Montana time!

Even though I finally returned home to Chicago on Sunday night, I still have two locations to finish posting about from America By Rail!  Today, I present more photos from my incredible time in Montana!

Over the course of 4 days I drove my rental car over 1,200 miles -- including a trip to the Canadian counterpart of Glacier National Park -- Waterton Lakes!  I saw loads of bears, elk, prairie dogs, horses, and moose.  After weeks of moving at an insane pace through soooo many cities, it was fantastic to slow things down, surround myself with nature, and enjoy the quiet.  :-)  I hope you enjoy the first few photos from Montana!

A sunrise from Going To The Sun Road

My new roadside friend -- lots of Montana is Open Range

A snowy day in June!

A shot from Going To The Sun Road, past Logan's Pass

My first bear sighting of the week!  I kinda want to hug it... although I'm not sure that would go over so well...

9:30pm and it's still light out!!!

Sunrise is GORGEOUS in Montana!

On the second day of snow, I drove east to the rolling prairie... 

New horse friends!

Amazing rolling hills!

Wildflowers with mountains in the distance.

SO FREAKING CUTE!

The Prince of Wales resort in Waterton Lakes.

Check back for photos from the Photowalk in Minneapolis!  

Maquoketa State Park

   Last week in Iowa, I visited a Maquoketa Caves State Park to explore and photograph the fall leaves.  Being used to the wide open, flat landscape of Illinois, the hills, valleys, and rocky cliffs were a great change of scenery and subject.  Maquoketa features a number of huge caves, a natural land bridge, flowing springs, and beautiful rock formations. 

   For a while I was the only visitor in the park, wandering along trails, photographing the light through the trees.  I was half-way up a staircase along a cliff when I heard a crunching and rustling in the woods.  Soon three beautiful horses came down the trail past me.  I took the lucky opportunity to photograph them in the woods, without signs of human existence as a distraction in the frame.  The horses were alone, living off the woods just long enough to have manes filled with cockle burrs.  They seemed used to humans and came to me when I whistled.  I spent about half an hour with them, walking the trail, taking pictures, and petting them while they peacefully dined on acorns from the forest floor.  Eventually a couple of hikers came along the trail and found me with the horses.  "Are these your horses?", one of them asked.  As a city girl, who is often intimidated by the largeness of horses without a fence between us, I couldn't help but smile that someone could mistake these horses as my own.  "No, I found them here and we've just been hanging out," I replied.  Shortly after that the horses wandered back along the way they had come, to find more acorns deeper in the woods.    

 As always, thanks for visiting!  Check back for the many more photos and journeys to come!

The Stuff I Saw Along The Way...

We've been really busy getting the word out about Jordana Wright Photography in our new region. After numerous trips around town, distributing business cards and flyers, and some adjustments/updates to the website, everything seems to be falling into place. With all of the work to be done in my office, its a definite relief to get out into the country side to explore. We're still enjoying some beautiful weather in the Mid. Every day has been a new adventure -- exploring country roads, backwoods, and stopping to photograph all the stuff I see along the way. Here are some of the shots from the past week -- all taken in and around Paris, Illinois.

Don't forget to stop by the website to see all the recent additions!

Yellowed Soy

Cranes of the Wabash

Fields From A Moving Car

Glowing Web

Creek in the Woods

Heading Home

Rosie in the Mud

Roy

Shade Arbor

Platys

Pedal Steel

Chevy 1

Chevy 2

Chevy 3

Thanks for stopping by!

Check back for more updates soon!

Took a trip to the land of Lincoln...

My husband and I took a little trip to Illinois last week... while we were there I explored a local nursery called Barkley Farms, spent some time with a cat, a dog and some horses, and enjoyed the relaxing pace of the country. Here are some of the photographs I took along the way...

Egg Display

Pattern of Succulents

Rosie's World

Foal in the Woods

Clementine's Snack