy.
Elizabelle
Realbtl organizes the Glacier National Park meetup.
Gorgeous pics. Would love to go there. In other news, Yosemite’s Tioga Pass road in is still covered in snow. Can’t link from the iPad.
And the Pacific Coast Highway had another massive landslide over the weekend. Up to 40 feet of rocks and dirt, for maybe a quarter or third of a mile. Last major slide was torrential rain caused. This one, they think, is drought-dried earth shifting and becoming unstable. Maybe a year to reopen from this latest slide.
Elizabelle
I’d be OK with California charging a nominal fee, maybe couple of bucks, for using the PCH through the Central Coast. Cambria to Carmel. That’s Big Sur and the road to Monterey. What you see on all the road atlases and calendars. The locals who depend on the road get a pass.
But PCH, on the Central Coast especially, is so precious, and so fragile. California has enough costs to bear; the rest of us can step up to support and protect what’s irreplaceable.
satby
Man, a Balloon Juice travel service sounds wonderful!
realbtl, these are fantastic pictures, thanks for sharing them. What a great drive on a bike that must be!
eclare
Gorgeous photos.
Baud
@satby:
The only destination is Hell.
OzarkHillbilly
@Elizabelle: Beat me to it.
Was talking to a friend the other day about taking the wife to Not-so-many-Glaciers National Park for a visit before they are all gone. He said it is absolutely insane during season, as bad as Yellowstone. So we’ll just have to take in the fall colors when we go.
Nice shots realbtl.
Elizabelle
@OzarkHillbilly: knew I was gonna beat someone to it! You and Bill/Glendale were the usual suspects.
Yeah. Glacier tourism while we still have glaciers. Sobering.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: Yes. Unleash the oceanographer.
raven
I have friends out there right now.
PsiFighter37
Hitting the skies today and flying to China to visit my wife’s family. My main wish is that I get to see sunlight (of which I saw exactly zero last time I went in 2014)…
JPL
The NYTimes has an article on the park. Mapping 50 Years of Melting Ice in Glacier National Park
The pictures are amazing and it’s sad that the glaciers are disappearing.
Baud
@JPL: Yeah, the lengths China will go to to pull off their hoax are amazing.
SiubhanDuinne
@PsiFighter37:
Wishing you safe travels and clear skies.
raven
@Elizabelle: That’s pretty funny. A friend is at the beach and her little boy threw sand at her and the wind blew it back in her face. I posted this to her page and then saw your post.
Oh yea, its’ a ferret not a marmot.
rlchina 大芒果
@PsiFighter37: come to Fuzhou we have blue skys most days
OzarkHillbilly
Travel related: Mount Everest’s Hillary Step is still there, say Nepalese climbers The controversy continues. Is their no one among the Balloon Juice commentariat who will settle this pressing issue once and for all?
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: Not true about Glacier — It was easy for us last summer and we went in late July we stayed in-park (mostly east side) all the two weeks but two days when we went up to Canada to Waterton. It was fabulous — great hiking, excellent weather, amazing wild life. It is nothing like Yellowstone. There was plenty of room and the only traffic was caused by bear jams.
Quinerly
Beautiful!
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: Are you saying he lied to me? Maybe he was there over the July 4th wkend or something. Thanx. I really want to go back, Was preteen the last time.
debbie
Thank you for reminding me there’s more to this place than pothole-filled interstates.
tobie
Breathtaking! Glacier National Park is now on my list of possible vacation sites. Thank you!
rikyrah
I have always wanted to go to Glacier national Park. Thanks for the pictures ??
otmar
How many glaciers are still left in the park?
I’ve been there in ~ ’92. That was fun and included a night in Waterton.
realbtl
Thanks folks, a couple of notes:
If you are heading this way get in touch with me through the site, we’ll get together for lunch and travel hints;
Yes Glacier is a zoo in the summer but if you get going before 7:00 AM it is not too bad.